This is important because only a genuine election will restore Zimbabwe to full international agency. It is evident that there is serious blockage in a number of crucial areas. It would seem evident from multiple sources that the partisan nature of the security sector, the composition of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, the amendment of key pieces of legislation, and the presence of observers and monitors during an election are all areas of serious contention between the political parties. Additionally, there remain the outstanding issues in the implementation of the Global Political Agreement.
Security Sector Reform [SSR] has become an area of increasing contention, and it is our view that much of this debate is misplaced. SSR is a long-term and complex process, and in all states, established and transitional, is considerably more complex than a mere changing of the guard, and, furthermore, SSR has been poorly addressed since Independence, let alone in the current situation.
We believe that SSR needs to be discussed solely within the framework of what steps must be taken to ensure genuine elections, and hence the debate should be merely about Security Sector Governance [SSG]: what steps must be taken to ensure that the security sector as a whole is non-partisan and operates within the Constitution and the various pieces of enabling legislation governing the security sector.
However, an effective Road Map must cover considerably more than the matters previously discussed by the political parties, and, in the highly polarised and partisan State that is now Zimbabwe, must address many other issues and reforms.
All of this points to the need for the Restoration of National Institutions as a pre-requisite for talking about an effective Road Map. No valid election can take place within a context in which National Institutions function in a partisan fashion. Here it is apposite to point out that local government (including traditional leadership), the media, the justice system, as well as the security sector, have been shown by many analyses to operate in a highly partisan fashion, and all of these sectors are critical to the holding of free and fair elections.
Restoring national institutions
A critical step for the immediate future is the restoration of ALL national institutions to service for the nation as a whole. Above we have briefly indicated these, but more comment is needed.
Firstly, the security sector must operate within the confines of the Constitution and the enabling legislation. The concern here is less with SSR, and more with SSG. All senior appointments must be made according to the GPA and Constitutional Amendment 19, with the consequence that NO appointment shall be made without consent between the President and the Prime Minister. Furthermore, steps must be taken to ensure that there is effective civilian oversight of the security sector, with both an amended National Security Council and regular reporting to Parliament.
Secondly, the entire system of local government must be restored to an impartial and non-partisan system of service to the populace as a whole, and responsive to the elected representatives of the communities that they serve. Here it is important that all traditional leaders act accordingly to the enabling legislation under which they are appointed, and, furthermore, the over-weaning powers of the Minister of Local Government, Rural and Urban Development must be severely curtailed.
Thirdly, the justice system, which is a crucial component in the rule of law, be restored to a position of independence from executive interference and patronage, and operate impartially. Here it is critical that the Office of the Attorney-General operates strictly according to its mandate under the Constitution, without fear or favour.
Fourthly, the operations of the Zimbabwe Republic Police require immediate attention. In particular, there is urgent need for the members of the ZRP to adhere to the constraints applied in the Schedule to the Police Act requiring all members of the force to abjure political activities and membership of political parties. This should begin with an unqualified statement by the Commissioner-General to this effect.
Finally, the State media must, of urgency, be restored to a service that is non-partisan and impartial, and the institutions providing oversight and regulation be similarly impartial and non-partisan. In addition, the opening of the media space must be facilitated with transparency and urgency.
Amending and enforcing legislation
In taking the above steps, careful attention must be given to the sequencing of all adjustments: not all changes can be made at once, but, equally, there needs to be clear timelines in order to avoid the kind of deadlock that currently pertains.
All the above steps require some legislative support, and here it is pertinent to point out that Parliament has greatly under-performed during the life of the GPA:
Parliament must be activated to realize both its legislative and over-sight functions in a more diligent fashion. Key will be amendments to the legislation governing defence, police, local government, and traditional leaders in order to ensure complete civilian oversight and minimise partisan government interference or control. For example, in respect of the security sector, amendments to the Defence and Police Acts could remove the sole powers of the President and replace these by giving them to the government as a whole.
Additionally, Parliament needs to apply its oversight function more diligently, and ensure that statutory bodies operate strictly within the law. Here the example is the flagrant disregard of the police for the requirement to be apolitical, best exemplified by the frequent remarks of the Commissioner-General.
Since the promulgation of a new constitution, or at least a referendum on a new proposed constitution, is pre-requisite under the GPA for the next election, the current constitutional process must be rehabilitated in order to regain the confidence of the citizens.
The role of JOMIC
In all of the steps necessary to restore national institutions, JOMIC plays a critical role. The suggestion by SADC for support to JOMIC by seconding observers must be strengthened by a complimentary expansion in the capacity of JOMIC. An effective and efficient JOMIC is crucial to restoring the confidence of the Zimbabwean citizenry in the GPA, and a greatly expanded monitoring capacity will enable all to determine whether the steps necessary to producing a genuine election are being taken or not; and to understand what steps must be taken to correct any deviations.
Post published in: Opinions & Analysis