Challenges to Urban Democratic Governance in Zimbabwe: The Case of the Appointment of Special Interest Councillors in Urban Local Councils - Hardcover

Challenges to Urban Democratic Governance in Zimbabwe is a result of a study on urban governance in Zimbabwe focusing particularly on local councils and how special interest councillors are appointed by the Minister responsible for local government. The book establishes the extent to which the practice of appointing special interest councillors in terms of section 4 A of the Zimbabwe Urban Councils' Act (2008) promotes, or hinders, democratic urban governance. The text investigates various different legislative instruments in order to present a normative framework on the best practices in democratic urban governance. A cross section of 20 urban councils was studied to establish a suitable level of accountability and consistency, as well as to provide an understanding of transparency in the appointment of special interest councillors. Among the findings of this book, it is noted that there is a high level of partisanship in the appointment of special interest councillors, especially of those who have lost in the local government elections but belong to the same political party as the Minister of Local Government, who, in this case, is empowered by law to make such appointments.

Jephias Mapuva is a Senior Lecturer in Development Studies at the Bindura University of Science Education, Zimbabwe, and has authored numerous journal articles on local governance, democracy, civil society and citizen participation, all of which fall within his area of research expertise. Some of the articles that he has authored included "Civil Society and the Democratic Virtue in Zimbabwe" in International Journal of Civil Society Law; "Militarisation of Public Institutions, Flawed Elections and Curtailed Citizen Participation" in Journal of Legislative Studies; "Elections and Electoral Processes in Africa: A Gimmick or a Curse" in African Journal of History and Culture; "The Trials and Tribulations of Constitutionalism and the Constitutional Process in Zimbabwe" in International Journal of Public Law and Policy; "Africa and the Challenges to Democratisation" in International Journal of Public Law and Policy; and "Citizen Participation and Democracy-Safeguarding Citizen Participation Through Government of National Unity (GNU) or Democracy Violated?" in South African Journal of Public Administration.