Donor funding dries up, Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition disbands

The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CiZC), a civil society umbrella body that has operated for more than two decades, has announced the dissolution of its current organisational structure following a resolution adopted at its 16th Annual General Meeting held on January 21, 2026.

In a statement released after the meeting, the Coalition said its membership had "unanimously resolved" to dissolve the existing structure with immediate effect, citing what it described as intensifying repression, a shrinking civic space, and the systematic use of the law to suppress pro-democracy forces. The move, the statement said, was intended to create space for members to deliberate on a renewed strategic direction.

However, political analysts have linked the decision to broader shifts in the international funding and geopolitical environment, particularly changes in the United States that have significantly affected donor-supported civic organisations across Africa.

Former Cabinet minister and political analyst Professor Jonathan Moyo said the Coalition's decision reflected the collapse of what he described as a donor-driven model that had outlived its usefulness.

"It is deeply ironic that an organisation formed to confront what it termed a 'crisis' now dissolves itself on the grounds that the same crisis has intensified," Moyo said. "This contradiction exposes the exhaustion of the crisis narrative itself."

Moyo argued that the Coalition's announcement could not be separated from recent policy shifts in Washington, where the administration of former US President Donald Trump drastically cut funding to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), long regarded as a key financier of governance and democracy programmes in countries such as Zimbabwe.

"The defunding and effective disbandment of USAID removed the financial oxygen that sustained many of these organisations," he said. "Once the money tap was turned off, the structures inevitably collapsed."

USAID has historically been a major conduit for US-funded civil society initiatives, including coalitions focused on governance, elections, and political reform. The reduction and redirection of its funding under the Trump administration marked a significant shift away from democracy-promotion programmes that American policymakers increasingly viewed as costly and ineffective.

Moyo further noted that the Coalition's formation in 2001 coincided with the enactment of the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZDERA), legislation passed by the US Congress that underpinned a broader sanctions and pressure framework against Zimbabwe.

"With ZDERA now under review and donor priorities changing, the external scaffolding that supported the Crisis Coalition for 25 years has simply fallen away," he said.

CiZC was formed at the height of Zimbabwe's political and economic turmoil and brought together labour unions, churches, student movements, and non-governmental organisations. Over time, it became closely associated with Western-funded governance and advocacy programmes.

The government has consistently maintained that while lawful civic engagement is welcome, some civil society organisations have operated as instruments of foreign policy, advancing external agendas under the banner of democracy and human rights.

Observers say the dissolution of the Coalition marks the end of an era for a particular model of donor-funded activism, as Zimbabwe increasingly emphasises national development, economic reform, and political stability within the framework of its Constitution and laws.

As the global political climate shifts and external funding diminishes, analysts argue that civic organisations will be forced to reassess their relevance, legitimacy, and sources of support in a rapidly changing environment.