In Public Administration and Local Government in Zimbabwe, veteran civil servant George Makunde highlights the connections between colonial legacies in Africa and the performance of modern local governments in the delivery of citizen services. The book notes interlocking exigencies that have influenced the behavior and characteristics of local authorities within the colonial context of their past governments and compares them to analogous local governments across the continent. A presence founded in the colonial interest in independent African governments has implied that local administrations have striven to deliver their services while attempting to untangle colonial structures by introducing transformative agendas since independence. These efforts evolve within the quest to undo colonial injustices imposed by European rule, a legacy that endures in de facto systems of dual governance. What used to be the battle between races, the colonizers and the colonized, has now transformed into the battle between the rich and the poor, elites and non-elites.

Overall, the provision of civic services (water, road infrastructure, public safety, sanitation) illustrates the relationships that persist in local government administration. The book overall portrays local government performance in Zimbabwe as a case study to reveal the bigger picture across Africa.