Why the fight against corruption in Zimbabwe is matter of life and death

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 Mnangagwa who was instrumental in the 2017 military led coup. Critics have highlighted that she is conflicted to take up that position due to the above reasons. In the absence of strong institutions that can nip corruption in the bud, the country witnessed a surge in activists who took their frustrations of lack of action on corruption by the state to micro blogging sites such as Twitter.

On 20 July 2020, police raided and arrested an investigative journalist, Hopewell Chin’ono. Before the arrest, the journalist recorded a video where members of the security services were captured in the footage harassing the journalist and directing him to stop recording. Chin’ono must be credited for using non-violent means to mobilize citizens to register their concerns to the government.His activism on social media had a wider appeal even among diasporians who over the years had taken a back bench. His arrest though highlights the impact of his activism which has seen social media users taking government officials to task. One prominent corruption case he exposed involves Drax International and President Mnangagwa’s son, Collins. In typical money heist fashion, Drax International was awarded a dubious US60 million contract to supply equipment to spread of COVID 19.The Drax scandal also sucked then Health Minister, Obadiah Moyo who was temporarily arrested and later relieved of his duties. His other campaign dubbed #UnfollowEd saw more than 12 000 people unfollowing President Mnangagwa on twitter. From then on, Hopewell became the talk of town by ZANU PF members who described his fight against corruption as foreign sponsored. ZANU PF politburo member, Patrick Chinamasa in a televised press conference, described Chin’ono as an unscrupulous character and warned that continued systematic targeted attacks on the First family were supposed to stop. The arrest of Chin’ono does not come as a surprise as the regime is on an offensive to silence its critics and cover up on its nefarious activities especially in relation to awarding of government tenders. Despite all this public information on corruption cases, ZACC continues to sleep on duty.

Zimbabwe’s legal framework on corruption

Domestically, the country has codified and enacted a significant portion of its principal anti-corruption legislation (the Criminal Law (Codification and reform) Act and the Anti-Corruption Act. This has been followed up by the signing and ratification of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) in 2004 and 2007 respectively. The UNCAC is a legally binding anti-corruption agreement applicable on a global basis. Under this key convention states committed to implement a wide and detailed range of anti-corruption measures that affect their laws, institutions and practices. These measures promote prevention, criminalization and law enforcement, international cooperation, asset recovery, technical assistance and information exchange. Notably for Zimbabwe, the full implementation of the provisions of the UNCAC is not yet complete. The Anti-corruption Act is notable as it exhibits a clear desire by Zimbabwe to fulfill the obligations placed on it by the UNCAC.It is the enforcement of this legislation that remain a challenge even today. A typical example of how government has reneged on promises to uphold and implement its obligations relates to the comprehensive bill of rights that is provided for in Chapter 4 of the constitution. The Bill of Rights sets out rights and freedoms that the people of Zimbabwe are entitled to by virtue of being human beings. These rights are constitutional rights and are therefore legally binding. Besides the provision of rights such as the right to human dignity, personal security, freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, freedom of expression, freedom to petition to petition and demonstrate, the state continues to criminalise and arrest citizens who dare exercise such rights. The latest incident being that of Chin’ono and Transparency Zimbabwe leader, Jacob Ngarivhume. At the time of writing, the two are in police custody awaiting trial. According to the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR),Chin’ono has been charged with incitement to participate in a gathering with intent to promote public violence as defined in Section 187 (1) of the Code as read with section 37 (1)(a) of the Code. Ngarivhume arrest also comes at a time when he was busy mobilizing citizens for a 31 July 2020 demonstration against corruption.

In the final analysis, the arrest of Ngarivhume and Chin’ono expose governments’ insincerity and lack of political will to decisively deal with corruption. There is consensus among the general public that corruption and not sanctions is the Achilles heel in government’s efforts to turn around the economy. Further to this, despite signing and ratification of the UNCAC in 2004 and 2007 coupled together with domestic pieces of legislation such as the Anti-Corruption Act, government has aptly demonstrated lack of political will to implement fully provisions provided in its own laws. The fight against corruption is everyone’s fight and knows no political affiliation.

