We need academics in strategic areas of governance president Mnangagwa

One critical area that has damaged the previous Government was the issue of staffing Governance strategic areas with activists and party cadres. Activists and cadres are there to make sure they destroy everything that is there. They are worried about their stomachs, and they have selfish gains and their solutions are temporary. I've seen so many Presidents going down because of people surrounding them. A President is someone who carries a political face of the whole country therefore he should preserve his dignity by appointing proper people in strategic positions. It is very important and critical to make sure that the New President is surrounded by academics and policy makers should ensure sanity in all areas of Governance. Illiteracy and inexperienced people in Government will dampen the spirit of progress and they will never understand the language of national building and strategic Governance. Why do you allow party cadres to issue cabinet positions or Government positions relating to policy matters? I still feel that culture should be dealt with and allow relevant people to deal with those matters.

Perfomance

Ministers must be given targets and they should be evaluated by the public. I suggest the President should have suggestion boxes so that public can be able to communicate with him and at the same time, performance forms should be given to the public to rate ministers' performance. For the current Government to meet their deadline and fulfilling all requirements it is very important to have strategic people in critical areas of the economy.

For example we have so many Zanu PF cadres in state companies acting as CEOs and directors when our population has more than 330 000 graduates from several institutions of higher learning and such people can contribute towards the positive growth of our economy.

How do we perform as an economy when we have more than 200 000 ghost workers on the payroll of the civil service? I think Mr President you need to work on this area. Currently our governance structures are very weak; we produce poor results because of incompetence. Since elections are around the corner I know Zanu PF people and most of the cadres are so much concerned about elections instead of addressing touchable issues that can contribute towards national building.

We have critical sectors of the economy such as Agriculture, mining, tourism and Infrastructure development and it is important for your Government to consider the issue of performance when recruiting in strategic areas of the economy. It is also important to get rid of activist in Government operations in order to bring sanity in every institution. Most of state companies are under liquidation and we have several challenges in failing to account for ill-gotten wealthy my question will then be how then do we account for the loss of revenue in state operations? How then are we rated? I would cite an example like ZIMSTATS it is Government institution responsible for compiling data for research purpose and planning, if you go there you will receive stale information.

There is a wide gap in research especially in Zimbabwe. During the course of the year I went to ZIMSTATS to get information on poverty and women, and I was shocked that they didn't have any copy of the material, the information they had was back dated to 2011, and this is a building with more than 300 people, seated in well ventilated and conditioned offices failing to give the public adequate information. Why then does the Government of Zimbabwe afford to pay such people when they can't even deliver efficient results? Ministers should be able to perform their duties efficiently and if a minister fails to perform his or her duties then definitely the person deserve a boot or should be kicked out of the Government.

We Need People Who Are Strategic

This issue of just issuing political statements before weighing the consequences is uncalled for. I'm very disturbed by Mutsvangwa's utterances that the army will play a major role in 2018 elections, my questions how can an educated person like Chris say such statements when we are in times of need? We are in need of foreign direct investment (FDI) and why would one utter such words? I thought Mutsvangwa would use his education to tame his tongue and consider the plight of the people first than his political and economic interests? Our country's poverty levels have reached an escalating rate and it is high time we should be careful how we relate with the outside world, we need to be careful how we paint our country.

We are in need of investors and foreign currency so it is very important to show remorse spirit. As an academic and policy researcher I have nothing to do with Zanu PF affairs or MDC affairs but I think the appointment of Rugeja as a political commissar has send shivers to the international and regional continent that in deed 2018 elections outcome will be seriously contested. Mr President you have the potential to make a good name by making careful appointments to protect your legacy. If you remember well in 2008, the same Rugeja was involved in several torture cases. Mutsvangwa should know that his position is very strategic and therefore he should be able to be filled with wisdom, he should not speak whatever comes in his mind, his position determines the future of this country.

Policy Direction of the Country

We witnessed several ministers clashing in areas of policy clarification. I remember Zhuwao, Kasukuwere and Chinamasa clashing along factional lines. It reflected the position of two separate Governments, and these send wrong signals to the international community. This has to be corrected to avoid investors guessing our position. I think areas which need more clarifications and amendments is empowerment Laws, draconic laws, property rights and other areas. There is need for Parliament to ratify such Laws so that's investments can flow smoothly. We have a problem of policy inconsistency, we have a challenge as well in our foreign policy and I think My President you can quickly tackle that one.

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, MA 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 is also an adviser to many financial and political institutions within and outside Zimbabwe. He can be contacted at southerninstitutepar@gmail.com