Mnangagwa must make inspiring appointments based on merit

After this political phase many people have high expectations on ED and he should not disappoint Zimbabwe who put high hopes on him. Appointments should be done on merit and performance based on history and references. This leaves a whole lot confused whether some individuals were doing it for the whole country or it was for personal gains. Honestly if people begin to jostle for positions before we even go further, is very tricky and it can be ruled out as a betrayal to the people of Zimbabwe.

I attended ED's inauguration and though his speech was good but it was not inspiring, he left quite a number of things he should have touched on. For example he didn't touch on issues to do with Marange diamonds looted; he didn't touch on the issue of redirection of expenditure and ghost workers.

Corruption has become a major sticking point on Foreign Direct Investment inflow in Zimbabwe. Well for a start let's give him due respect and see how he tackles these issues at stake. Coming back to my issues of today, I think ED should deviate from Mugabe's type of politics and bring real change. There have been a lot of things being said about ED and I stand to differ as an analyst and policy maker it is high time we should exercise caution when dealing with national matters.

There is no need for us to be too emotional so let's give him chance but I will continue playing advisory role to the Government, civic society, and private sector so that we promote good governance and enhance development in our country. For now Zimbabwe is going through a transitional process and there are lot things which are happening behind scenes and it is important for him to take note of these issues being raised by the public, policy makers and other key players in economic development.

I've been going through a lot of lists circulating on internet and social media, maybe these lists raise a lot of serious concerns and maybe it could be that most Zanu PF hawks are jostling for senior positions both in the Government and the party at large. ED is in a serious dilemma as to how he can handle such matters.

You see politics have dynamics and once he makes silly moves it can cost him during the run up to 2018 elections.

I'm saying this because people like Obert Mpofu has issues in his cupboard, when he was the minister of mines he presided over mines ministry which saw a number of alluvial diamonds missing, he has been accused of looting diamonds and many shady deals, we have Chinamasa he has issues as well in the finance ministry, Chinamasa has issues back dated in 2008 where he fiery defended Mugabe's regime when it almost collapsed and he is an enemy to the people by introducing policies that were hostile to the ordinary Zimbabweans, we have Opah Muchinguri who was not doing very well in her recently assigned ministry, we have Kembo Mohadi who has human rights issues as well, we have Energy Mutodi and many others my question is do you think ED is going to leave these people who helped him to ascend to power at any cost? Remember these are the people who fought hard to bring him back to the position of the First Secretary of Zanu PF and President of the entire country.

So people of Zimbabwe should not have high expectations on ED because he is simply going to pay back otherwise next year during 2018 elections he will not make it. In politics you have political and economic interests and he has to balance that equation.

There are people who fought hard to make sure ED is brought back to the party and reinstated and those people will not just sit back and relax, they also need a share. If there is going to be changes there will be few changes, no major changes.

We are likely to see major policy shift, I think ED will try to please the international investors as well and also balance the political equation. His cabinet must prove to the international community before going with a begging bowl. They need to see an improvement and also conditions to make sure their money is safe, they need a guarantee. There are major ministries which I feel if he takes this list it can be useful to him and this can be the way forward:

Presidency - ED Mnangagwa

Vice president - Joice mujuru

Prime Minister - Morgan Tsvangirai

Finance - Simba Makoni

Local Gvt - Luxon Zembe

Foreign Affairs - Chris Mutsvangwa

Home affairs - Douglas Mwonzora

Sports& culture - Temba Mliswa

Energy& power - Elias Mudzuri

Information& publicity - Nelson Chamisa

Justice - Tendai Biti

Lublic works, Labour& social welfare - Ziyambi Ziyambi

Youth development - Mayor Wadyajena

Gender& Employment Creation - Jessie Majome

Higher Education & Prim and Sec - Prof Authur Mutambara

Defence - Sydney Sekeramayi

Cabinet Should Be Inspiring

What people should get to understand is that we need an inspiring cabinet in order to attract international investors and be able to market our country? Our country has so many problems, we have debt problem which is amounting to 13 billion and we also have internal debts, so we need a strategic cabinet which should be very inspiring. I guess the President is going to make an announcement soon but before doing so he can have a round table with policy makers, stakeholders, diplomats, civic society and also academics so that they can have an input on the incoming cabinet.

Bringing back the real problem or recycling the old dead wood will put his political career at risk, because many people have high expectations and it will be a disappointing. He would rather have them deployed at party level or foreign assignments.

I think the major issue is economic line ministries should be inspiring and be assigned to people who have technical experience such as James Mushore and Shingirai Munyeza. We are behind time, and we also need to re align our Laws and at the same time we also need to work on the issue of policy consistency, so we need an inspiring team which is going to work around the clock on these items.

Tinashe Eric Muzamhindo writes in his personal capacity as the Head of Southern Institute of Policy Analysis and Research – SIPAR TRUST, which is responsible for policy Analysis and Research. He is also an academic and researcher. He holds a BA, M.A from Solusi University, and he also holds a Masters of Development Studies from University of Lusaka, Zambia. He is currently enrolled at University of Kwazulu Natal University in South Africa (PHD in Development Studies). He can be contacted at southerninstitutepar@gmail.com