An Analysis Of Political Interference On Service Delivery: A Case Study Of Sanyati Rural District Council From 2009-2014

Abstract

The chapter focuses on the introductory part of the research, which covers the background of study, the problem under investigation, objectives of the study, research questions, limitations, delimitations and ethical considerations. Although a lot of literature has been written about local government in Zimbabwe, a cold shoulder has been given on the influence of political interference on service delivery. The death in research has forced the researcher to provide an insight on the role of political influence on service delivery. The study sought to provide an analysis of political interference on service delivery to the local community.

All local authorities, both rural and urban are mandated to provide adequate services to their areas of jurisdiction. The creation of RDCs was intended to develop and manage rural areas by offering services to the local people. The Rural District Councils play an important responsibility of promoting services to local communities. Nevertheless, the Sanyati Rural District Council is among other local authorities that are failing to deliver adequate services due to the politicized environment in Zimbabwe. This study sought to investigate the influence of political interference on service delivery for 2009 to 2014.

The Zimbabwe local government has inherited a system where politics of the day controls service delivery. For instance the difference in services offered in rural and urban areas is a clear indication that politics is the epicenter of effective service delivery. One cannot separate politics from local government. Influence peddling has caused poor service delivery in many local authorities. The fact that there is no clear demarcation between government and ruling party has greatly caused a lot of havoc in as far as service delivery is concerned .Politicians as policy