Phony Decentralisation' an Enemy of the Municipal Administrative System and a Threat to Urban Infrastructure Development 

Drawing on the literature on decentralisation and urban governance, with a specific focus on Zimbabwe, the study argues that the acclaimed decentralisation and devolution of power by the national government is synonymous with a deceptive form of governance that can be viewed as phony and counter-productive to the Masvingo urban infrastructure development. The qualitative study draws on a fragmented infrastructure condition of the city of Masvingo and unpacks the deep-seated challenges faced by the local council as a result of phony decentralisation. This has far-reaching effects on the municipal's administrative system. To be more accurate, this article views post-independence Zimbabwean decentralisation as synonymous with a deceptive form of delegation. The article contends that the devolution of power in the city of Masvingo is still compromised. This makes governance and the administration of local municipal councils semi-autonomous. The main argument herein is that what the ruling elite conceptualise as decentralisation through the government parastatals, including municipal councils, is contentious in that it is a form of decentralisation devoid of devolution. Against this backdrop, this article claims that the main obstacle to the effective administration of local municipal councils in Masvingo is the unwillingness of the central government to give both financial and political decision-making power to local governments.