AFRICAN EYE

By Rawlings Magede  The Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZIDERA) singles out the need for stronger and independent institutions as enablers for the conducting of free and fair elections. Section 3 (a) of ZIDERA deals with the independence of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) which is supposed to carry out its functions assigned under Section 239 of the constitution in an independent manner. Section 3 (c) deals with the Defence Forces of Zimbabwe who are bound by the constitution in Section 208 not to act in a partisan manner or further the interests of any political party.  The 2018 elections left a lot of talking points especially around the credibility of ZEC and the complicit of security services in determining electoral outcomes. The unfortunate events of August 1, 2018 left a dark cloud hanging over prospects for the enjoyment of fundamental human rights and freedoms such as the right to petition and demonstrate enshrined in Section 59 of the constitution. The e

By Rawlings Magede  United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres call in March 2020 before the escalation of the COVID 19 pandemic on the need to “Silence the Guns” in times of the global pandemic received was a progressive call. The call received broad international support as some parties to conflicts in many countries consolidated ceasefire or move towards laying down of weapons. As a way of amplifying calls for this noble initiative, the African Union (AU) resolved that ‘Silencing the guns: Creating conducive conditions for Africa’s development” was going to be the organization’s theme for 2020 as a way of ensuring that this call by the UN chief can be realized. A critical element for this call however is hinged on the need to reform, professionalise and strengthen the security sector in Africa.  In the absence of sound security sector management and governance, African societies will remain or become vulnerable to threats in both the short and long term. Limited or incomplet

By Rawlings Magede Recently, new Health Minister Constantine Chiwenga during a press conference announced that government will no longer “export” its patients to neighbouring countries for treatment. In his address the new Health Minister bemoaned the high cost of the export bill that has in the past seen government footing bills for officials who get treatment overseas. Exporting patients especially government officials to foreign countries for medical attention is not a phenomenon, during former President’s Robert Mugabe tenure of office, senior government officials made a beeline as they even sought medical attention even for minor ailments that our local health institutions could deal with . At the turn of the millennium as age took a toll on the former president, he made Singapore his second home as from time to time he frequented the Southeast Asian country for check-ups and treatment. The export bill during his time even ballooned to astronomical figures and set precedenc

By Rawlings Magede There is no doubt that the new dispensation has failed to live up to people’s expectations. The golden opportunity gifted to President Mnangagwa after the military coup of 2017 to sanitize himself by embarking on a series of reforms, is now proving to be a nightmare for him as each day comes with its own fair share of embarrassment for the embattled regime. The economy that was inherited from Robert Mugabe is now worse off. From failure to stamp out graft and corruption to propping up monopolies over grain and fuel, signs of failure are now visible for all to see. The recent gaffe being a statement by Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting services Monica Mutsvangwa where she branded the letter written by the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference (ZCBC) misguided. One would have expected the Minister’s response to be sober but alas she went overdrive by carefully choosing uncouth and derogatory phrases such as evil minded, misguided and evil to describe

By Rawlings Magede Finance Minister, Mthuli Ncube is at it again. This time around he has announced that one million households will start receiving $3oo monthly payouts as part of government’s efforts to cushion people whose sources of income have been affected by COVID-19.Treasury’s Chief Director of Communications and Advocacy, Mr Clive Mphambela was quoted in the weekly Sunday mail confirming that the money for such an exercise has already been budgeted for and approved. Given the astronomical rise in the cost of living, the $300 payout will do little to ameliorate the plight of the suffering citizens especially those in rural areas.The COVID 19 induced lockdowns across the world has seen a dip in diaspora remittances that has become the major source for rural livelihoods. Added to this, the closure of boarders has also dealt a heavy blow to cross boarder traders. Of course the Ministers’ announcement all but confirms government’s “copy and paste” approach that has seen

By Rawlings Magede Section 254 of the Zimbabwean constitution establishes the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC). One of the key functions of this commission is to investigate and expose cases of corruption in the public and private sector. Since the adoption of the constitution in 2013, the role of this commission has come under spotlight especially when it comes to corruption cases involving ruling elites. Critics have questioned the commissions’ independence from political influence and its ability to decisively deal with corruption. As a way of trying to restore sanity within ZACC, President Mnangagwa in December 2019, fired the entire ZACC Commissioners over allegations of corruption. However, such a move did not make ZACC stronger but further eroded public confidence in the commissions’ independence. It turned out that the newly appointed Chairperson of ZACC Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo, is wife to Foreign Affairs Minister Sibusiso Moyo,a top ally of President Mna