Rawlings is a Communication for Development expert with vast interests in human rights, peace building and sustainable development. Rawlings writes in his personal capacity and has been a blogger since 2009 where he has written extensively on Zimbabwe’s constitution making process, politics, peace, devolution and media advocacy.

War Veterans can be vital players in Zimbabwe’s healing and reconciliation process

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 time he joined the liberation war up until his unfortunate death in 2011.

Ghosts of Vietnam War premiered on the BBC in March 2020.The documentary chronicles the life of a woman survivor from the US led massacres in Vietnam in 1968.The massacres were done with the aid of South Korean soldiers who committed heinous atrocities against unarmed civilians who include women and children. The massacres followed a protracted conflict that pitted the communist government of North Vietnam and its allies in South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States of America. The war was part of a larger regional conflict and a manifestation of the Cold war between the US and the Soviet Union and their other allies. In essence, many critics view the war as an attempt to stop the spread of communism and stop the unification of the entire country under a single communist regime modeled after those of the Soviet Union and China. The documentary is interesting in the sense that it brings a veteran of the Vietnam War face to face with a survivor of the 1968 massacres. Overwhelmed by remorse and the need to make peace with the past, he apologised for taking part in the atrocities. Added to this, he has also partnered survivors of the Vietnam War to raise publicity and conduct campaigns to sensitize communities on the need to have inclusive discussions around the Vietnam War. However; one issue that stood out during the documentary was the need for trauma healing for both survivors. As I watched the documentary, I could not help but reflect on our own ware veterans back home who over the years continue to show signs of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).This chronic condition is a psychological response to the experience of intense traumatic events, particularly those that threaten life. Psychologists argue that the symptoms of this condition do not seem to resolve quickly, and in some cases may continue to cause problems for the rest of the person’s life.

We got it wrong at Independence

When Zimbabwe attained her independence, for the ordinary civilian, the much waited freedom had finally come. On the other extreme end, soldiers who had taken part in Zimbabwe’s protracted war of independence needed to go through a process that would reintegrate them into society. The war that brought the much waited independence had claimed a lot of casualties not only at the hands of the Rhodesian army but also among liberation war forces. From the Nhari group that was killed in cold blood by Josiah Tongogara and Robson Manyika to the assassination of Hebert Chitepo in 1975, all these incidences among other untold unfortunate events, only highlight how traumatic events of the war were. Soon after gaining independence, soldiers in need of trauma healing and psychosocial healing found themselves yet again entangled in power struggles of political parties such as ZANU PF and PF ZAPU.The creation of Assembly Points did little to help in the integration of ZIPRA and ZANLA on one hand and the Rhodesian on another. Deep seated problems of mistrust and betrayal among the three armies was nothing that was prioritized. The Lancaster House agreement that midwife the 1980 independence was not specific on integration and Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR).

DDR programs are one of the early attempts to initiate recovery services and contribute to security and stability in post conflict environments so that development can start. Such programs aim to deal with post-conflict security problem which arises as a result of ex-combatants not having livelihood or support networks, other than the one they have been accustomed to during the war.DDR has been touted as an effective mechanism that supports ex-combatants during the transition period to peace and development by helping them integrate socially and economically into society. It also lays the ground work for safeguarding and sustaining communities in which these individuals are reintegrated while they build the national capacity for long term peace, security and development. In our context, the famous speech by then Prime Minister, Robert Mugabe on the need to turn swords into ploughshares never provoked serious conversations on how the wielders of those swords can be reintegrated back into society and make positive contributions towards peace and development.

