By Dumisani O. Nkomo-Nqaba ka Mbekwana
Zimbabwe is currently in a process of political transition, epitomized by a power sharing government comprising of the country’s three major political parties .It is not yet clear how long this compromise government will be in place but the reality on the ground is that Zimbabweans have to go on with their lives and the nation has to metamorphose from transition to social ,economic and political transformation .Political transformation is the totality of the values ,systems ,structures ,culture ,behavior ,laws and policies that engender good governance ,respect for the rule of law and upholding of fundamental human rights .Political transformation in the African context and specifically in the Zimbabwean context would be useless if it does not give birth to socio-economic transformation which culminates in economic growth ,availability and access to basic services and goods .Such economic transformation would be premised on a strong productive base in the various sectors of the economy including mining ,agriculture and the manufacturing sector .This should ideally translate into secure livelihoods and better quality of life for the people of Zimbabwe .How will Zimbabwe move from transition to transformation and what factors will contribute to social ,economic and political transformation is the subject of this article which is by no means exhaustive but rather discursive ,generic and conceptual .
Good Governance
Political transformation cannot take place outside of the absence of policies, institutions and a culture that promotes good governance at national, local and institutional level. Zimbabwe is in the mess that it is in because we have failed to run our country properly, we have failed to run our economy properly and we have failed to manage our people properly .In order for Zimbabwe to move towards good governance we need a broad shopping basket of measures ,actions ,attitudes and institutions to be in place .First and foremost we need a good constitution that will clearly and properly define the relationship of the state with it’s citizens thus providing an enabling framework for citizens to exercise their rights and participate in decision making whilst defining the powers of the state at various levels ,state obligations ,responsibilities ,duties and prerogatives .The current constitution creates a super state with a president with super ‘powers’ thus reducing citizens to later day serfs who at best are mere hewers of wood and drawers of water in a glorified fiefdom .The constitution making process is thus an important step towards transformation but we should not fool ourselves into thinking that once we have a good constitution everything will fall into place and we will live happily ever after in democratic tranquility in Cinderella fashion .There are other factors other than a good constitution which need to be place in order for good governance to prevail .This includes the development of a new political culture which respects democratic practice including citizen participation in decision making ,a culture of transparency and the respect of individual and collective rights as well as ingrained democratic values .It is interesting that the British have no written constitution but they are still able to respect fundamental liberties .
Good governance will provide a conducive environment for economic stability and growth as envisaged in the government’s economic blueprints.
Capable and Functioning Government
Ø In order to move from transition to transformation we need a government that has the capacity to govern and to deliver .The past fifteen years have seen the gradual collapse of state institutions culminating in lack of proper policy formulation and implementation ,deterioration of service delivery and the creation of a prohibitive environment for business to take place .We would need a government with the necessary human ,technical and financial capital to competently manage the country and move it to new heights .Up to 2008, the ZANU PF led government was unable and seemingly unwilling to move the country forward as evidenced by lack of a coherent shared national vision and consistent policy making .Government has also not been able to deliver because of massive skills flight to other sectors and other countries resulting in technical deficiencies at all levels of state governance .Under capitalization of government departments and utilities has also resulted in an underperforming and in fact non performing government .It would thus be necessary to address lack of capacity to deliver in government by :
Ø Enhancing government’s ability to formulate and implement policy.
Ø Building the government‘s capacity to revive and evaluate policy formulation.
Ø Strengthening its technical and human resource base.
Ø Sufficiently capitalizing government to carry out the functions of government .This would entail broadening its revenue collection base, leveraging investor /donor funding and unlocking the commercial value of Zimbabwe’s vast mineral wealth e.g. Chiadzwa diamonds which are not currently sufficiently contributing to the fiscus .
Strong Democratic Institutions
In order for democracy to thrive it needs the support of strong pillars of governance in the form of strong democratic institutions .These democratic institutions include independent commissions accountable to parliament i.e. media ,human rights ,anti corruption and Justice and Truth Commissions .Beyond statutory institutions, Zimbabwe needs a strong civil society movement that will enable citizens to participate meaningfully in decision making in an organized and informed manner .There is need for democratic institutions that will hold the government of the day to account and help it to formulate an agenda of transformation .The growth of trade unions, consumer groups unions ,farmers associations, business associations ,professional unions ,church groups and various interest groups would be an important aspect of building strong democratic institutions that can act as a buffer against state excesses, unfettered market forces and social injustices .
A Sound Political Culture
Zimbabwe is in need of a brand of leaders that will have an appreciation of democratic values and the imperatives of good governance at a personal level .Transfer of power from ZANU PF to MDC may be pointless if M.D.C embraces the same political culture as ZANU P.F .We need to move away from a culture of impunity ,exclusivity ,corruption ,self aggrandizement ,top down “serve me” ,chef leadership and the use of violence as a political tool .The development of such a culture is not a revolutionary phenomenon but rather an evolutionary one that would take time ,proper nurturing and maturing . It would require subjects such as civics to be introduced at primary school level and a commitment by political parties to minimum standards of democratic practice within their political parties.
