Reflections on policy consistency and the cost of strategic ambiguity
THE world over, policy consistency is a colossal indicator of political-economic stability.
A quick review of the post-election State reconfiguration under His Excellency President Mnangagwa’s fresh term will point out a clear service delivery consistency.
This reflection pointedly signals continuity in the Second-Republic’s sphere of robust diplomatic engagements, investment growth, pro-people policy architecture, strengthening the rule of law and enhanced legitimacy consolidation of the ruling party.
These aspects serve as thematic sample templates of policy consistency and continuity, which should be commended as attainment of national peace and prosperity is being realised under President Mnangagwa.
At the behest of his selfless and forecasted approach to power, the Head of State has laid a foundation of development longevity as espoused by his sincere desire to transform Zimbabwe into an upper middle-income society by 2030.
This aspiration emphatically denotes President Mnangagwa’s affinity for policy continuity and deepening the institutionally sustainable values to policy-making.
As such, this installment seeks to give an overview of the President’s mandate delivery outputs as they relate to consistency and continuity in the management of the affairs of our State in the aftermath of our 2023 harmonised elections.
By the same token, I problematise the ambiguity pandemic emanating from the Citizens Coalition for Change and the subsequent recalls.
Engagement and re-engagement continuity
True to his oath to strengthen existing cordial relations with the international community and mending Zimbabwe’s strained bilateral and multilateral relations, President Mnangagwa’s fresh term is promising to maintain that position.
The major highlights so far being Zimbabwe’s participation in the Saudi Arabia-Africa Summit and recently held SADC Extraordinary Summit.
The two platforms demonstrate the Second Republic’s active interaction with the rest of the world.
Evident to this fact was the anti-sanctions solidarity that Zimbabwe received from various Global South leaders and agencies at the last edition of the United Nations General Assembly.
Out of sheer ignorance of basic multilateral protocol, opposition malice-makers expected the last SADC engagement in Luanda to produce outcomes which were going to occasion a fresh election or engender of a much hallucinated circus — National Transitional Authority.
Unfortunate to their fetish, Zimbabwe was never on the agenda. Focus was on the bringing a lasting solution to the conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
If anything, the summit was an opportunity for the President to be congratulated by his SADC counterparts on the sidelines of the summit for his resounding victory in the 23-24 August plebiscite.
As far as SADC is concerned, the Zimbabwean election issue is a closed chapter. Zvakatovharana!
To top it all, the convening of the fifth edition of the SADC Anti-Sanctions Day on October 25 demonstrated that Zimbabwe is not retreating from its moral position of calling for the immediate and unconditional removal of the illegal sanctions, which besieged our economy after the Land Reform Programme. This year’s anti-sanctions call was a success, courtesy of various pressure groups across the ideological divide.
Collectively, the citizenry demonstrated their displeasure about the criminality of sanctions and their adverse effects to the livelihoods of our people.
The projected effect of our diplomatic foregrounding of being “a friend to all and an enemy to none” is investment, among other dividends. The incentives from our subsoil have an investor magnetic clout that supersedes the narrow ill-wishes to our economy by manufacturers of the illegal sanctions.
In her farewell admiration of the Second Republic on September 1, the former British Ambassador to Zimbabwe reiterated: “We want to talk where we disagree, we want to be able to discuss that openly and freely. Where we agree, we also do the same. It was a signal of our desire for that dialogue and to continue the dialogue.”
This alone is indicating that the re-engagement trajectory will not be abandoned and those not seeing the merits of this policy in promoting integration must nudge themselves out of this folly.
Citizen-centric Statesmanship
The President, Dr ED Mnangagwa, has always been a subordinate figure to popular will.
From the outset, his political journey has been premised on serving the needs of the people, hence his anti-colonial vocation.
At the peak of transitional clamours that gave birth to the Second Republic, Dr Mnangagwa made himself available to the people’s cause.
Therefore, there is no way his leadership style will be disconnected from those he has selflessly committed to serve throughout his career. He continues to make it a point that all policy must never leave no place or person behind. And in very pragmatic terms, the accelerated implementation of the devolution agenda is reflective of his grassroots-oriented model of public service delivery. The footprints of his commitment to public service delivery are indelibly registered throughout the length and breadth of our beautiful nation.
Rule of law
Given that his new office tenure is a command of the Constitution, the President has instituted landmark decisions which have a long-term bearing on our national justice system. Under his leadership, Zimbabwe now has a female Attorney-General, Virginia Mabiza.
The former chairperson on the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC), Justice Loyce Matanda-Moyo, is now Zimbabwe’s Prosecutor-General, another novel female appointment in this important national law office.