Inclusive Govt has failed — Survey

The inclusive Government has failed to avert a social sector crisis with public infrastructure in a dilapidated state and unemployment still high, a survey conducted by a non-governmental organisation, Afrobarometer has revealed.

The survey, whose findings were released in August this year, said the majority of Zimbabweans interviewed in all provinces felt the inclusive Government had failed to meet a number of key expectations.

Afrobarometer said the formation of the inclusive Government in February last year created a crisis of expectations as Zimbabweans hoped that a new political dispensation would ease the majority out of poverty.

"This study therefore measured the public's assessment of how the inclusive Government is handling certain aspects by asking the question: 'How well or badly would you say the inclusive Government is handling the following matters, or haven't you heard enough to say?"'

A whopping 68 percent of people interviewed said the inclusive Government had faired badly in public infrastructure such as roads and bridges. The majority (51 percent) of people interviewed also said it had failed to provide reliable electricity supply and 52 percent of those interviewed also said the inclusive Government had failed to create jobs.

The public also said there was a shortage of housing in the country although many felt positive steps had been taken to improve the education sector with 51 percent giving it thumbs up.

A large percent (64) also felt the health sector was on the road to recovery while 89 percent of people interviewed concurred that the Government had succeeded in making sure that basic commodities were available in shops.

"Apart from the economic mayhem, a social sector crisis has been evident in Zimbabwe with most of the country's public infrastructure facilities (roads, railways and bridges) and public utilities (electricity and water) having collapsed, further destroying service delivery capacities and worsening livelihoods.

"Given the Government's modest achievements to date, this groundswell of approval may have as much to do with a sense of relief and hope as to real improvements in concrete conditions and prospects. Furthermore, this support is not free, it needs to be anchored in performance and this may be the Achilles heel of the Government. The next few months will be decisive," read part of the report by Afrobarometer.

Afrobarometer is an independent, non-partisan research project that measures the social, political, and economic atmosphere in Africa. Afrobarometer surveys are conducted in more that a dozen African countries and are repeated on a regular cycle. Because the instrument asks a standard set of questions, countries can be systematically compared.

Trends in public attitudes are tracked over time. Results are shared with decision-makers, policy advocates, civic educators, journalists, researchers, donors and investors, as well as average Africans who wish to become more informed and active citizens.

The findings of the survey show that the majority of Zimbabweans have reservations on the inclusive Government, just like what President Mugabe has said recently.

Last week, President Mugabe said he felt awkward being part of the inclusive Government because it drew authority from a "semi-legal" and "makeshift" political arrangement.

He said Zimbabwe should not be governed under the Global Political Agreement "for too long" as the pact lacked provision for a well-founded constitutional governance structure.

He also said provisions of the GPA had been fully implemented, adding that matters termed "outstanding" by the MDC-T were not contained in the agreement but could, nonetheless, be dealt with in the spirit of the same.

The Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces was quoted by the media after a meeting with the Sadc-appointed facilitator to Zimbabwe's inter-party talks, President Jacob Zuma, in Harare.

The President has also repeatedly said the inclusive Government will not be extended when it comes full circle next February.

"The GPA was not meant to be a permanent establishment. It was meant to be a transitional mode of leading us to elections. It was a mechanism meant to help us work out a constitutional process that would lead us to elections. We must move forward and we note with alarm that others are beginning to drag their feet on this vital matter and we think it is necessary to insist that we move forward."