The elite concurrence at the Lancaster agreement skirted the specifities of DDR. This is why throughout Zimbabwe’s history, war veterans continue to hold the country at ransom by making demands that many have described as outrageous. The majority of them including a sizeable chunk serving in government still need to escape from the past and make peace with it. One of the ways through which this can be achieved is by undergoing post conflict trauma healing and counseling. There is no doubt that war veterans witnessed a lot of gruesome acts during the war. Even in post independence era, war veterans continued to suffer abuse at the hands of political gladiators. During the violent fast track land reform, war veterans were used as merchants of violence .This was also the case during elections particularly in 2000, 2005 and 2008.Today, veterans of our struggle are viewed as a violent lot, whose image is that of war and terror. The gratuities and monthly pensions that government continues to give them, are not an antidote that can help recover from PTSD.As a country, we cannot continue to prescribe the wrong medicine to our war veterans. While they need to be economically active just like any other citizens, at the top of their wish list is trauma healing and counseling.

War veterans as agents of peace
There is no doubt that peace building in Zimbabwe initiatives cannot evade war veterans. The various experiences that war veterans have gone through can be used as lessons on why as a country we must choose peace over violence. War veterans can become champions of peace in local communities and raise awareness on the benefits of peace. To achieve this, war veterans need to cut the umbilical cord from partisan participation in our national politics. There seems to be consensus among the generality of them, that they continue to be used for political gain by politicians. As a first step, war veterans must demand trauma healing and psychological support from government for some of their members who still suffer from PTSD.There is a cross section of society today, which still acknowledges the immense sacrifice by war veterans to liberate our country hence the need transform their lives and exploit their services in peace building. This process will also help war veterans to redefine their cause and the roles that they must now play to ensure that our country does not slide back into violence. In my humble view, war veterans remain an untapped constituency that can help in peace and healing reconciliation in Zimbabwe. Key commissions such as the National Peace and Reconciliation Process (NPRC) must ensure that as part of the constitutional mandate of ensuring post conflict justice, healing and reconciliation, they provide a trauma healing mechanism for veterans of the struggle.

In the final analysis, there is need for the country to change the way it perceives war veterans. In my view, they are not a greedy lot as highlighted in some quarters. They are a vital cog not only in our past but even in the future. To build peace for future generations, we must advocate for an end to abuse of our war veterans. In some incidences where they have been found on the wrong side of the fence, they have been victims just like those in the Vietnam War.

Rawlings Magede is a Communication for Development expert who writes here in his personal capacity. He is contactable via email vamagede@gmail.com

After Covid-19, Africa must reset its politics

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 necessary public policy and institutional reforms to transform to a private sector economy and launch quick wins that would stimulate growth by December 2020.All this was being done under the watchful eye of International Monetary Fund (IMF) supported through its Staff Monitored Program (SMP).

When the SMP concluded on 24 February 2020, the IMF remarked that the monitoring program was now off track due to a number of reasons. Some of the reasons cited include the country’s fiscal indiscipline and the snail’s pace of some proposed economic reforms.Among these reforms include the need to privatize social services and reduce government wage bill. All these measures however were major catalysts in the privatization of social services and led to serious job losses for many civil servants.

Privatization of social services such as health further worsened the situation given that in the past 3 decades or so, the sector has suffered from government neglect. In the 2020 budget, Mthuli allocated a paltry ZW6.5 billion towards health while the Ministry of Defence and Home Affairs got a combined ZW$5.91 billion.The novel corona virus pandemic that the countries the world over are struggling to contain, has exposed government disastrous priorities in relation to the preparedness of our health services to contain the virus. The virus has grounded leading economies with its devastating plunder.Today, government grapples to assure the nation that our dilapidated health infrastructure that has suffered from years of neglect, can save lives. Save a thought for Zimbabwe.

