Zimbabwe is a unitary state, and its provinces exercise only the powers that the central government chooses to delegate.

After constitutional amendments in 1988, provinces were administered by a governor directly appointed by the President of Zimbabwe.

The 2013 Constitution also calls for the devolution of governmental powers and responsibilities where appropriate, though Zimbabwean opposition parties argue that the central government has yet to comply.

[2] With the establishment of Company rule in Rhodesia in the 1890s, the country was divided into two provinces: Matabeleland in the west and Mashonaland in the east.

Later, the Rhodesian government expanded the number of provinces to seven: Manicaland, Matabeleland North and South, Mashonaland North and South, Midlands, and Victoria (today Masvingo).