Call for Zim to craft laws on climate finance public expenditure

GOVERNMENT needs to invest in laws that make a provision for adequate public participation in climate finance, a local researcher has said.

Presenting at the Zimbabwe Economic Development Conference 2024 in Victoria Falls, University of Zimbabwe researcher Douglas Musebenzi said there were glaring gaps when it comes to climate change finance laws.

Musebenzi was making an analysis of the legislative and policy frameworks for public finance expenditure in drought-induced climate change crisis in Zimbabwe.

He said the country’s climate finance laws do not promote public participation.

“Although the Constitution of Zimbabwe promotes public participation in public finance, there is no legislation for climate finance promoting public participation,” Musebenzi said.

“The government has not made major strides in investment on climate finance. Climate change mitigation requires substantial investment across many levels of government. Zimbabwe should take a step in the promotion of the green bonds.”

Musebenzi said the country should enact a Climate Change Management Act and amend the public finance management legislation to incorporate provisions on climate finance public expenditure.

“Zimbabwe has over-relied on global finance strategies to combat climate change and their domestic finance mechanism have been incapacitated,” he said.

“The legal framework in Zimbabwe does not have provisions that require the contemplation of climate risk. There are no legal provisions which enable planning authorities to identify and prioritise mitigation options corresponding to risks and vulnerabilities.”

Musebenzi said the major weakness of the country’s legislative framework is that it does not confer rights that can be entered in a court of law.

“This weakness demonstrates that there is a need for legislation which specifically caters for climate change,” he said.-newsda