Africa and COVID-19

As of yesterday (17/04/2020), Africa had recorded a total of 19 897 cases .The five countries reporting most cases are Egypt (2 844), South Africa (2 783), Morocco (2 564), Algeria (2 418) and Cameroon (1 016). Economic power houses such as the United States of America have been hit hard. To date the US has recorded 710 272 cases, 37 175 deaths while 63 510 have recovered. The United Kingdom has recorded 108 692 cases and 14 576 deaths. The trail of destruction left by this pandemic especially in western countries may change the face of developmental aid to Africa
Between 2004 and 2005, the UK government through its department that administers overseas aid, Department for international Development (DFID) spent 883 million pounds on aid to Africa alone. By 2007-8, DFID spending on programmes in Africa had risen to 1265 million pounds. Africa receives 32 percent of all aid from America followed by the Middle East at 31 percent and South and Central Asia at 25 percent. The 32 percent towards Africa is a significant amount that goes to cater for humanitarian assistance and economic development and chances are that over the years, this percentage has risen significantly. These two countries (UK and America) are the traditional donors that have been providing developmental aid to Africa in the last decades. In the post era of the corona pandemic, the economies of these countries will struggle as they try to recover

For Africa, besides receiving developmental aid, social services such have long been in a sorry state years before the world encountered serious pandemics such as the novel corona. This has been evidenced by African leaders who either have died in foreign countries while seeking medical attention or others who even today continue to flock abroad in search of better health services. Over the years, long time rulers such as Paul Biya (Cameroon), Robert Mugabe (late) (Zimbabwe),Omar Bongo (late) (Gabon ) have all sought medical treatment abroad. This however was as a result of the poor condition of their own health facilities in their countries. Today, this trend of seeking medical attention has not stopped. Zimbabwe’s Vice President, Constantine Chiwenga spent several months holed up in China where he was receiving medical attention. Such a culture by our leaders exposes how they don’t have confidence in our own health facilities and yet expect their own citizen to receive such treatment. While some elites from across the continent have been beneficiaries of this privilege of getting medical treatment abroad, the current pandemic has stirred debate across many countries on the need to think about the state and capacity of our own health facilities to respond to global pandemics such as covid 19.

Covid 19 has aptly demonstrated that no African country has enough capacity to survive the economic onslaught during the lockdowns that have been imposed on many African countries. The world over, there has been a significant number of people who have recovered from corona virus. The greatest challenge or threat to Africa today is not the pandemic but our insensitive leaders who have neglected the responsibility to improve our health infrastructure.

Today as many African governments are at sixes and sevens as they try to ineffectively respond to covid 19, they continue to extend their begging bowls for more aid to respond to the pandemic. They do this shameful act, with gusto and courage. Revenue generated from our natural resources over the years has been used to prop up regimes and sponsor exotic lifestyle at the detriment of our health infrastructure. This has also been demonstrated by lack of ownership of our development priorities and policies. Instead we have left this immense task to donors.

In the final analysis, Covid 19 presents an opportunity for African countries to self introspect. The days of “one-man-plunder” must now become a thing of the past. We must reset our politics and economies and prioritize quality social services for our people.

Rawlings Magede is a Communication for Development expert who writes here in his personal capacity. He can be contacted on vamagede@gmail.com

Lockdown without income replacement: Zimbabwe got it wrong

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 went on a public relations offensive by announcing to the world that it was ready to assist China in the fight against corona virus. Such a reckless statement was done without full comprehension of the biting effects of the pandemic .Added to this, the pronouncement was also hypocritical given that country’s public health infrastructure is in shambles. In past national budgets, government misplaced priorities have been exposed aptly demonstrated by allocating substantial budget allocations towards Ministries such as defence and home affairs while underfunding health and social welfare. This is a story for another day. I am not chasing this today.

Today my heart bled as I saw some photos from Mutare doing rounds on social media. The first photo has a police truck loading some confiscated wares from vendors. In another photo, piles of vegetables (possibly from vendors) are being set alight by some unidentified man. While as a country we need to collectively institute preventative measures to contain the spread of the novel virus, our government got it all wrong when it instituted a 21 day lock day without considering a number of factors..The pronouncement was not well thought as it ignored some economic realities such as the fact that the majority of citizens rely on the informal sector for sustenance. What is worrying about Zimbabwe is the “copy and paste” approach by government especially during desperate times. In the case of South Africa, a total lockdown made sense given the country’s population demographics. Added to this, in Southern Africa, South Africa tops the list in covid-19 infections.