Pro-active Visionary Leadership
The march towards transformation also demands leaders of substance ,vision and integrity .Zimbabwe is currently suffering from a deficit of credible leaders not because those leaders are not there but principally because these leaders are wrongly positioned and deployed .We have many politicians but few statesman ,many managers but few corporate leaders ,many wealth accumulators but few wealth creators ,many activist but few thinkers , many dealers but few proper business people ,many clerics with titles but few true shepherds and pastors .The country is blessed with many intellectuals but many of whom are functionally illiterate .We need political party leaders who will think beyond opposition politics and politics of blame .We also need civil society leaders whose existence is not justified by the ills of ZANU PF or whoever is ruling. We need civil society leaders who will not just describe the problems we have as a nation but also prescribe how we can solve our problems .In short I think we have too many followers who are leaders and too many leaders who are followers .
Zimbabwe desperately needs pro-active leaders who will not be caught in victim mode blaming all our failures on sanctions ,ZANU PF ,M.D.C ,the west or the weather .We need leaders who will take responsibility and chart the way forward .Leaders who will learn from the past not to live in it ,leaders who will be servants of the people not leaders who want to make people their servants .We need leaders of integrity who are true to their word ,true to their county ,their duties and calling .This country requires pro-active leaders who are locally effective and globally relevant. There are too many political parties ,government departments , parastatals ,
businesses ,civil society organizations and local authorities that are led or rather misled by mediocre leaders who do not have an agenda for change and transformation .There is a great clarion call for capable leaders from all sectors of Zimbabwean society to emerge or to be allowed to emerge .The advent of this new breed of leaders should not threaten the old leaders who may feel they are being challenged as these are the people who will help bridge the gap between the past ,the present and the future .We need leaders who will inspire us with a vision of a new Zimbabwe not leaders who will dwell in the bitter memories of the past .Some of them recall their bitter battle against the colonialists ,some of them are their bitter battles against ZANU PF .Some now reject the emergence of capable emerging leaders because they did no “die for the country “.We do not only want to die for our country but to live for it and to make it live .The country cannot move towards transformation in the absence of visionary ,pro-active ,servant leaders with the interests of the people at heart .We need these leaders in politics ,business ,civil society ,local authorities ,churches and communities .The moment demands leaders, in the words of Ellen G .White, “who cannot be bought or sold ,leaders who will stand for what is right though the heavens fall”.
Production and Investor Confidence
The advent of the inclusive government has by design or default culminated in the availability of basic goods in the country’s supermarkets .Whilst this is a most welcome development it is not sustainable in the long run .There is need to revive the productive sectors of the economy as a consumer economy will not serve the best interests of the nation .However for this to happen we need a conducive environment for business to operate and for production to take place .Foreign direct investment is needed to capitalize industry ,the mining and agricultural sectors .This investment will not come as long as we have an unstable political environment which poses a threat to property rights and proper conduct of business .The first step in boosting investor confidence will be formulating investor friendly policies as investors are not Father Christmas institutions that give out gifts to deserving countries during the festive season .In order for the economy to generate confidence within itself and to external investors there is need for policy consistency and an enabling legislative framework .It will not help us for politicians to make policy pronouncements at rallies ,funerals and weddings especially if such pronouncements are inconsistent with economic realities .It is such populism and grandstanding that has reduced us to basket case status, sending wrong signals to investors .We also need to promote genuine indigenous business people who have the potential to become engines of economic growth and avoid economic empowerment based on political patronage and reverse racism
Service Delivery
In the next five years we need a programme that will revive the capacity of central and local government to deliver services .This should begin with concerted efforts to devolve power from central government to provincial and local authorities .The second stage would be that of building the capacity of these authorities to deliver basic services such as clean water, electricity ,health and education to residents .There are sufficient resources at local level to fund service provision in partnership with development agencies and Non Governmental Organizations .
Sustainable Development
Those of us in N.G.Os have done a great job in providing relied development for the people of Zimbabwe .There is need to move away from the paradigm of giving people hand outs so that they can survive to a model that promotes secure and sustainable livelihoods .Current top down approaches in development work have resulted in a vast dependent population which has been unable to unlock the resources and potential at its disposal because of the familiar attitude of “the donor will do it for us” .Relief is synonymous with emergency situations not sustainable developmen and it is time we started moving towards empowering communities to utilize the resources and potential which they have .
An Active Citizenry
In addition to strong leaders, Zimbabwe
Dumisani O .Nkomo is an activist and the Chief Executive officer of Habakkuk Trust, a leading Christian advocacy organization.
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