By Rawlings Magede After I finished reading Retired Colonel Tshinga Dube’s Book, Quiet flows the Zambezi several months ago I was left with nothing but respect and reverence for the former war veterans Minister. This is because Tshinga despite his fearless approach to share opinions on any subject, he is one among few surviving former liberation war heroes who seem to have appreciated the need to share the untold stories of the war and generate new knowledge for future generations. Over the years, such stories have been mainly the preserve for a few elites who in seeking cheap political mileage have sought to distort key historical narratives and supplant them with their own misleading ones. I am also happy that mkoma Miles Tendi has raised the bar even higher by tackling the untold story of Rex Nhongo in his book, The Army and Politics in Zimbabwe: Mujuru the Liberation fighter and Kingmaker. It is a book that chronicles the life of a fearless and principled guerrilla from his tim

By Rawlings Magede Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube concluded his 2019-2020 budget speech in November last year by quoting famous actor, Arnold Schwarzenegger. The quotation “What we face may look in-surmountable. But I learnt something from all those years of training and competing. I learnt something from all those sets and reps when I didn’t think I could lift another ounce of weight. What I learnt is that we are always stronger than we know”, had serious undertones of narcissism and failure .That Mthuli promised more but failed to deliver on anything must not be a burden that the citizen must be preoccupied with especially during this desperate times. When he was appointed Minister, Mthuli soon got down to work by assuring citizens that he was going to push for macro-economic stability. In October 2018, Mthuli tabled the Transitional Stabilization Program (TSP) whose primary objectives were to achieve stability both in the macro-economy and the financial sector, introduce necess

By Rawlings Magede President Emmerson Mnangagwa recently announced a 21 day national lockdown that will take effect from 30 March 2020.The lockdown seeks to minimize the risk of Covid -19 infection by ensuring that movements are restricted. Several measures have been put in place to ensure that during this lockdown, critical services are kept running. For all its worth, the lockdown makes sense for a country like Zimbabwe where the number of tests for Covid-19 being done under the supervision of the Ministry of health hovers between 300-350 people. This is a very small number in a country that heavily relies on imports from neighbouring South Africa. While the authorities can revel in the cold comfort that the country has a low rate of infection as compared to other countries, the rate at which authorities are testing for the virus will in the long run prove otherwise. No one trusts the government! Before the country recorded any corona related deaths, the government yet again wen

By Rawlings Magede I have always expressed misgivings towards President’s Emmerson Mnangagwa’s neo-liberalism route since he ascended to power in 2017.So determined has been the president that even when he took power, he deployed an offensive public relations team to sanitize him and project him as a reformist .For a moment, western countries particularly the UK warmed up to his call especially on the need for reform and mend broken bridges left by his predecessor, Robert Mugabe. When President Mnangagwa took oath of office his message was punctuated with hope and optimism. His message “Zimbabwe is open for business” soon became his clarion call whenever he was interviewed by international media. So charmed were the Breton Woods institutions that in April 2019, a team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced of an agreement that it had reached with the Zimbabwean government on macroeconomic policies and structural reforms that underpinned a Staff Mo

Implementation of devolution that is provided for in Section 264 of the constitution is under serious threat amid reports that there is serious bickering and imposition of devolution projects on local communities. In provinces such as Matebeleland and Mashonaland East for example, there are widespread reports of clashes among various stakeholders that include legislators, councillors and local Zanu Pf leaders particularly on the distribution of disbursed funds. In all this confusion, the media particularly state media continues to report “progress” on devolution yet there are serious misgivings about the way the process is being rolled out. While provinces have received devolution funds, there remains a dearth of information on how the process will be rolled out, the various roles that local communities must play for the smooth implementation of the process. How is devolution being rolled out? According to official information from most Rural District Councils, local government

By Rawlings Magede In one of my articles in 2019, I attempted to highlight the existence of what Francis Fukuyama termed “shadow economies” in our Zimbabwean context. In his book, Political order and Political decay, he traces the origins of the Italian Mafia in cities such as Lombardy and Sicily. He notes that they gained ground owing to the dysfunctional of the justice system in these cities where landlords enlisted their services to collect rentals from tenants. In the process, they ended up ripping off both the landlord and tenant by charging exorbitant mark-ups and threatening all forms of violence to anyone who resisted their demands. In all their activities, the mafia does not pay any form of tax but rather thrive on protection fees charged to rich elites to protect and cement their business interest. Zimbabwe is on edge. Bizarre stories of killings by machete wielding gangs have enveloped an already sombre festive season. The already tainted festive mood was worsened by i