As the virus continues to torment governments across the world, it has however become apparent that not all countries can adopt the same responsive mechanisms. Developed countries have a wide range of options aimed at not only strengthening their health systems but also of ensuring that their economies do not slide into an abyss during this period. Several western countries have instituted lockdowns with income replacement where governments pay companies to keep their workers and in some instances offer direct cash transfers to people .Countries that are doing this include Denmark and Canada. This approach however though expensive has been hailed by many as effective in slowing the spread of the virus. On the other hand, developing countries (especially those in Africa) are beset by a myriad of challenges in responding to the virus. These range from little or no adequate resources to respond and a dilapidated health infrastructure.

The lockdown announced by our own government is a lockdown without income replacement. This approach in a country dominated by the informal sector is not sustainable in the long run. How will government cushion vendors and other players within the informal sector? In the case of the vendors who had their wares burnt, how are they going to recover from such loses? While it appears that such action is necessary during desperate times like this, it runs the risk of people going hungry and further worsens the rate of economic traction. While government recently announced a ZW$100 million and US$2 million facility under the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare to cushion about a million urban households, the plan appears rushed again as the announcement was not followed up by a comprehensive criteria that will be used in the identification of beneficiaries. Added to this, the announcement was just general as it failed to mark a distinction between workers in the formal and informal sector.

In the final analysis, the 21 day lockdown was not well thought out by the responsible authorities. How will the informal sector be part of a 21 day lockdown when it is the only source of income for them? For businesses that pay rentals, how are they going to cope in light of the lockdown? Was not government supposed to conduct a sectorial mapping and analysis and come with measures that ensure that those in the informal sector are also catered for? I leave this to you dear reader.

Rawlings Magede is a Communications for Development expert who writes here in his personal capacity. Feedback on vamagede@gmail.com

ED’s fascist neoliberalism agenda up in smoke

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 Monitored program (SMP).This monitoring programme would see the government and the IMF agreeing on policies to address the macroeconomic imbalances and tackle policy inconsistencies within government. This was then followed by removal of subsidies on fuel and other import subsidies. Even when citizens took to the citizens in January 2019 to register displeasure at the increase in the price of fuel, the president never took heed.

All these set of policies had devastating effects on the ordinary citizen but yet Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube continued with his gospel of austerity for prosperity. Mthuli even announced that there was need to cut government wage bill by laying off about 3000 government workers and announced that the government had set aside an initial $53m to compensate white farmers. The austerity for prosperity (neo-liberalism) claimed its own victims. Low income households had to bear to cost of austerity through expenditure cuts on social protection which are initially meant for vulnerable groups and beneficiaries of programmes such as the Basic Education Assistance Programme (BEAM). All this goes against the grain of our constitution that states that government is supposed to provide adequate social services for its citizens. Social protection for vulnerable groups has remained on paper. Rather government has aptly demonstrated that its priorities are misplaced. Ministries such as Defence, Home Affairs are given top priority ahead of even the Ministry of Social Welfare.

ED’s uninspiring dance with IMF

The IMF recently announced that the SMP program was “off track”. “Uneven implementation of reforms, notably delays and mis-steps in FX and monetary reforms, have failed to restore confidence in the new currency,” the IMF said in a statement. The implementation of the SMP was beset by problems even before it even kicked off. While the government was keen to remove subsidies, over tax its citizens and partially privatize state institutions, it failed to demonstrate the willingness to arrest government’s insatiable appetite to spend. Throughout the SMP, spending especially by the Office of the President and Cabinet remained secretive. Added to this, in September last year, the IMF even warned government that the state payouts to a partner of Trafigura group LTD undermined the country’s newly introduced currency. Payments to Sakunda Holdings in July 2019 owned by President Mnangagwa, Kuda Tagwirei under the command agriculture scheme were again secretive with most economist arguing that the payment made by the central bank were made after printing of more money. Such a disbursement led to an 80% surge in the amount of money in circulation compared with an IMF set target of between 8-10%.Such inconsistencies means that even as the SMP has already concluded in January, plans by Zimbabwe to get debt relief and borrowing power hangs in balance.

