Institutionalizing SDGs: Urban Local Authorities in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe mainstreamed SDGs into national development plans, but there is no alignment of policies, structures, and strategies with urban local authorities. National and urban local authority governments are inadequately integrated for purposes of whole-of-government harmony on SDG implementation. This chapter reviews institutional arrangements for SDG implementation at the level of urban councils. It looks into the future concerning needed institutional reform for enhanced SDG implementation by urban local authorities. A sustainable development framework is used for understanding the leverage that urban local authorities have over national government in SDG implementation. Data collection relies on literature review and content analysis of documents such as national development plans and voluntary national and subnational review reports. These data sources are supported with structured interviews with participating international agencies and civil society organizations. The later data is subjected to thematic analysis. The findings show that although Zimbabwe has mainstreamed SDGs into national development plans, urban local authorities are inadequately integrated for enhanced SDG implementation. A piece-meal and fragmented approach to SDG implementation by local authorities has lacked coordination mechanisms. Improved SDG implementation at the urban local authority level will require the development and implementation of a systematic institutional framework for SDG localization connecting national mechanisms to subnational governments. This entails proper alignment of national-local SDG agenda from funding, planning, implementation and monitoring, and reporting in a collaborative governance framework.