Zimbabwe's new political order: 'Lickocracy'

Somewhere between governance failure and the cult of benefaction, a new political order has emerged in Zimbabwe – one driven not by competence or accountability, but by flattery. It is what critics and social commentators have dubbed "lickocracy" - a system where praise, not performance, determines power and privilege.

At the centre of this phenomenon stands businessman Wicknell Chivayo, the self-styled benefactor-in-chief whose displays of largesse have reshaped public perceptions of success and service. From gifting luxury cars to musicians, police officers, and social media personalities, to rewarding praise-singers with cash, Chivayo has turned philanthropy into a performance art - a spectacle of giving that reinforces loyalty and adoration.

Observers say this culture has infected governance itself. Political and economic analysts argue that what was once "kurumbidza mambo" - a cultural act of honouring the king - has evolved into a transactional ritual where public adulation is exchanged for material reward.

"Zimbabwe has created an economy of humiliation," a Harare-based political analyst noted. "We have entered an era where survival depends on how loudly you praise, not how much you produce."

The phenomenon has found expression across public life. Recently, a video of DJ Tawas smearing himself with honey - symbolising "ED Huchi" (President Emmerson Mnangagwa as honey) - went viral, drawing both laughter and outrage. What was intended as a display of loyalty became, for many, a metaphor for the desperation that has come to define Zimbabwe's public culture.

Critics warn that the rise of lickocracy is corroding national values. Ambition, they say, is being replaced by opportunism; diligence by devotion. Young people are learning that visibility, not value, opens doors.

"Every car handover reinforces a dangerous idea - that work is optional, and worship is profitable," reads part of an editorial circulating on social media. "The country now rewards sycophancy the way it once rewarded service."

Analysts say this environment has bred a "praise economy" in which social media has become a marketplace of flattery. Influencers, artists, and even civil servants compete for proximity to powerful benefactors, often at the expense of integrity and productivity.

Behind the spectacle of generosity, critics see a deeper rot - the erosion of dignity and civic consciousness. As one university lecturer put it: "When young people see devotion being rewarded more than diligence, it kills the spirit of enterprise. We're raising a generation that wants to trend, not to toil."

In this culture, loyalty has replaced merit, and performance has given way to performance art. Policy announcements are framed not around economic recovery or job creation, but around gestures designed to please the political throne.

"Lickocracy has turned sycophancy into a national industry," a Bulawayo civic leader remarked. "Praise has become the new tender."

Yet amid the cynicism, there remains a call for renewal - for a return to merit, productivity, and truth-telling.
"If Zimbabwe is to rebuild," the editorial concludes, "it must detox from lickocracy. Real progress begins when merit becomes fashionable again - when we stop thanking power and start questioning it."

Until then, Zimbabwe risks remaining, as one critic aptly put it, "a republic of tongues ruled not by wisdom or will, but by the rhythm of praise."