The president has also demonstrated indecision with regards to neoliberalism. During the day, he projects his government as socialistic but during the night the capitalistic tentacles of the mafia and cartels linked to his government continue to hold him back. While his administration has somewhat demonstrated willingness to commit to neoliberalism, the issue of monopolies continues to dog the swift implementation of neoliberalism. It would seem that those in government are creating for themselves loopholes for self enrichment. Examples of such manoeuvres include the introduction of garrison shops and the monopoly enjoyed by the Grain Millers Association of Zimbabwe led by one Tafadzwa Musarara.There is no doubt that President Mnangagwa has failed to deal with corruption especially if it involves his cronies.Recently, Mnangagwa was sucked into a US$9 million saga for the rehabilitation of the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) silos fronted by millers. While the revelation made when Musarara appeared before the Wadyadyena led Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Agriculture made good headlines, there is no action whatsoever that will be taken. Very soon the nation will forget and move on to other social issues that have for long acted as distractions for citizens.

In the final analysis, expecting fiscal reforms from a government that has an uncontrollable spending habit is rather ambitious. The austerity for prosperity gospel has been preached much to the suffering masses while those in government have been exempted. The command element within his government makes it difficult for ED to go full throttle on his neo-liberal agenda.

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

Government must do more on devolution

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 structures such as Village Development Committees (VIDCOs), Ward Development Committees (WADCOS), Ward Assemblies and District Development Committees will spearhead the rolling out of devolution. These structures are for popular participation in development planning and were outlined in the Prime Minister’s Directive of (1984 & 1985) which provided the basis for a hierarchy of representative bodies at the village, ward, district and provincial levels.VIDCOs are elected bodies with responsibility for defining local needs. VIDCOs present village needs to WADCOs, which cover about six villages and consist of VIDCO representatives. They oversee and prioritize local needs and forward these to the District Council. Each ward is represented by a district councillor. District Development Committees (DDC) are planning and co-ordination committees composed of two local councillors, together with several central government officials from the sectoral ministries. Membership is dominated by representatives of the central government. They are chaired by the District Development Coordinator formerly known as the District Administrator (DA). The main planning functions of the DDC are to formulate District Development plans (short and long term), based in part on the plans forwarded from the VIDCOs and WADCOs. These are forwarded to the Provincial Development Committee The DDC also submit annual estimates to the Public Sector Investment Program (PSIP) via the Provincial Development Committees. The DDCs permit horizontal co-ordination of the activities of sectoral ministries and local authorities.


Do these structures still exist?

Political polarisation is most rampant in rural areas where the struggle for resources determines one’s political affiliation. Added to this rural areas are the most hit by the vicissitudes of climate due to lack of climate adaptation and preparedness. Off farm activities that have in the past acted as a buffer against incessant droughts have been dealt a heavy blow by climate induced factors as well as the crippling economic meltdown of the past decades. At the end of the day, rural communities are left at the mercy of unforgiving gatekeepers such as Traditional leaders and Councillors who use government handouts such as inputs and food aid from multilateral donors and Ministry of Social welfare to drum up political support. In all these, local government structures especially VIDCOS and WADCOs have not been spared. Membership into these local government structures is now partisan based. This has greatly inhibited local participation by citizens in the formulation and identification of development projects that can be undertaken by devolution. In some areas where these structures exist, it’s either the majority of members in these structures have little knowledge on the important roles that they must play. In some areas, these structures are no longer meeting to discuss developmental needs in communities but rather have been turned in structures for political parties responsible for mobilisation and partisan exercises.


