Government departments
Chief Seke
Traditional leaders deliver various government responsibilities in some parts of Zimbabwe where the state has no or limited presence. Chiefs are guardians and custodians of law and history of our country. The constitution requires traditional leaders to:
To promote and uphold cultural values of their communities and, in particular, to promote sound family values.
To take measures to preserve the culture, traditions, history and heritage of their communities, including sacred shrines.
To facilitate development.
In accordance with an Act of Parliament, to administer Communal Land and to protect the environment.
To resolve disputes amongst people in their communities in accordance with customary law.
To exercise any other functions conferred or imposed on them by Act of Parliament.
District Administrator
The District Administrator’s office manages the tasks of government so far as it lies within the Manyame Rural district’s council jurisdiction as per government delegation. The office plays a pivotal role in the administrative set up of the district exercise varying degrees of supervision over the heads of other departments functioning in the district.
The Ministry of Land and Rural Resettlement is responsible for the acquisition, distribution, administration and management of the State agricultural Land Resources on a long lease basis but without the mandate to sale the land resources The Rural District Councils together with the Traditional Leadership are by law only mandated to administer and management land use and leases in Communal Lands including A1 Resettlement Areas (Villages). The land being managed by the Ministry of Lands is supposed to be planned by the Department of Physical Planning / Local Authorities.
At the same time, the Communal Lands Act and Rural District Council Act give powers to the RDCs to have administrative powers for the development of communal areas. Rural District Council Act to administer land within their areas of jurisdiction, including former commercial areas that have become resettlement areas.
The overlapping land management authority result in conflicts between stakeholders, which usually manifest in the dual collection
of development levies, because both authorities have the mandate to collect levies from farmers. Ultimately, these conflicts have contributed to poor service delivery particularly in resettlement
areas, as it is unclear which authority is responsible for service delivery.
Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing and their respective departments and divisions including Rural District Councils retaining the responsibility to manage and administer the land resource for and on behalf of the State.