Zimbabwe’s plunge: a result of weak institutions

Sudan is currently engulfed in a political crisis a few months after the fall of former President; Omar Bashir.The former president had fallen out of favour with some members of the military who thought that his time at the helm was up. This is despite the fact that in 2018 alone, 70% of Sudan’s budget was dedicated to military and security sector. The important takeaway from Bashir fall is that military governments are difficult to prop up and sustain in countries with no proper and strong institution to foster constitutionalism and rule of law. Today, Sudan burns as the Transitional Military Council (TNC) which has been at the helm since the fall of Bashir has intensified its crackdown on peaceful protestors who are demanding a transition to civilian rule. What makes the situation dire in Sudan is the insincerity by the military leaders to negotiate and prioritize the need for a return to civilian rule. Recently, after heavy criticism from the international community, the TNC promised to resume negotiations with no conditions. Every attempt to dialogue by the Forces for Freedom, an umbrella of opposition political parties, has been met with lack of seriousness by the TNC.All this is taking place against a background where the former president had run down and rendered useless institutions such as the judiciary which would have been instrumental at this point in time.


Zimbabwe is no exception

The year 2013 was a significant year that was supposed to midwife a series of changes in the country’s history. The adoption of the new constitution offered an opportunity for the country to turn back the tide of dark historical imbalances that were ignored by the Lancaster constitution and replace it with a fresh wave of constitutional provisions that are underpinned by a very comprehensive bill of rights. The new constitution, that many credit for having progressive provisions on the freedom of the media, chapter 12 commissions that support democracy as well as extensive provisions that seek to empower women, children and girls is still a document yet to be fully implemented. Although the constitution is still faulty especially in light of the sweeping powers given to a sitting president, it is still a progressive document that if implemented religiously, will set the country on a new path of democracy. Unfortunately, the failure by the ruling elites to respect the independence of institutions established by the constitution is a reversal of gains made towards democratization when the constitution was adopted .To date; we have a constitution littered with progressive provisions that make good reading but lacks the implement on the ground. Youth League deputy secretary

On 24 June 2019, as Zimbabweans were coming to terms with the reintroduction of the Zimbabwean dollar by Finance Ministry, Mthuli Ncube, the ZANU PF Youth league was holding a low profile press conference at the party’s headquarters to announce officials who were involved in corruption. Youth League Deputy Secretary.Tongai Matutu had announced the previous week that on 24 June 2019, the Youth league was going to shame all officials involved in corruption. What made the press conference low profile was that Zimbabweans on 24 June 2019 woke up to the news that government had reintroduced the Zimbabwean dollar years after it was abandoned. The introduction of the currency caught people off guard and appeared rushed since no prior extensive consultations were done. What was interesting about the press conference was the notion of “much ado about nothing” aspect associated with press conference of this nature whose hype dies away before the actual day. Of course, Matutu only mentioned little known political lightweights that he singled out as the most corrupt officials involved in the fuelling of black market. Some of those singled out include, businessman Wickenel Chivhayo, Tafadzwa Musarara of the Grain Millers Association (GMAZ) and Henrietta Rushwaya.The biggest heavyweight was Reserve Bank Governor (RBZ), John Mangudya who was accused of fuelling the parallel market money market. What is quite interesting is that President Emmerson Mnangagwa recently renewed Mangudya’s contract, a sign that he still had confidence in him to run the affairs at the RBZ.Of course one will not be surprised that the recent revelation by the ZANU PF youth league is an attempt to railroad Mnangagwa to get rid of implicated officials in a new wave of political cleansing within the party. What is quite revealing about the press conference is the admission by the ZANU PF Youth league that institutions that are mandated by the constitution to effect arrests such as the police and the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) have failed to fulfill their mandate due to the overwhelming influence that some of those connected to the ruling elites have. The state run newspaper, the Herald recently reported that corruption in the criminal justice system has seen scores of convicted people walking scot-free even after they lost their appeals at the High court. Weak institutions are not only found in the judiciary but cut across several constitutionally established commissions, parastatals, and government ministries among others. In part, Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown since independence is directly attributable to weak institutions which were captured by political gladiators of the time. From the demise of ZUPCO right to the NRZ, the issue of weak institutions is traceable. Weak institutions have been necessitated by continued conflation between Zanu pf and government.

In the final analysis, as long as Africa has weak institutions, development will continue to evade the continent. What Africa needs are strong institutions that must foster rule of law, respect for human rights, constitutionalism and democracy. To put it more aptly in the words of former American President Barack Obama during his maiden visit to Ghana in 2009.”African does not need strong men, it needs strong institutions”.

Rawlings Magede is a Development Practitioner and writes here in his personal capacity.vamagede@gmail.com