Challenges associated with devolution

There is no doubt that Zimbabwe ethnic conflicts especially those that were brought by the disturbances experienced in the 80s in the Matebeleland and Midlands provinces are a time bomb waiting to explode. Among some of the concerns from these regions are issues of marginalisation and underdevelopment. Some of these regions are home to natural disasters such as droughts hence the marginalisation of these provinces is constantly exposed to the fore. According to a report released by the World Food Programme in 2019, nearly 8 million in Zimbabwe face hunger. Provinces mostly affected include those in Matebeleland. The deep seated problems in these regions must have at least prompted government to thoroughly ensure that devolution is implemented effectively. Some of the strategies that government was supposed to adopt before disbursement of resources to the provinces include raising awareness in local communities on devolution and conducting robust needs assessment for communities given that the existence and effectiveness of local level structures such as WADCOs and VIDCOs is questionable. Such a bottom-up approach to devolution would have greatly addressed issues of ownership of the whole process and improve on the participation of local communities.

In the final analysis, government must demonstrate sincerity on the full implementation of devolution by being sensitive to needs of various communities. Adopting a blanket approach that is top-down on devolution will deliver compromised outcomes. Added to this, communities must be at the centre of devolution by actively participating in the process and identifying unique projects that can be undertaken under devolution.


Rawlings Magede is Development Practitioner who writes here in his personal capacity. Feedback on vamagede@gmail.com

Mashurugwi menace: Why law enforcements agents will not act

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 incidences of the Mashurugwi’s terror activities. While the comatose economy is dishing its fair of blows to the ordinary citizen, the fear of the unknown of who next the terror groups will attack remains a preoccupation for many till this day. Why the law enforcement agents have taken a casual approach to apprehend the violent gold panners remains a puzzle yet to be unmasked. So complex is the Mashurugwi’s issue so much that many, in trying to unmask the force behind these shadowy groups have concluded the complicit hand of ruling elites.

Who supports them?

During meeting with small scale miners at their inaugural Zimbabwe Miners Federation AGM in Gweru in November 2019, President Emmerson Mnangagwa expressed optimism over the ability of artisan miners to provide the much needed boost to the country’s ailing economy. He even went a step further and underscored the need for small scale miners to be given liberty to pursue their activities without any hindrance by the state. While mining has potential to unlock potential revenue, the conduct of some artisan miners have left communities terrorized.Recently, the miners killed a policeman and murdered a gold buyer in Mvuma. For all this, there are even reports that there are some machete wielding miners who remain untouchable due to their links to some senior politicians.

During the festive holiday, Norton Legislator, Temba Mliswa fingered Chegutu Legislator, Dexter Nduna, Mashonaland West Head of Police and other unmentioned politicians of being behind the surge of Machete gangs in the Midlands province. Nduna is not new to violence and last year alone during a televised parliamentary debate, he openly threatened Norton Member of Parliament, Norton Mliswa with violence and bragged that he had killed many people. Nduna is not the only politician with links to the machete wielding gangs. State Minister, Owen Ncube has also been fingered as the force behind these gangs. Mostly the gangs are known for collecting “tribute” from fellow miners by demanding gold ore. Those who cooperate are spared. While the security services have responded by conducting periodic searches for weapons at some of the mine entrances, some machete wielding gangs roam freely without any reprisals from the law enforcement agents.

Wither justice delivery?

The operations of mashurugwi have left citizens with no choice but ensure that they protect themselves from violence. During a recent interaction with some youths in Glenview after machete wielding gangs killed a money changer, there was consensus among the group of youths on the need to protect themselves from possible attack from the gangs. One of them actually concluded that there was need for business people including foreign currency dealers to also get their machetes and keep them at all times as a stopgap measure. All these sentiments point to the failure of the law enforcement agents to protect citizens from attacks from these gangs.

In the final analysis, that Zimbabwe has descended into anarchy where the mafia and terror gangs are untouchable is worrisome. The existence of shadow economies that is supported by the nefarious operations of the mashurugwi’s should be a cause for concern. Today its someone attacked, tomorrow it might be you. Something must give in.


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