Challenges to Promoting Ethical Conduct in Zimbabwe’s Local Authorities
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.38142/ijesss.v7i3.964Keywords:
Ethics, Ethical Conduct, Local Authority, Good GovernanceAbstract
Reports of different forms of unethical conduct and maladministration have plagued Zimbabwe's devolved tiers of government, particularly local governments. It has been the case regardless of a multiplicity of legislative, constitutional and institutional frameworks to regulate and eliminate unethical conduct and behaviors. Unethical conduct in Zimbabwe's local government manifests in different ways, including the acceptance of bribes, nepotism, and unauthorized expenditure. Several audit and anti-corruption reports by the Auditor General and the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC), respectively, have flagged high levels of unethical conduct and maladministration that have threatened effective local governance and service delivery. Concerted efforts are required to curb unethical conduct and salvage the local government from imminent collapse. However, research on ethical conduct in Zimbabwe's local government is scarce. Little is known about the challenges to promoting ethical conduct and behavior in local government in Zimbabwe. This article contributes to the literature on ethics by providing an account of the challenges to promoting ethics in Zimbabwe's devolved local governments. The article highlights power politics and political interference, unethical leadership, salary arrears and discontentment as major challenges to building ethics. The article ends with recommendations for promoting ethical conduct and behavior in local government.
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