SANF 13 No 18 – by Joseph Ngwawi
The economy and peace and security are the major campaign issues as political parties in Zimbabwe jostle for voters ahead of harmonized elections set for 31 July.
The two main political parties, the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) led by President Robert Mugabe and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) headed by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai have pitched economic transformation as their election mantra but differ on implementation.
Mugabe describes the essence of Zanu-PF’s ideology as the economic empowerment of indigenous Zimbabweans.
He said this will be achieved by enabling Zimbabweans “to fully own their country’s God-given natural resources and the means of production to unlock or create value from those resources.”
“Through our deliberate socio-economic policies and achievements since our heroic independence, we have laid a firm foundation for the attainment of this strategic goal,” Mugabe said in a foreword to his party’s manifesto for the 2013 elections.
The manifesto is anchored on Zanu-PF’s Policy of Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment, which seeks to enforce the transfer to local entities of at least 51 percent controlling equity in any foreign-owned businesses with an asset value of more than US$500,000.
In addition, the policy aims at empowering indigenous businesspersons to take full control of new firms or take over strategic enterprises across the economy, especially in key sectors such as mining, tourism and agriculture.
According to the manifesto, the targeted equity threshold recognises Zimbabwe’s total ownership of all its natural resources as an expression of its national sovereignty.
This is the message Mugabe and fellow Zanu-PF candidates have taken to the people since hitting the campaign trail in early July.
The MDC campaign is premised on a pledge to revitalise the economy through measures to boost production and create jobs.
Pledging that a future MDC government will ensure that “Zimbabwe is open for business”, Tsvangirai said his party will ensure the conditions are conducive to attract both local and foreign investment.
“An MDC government will ensure Zimbabwe is open for business. We will responsibly align and manage our nation’s resources to meet this challenge and restore Zimbabwe’s prosperity,” Tsvangirai said.
The MDC economic plan, outlined in its Jobs, Upliftment, Investment Capital and Environment (JUICE) strategy document, targets the creation of one million jobs by 2018 and a US$100-billion economy by 2040.
Both parties are also targeting the promotion of peace and democracy, the preservation of national unity and internal cohesion. Mugabe and Tsvangirai have implored their supporters to ensure peaceful campaigning and political tolerance.
At least five candidates are eyeing the presidency. The other three are Welshman Ncube of a rival MDC formation, Dumiso Dabengwa of the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU) and Kisinoti Mukwazhe from the Zimbabwe Development Party.
The MDC formation led by Ncube has fielded 203 candidates to run for the National Assembly. The party is expected to launch its manifesto and policy document, “Actions for Devolution”, soon.
Dabengwa said his party manifesto is premised on the need for the State to be accountable to the public as well as the devolution of power to ensure that equitable development of all provinces.
“The concept of devolution as enunciated in the new Constitution is also our trump card. We want areas to develop equally through the concept of the devolution,” Dabengwa said.
The new Constitution of Zimbabwe provides for the formation of 10-member provincial councils that will be responsible for the social and economic development of the respective provinces.
Members of the provincial councils will be elected on a proportional representation basis, with seats allocated according to quotas determined by the total number of votes won by each of the parties in National Assembly elections.
The National Assembly will be made up of 210 elected members and 60 reserved seats for women.
There will be six seats reserved for women in each of the 10 administrative provinces in Zimbabwe, with the members elected through a system of proportional representation based on the votes cast for candidates representing parties contesting the parliamentary elections in each of the provinces.
The provision for reserved seats for women will apply for the first two Parliaments under the new Constitution.
The Senate will be made up of 80 members, comprising six elected representatives elected on a proportional representation basis from each of the 10 provinces as well as two representatives of persons with disabilities.
The remainder will be 18 traditional chiefs, comprising the president and deputy president of the National Council of Chiefs and two chiefs each from eight provinces that exclude the two metropolitan provinces of Harare and Bulawayo.
For the first time since independence, Zimbabwe has introduced a “zebra-list” system for the nomination of senate candidates.
Under this system, political parties will be required to submit lists of candidates showing women and men alternating, with a woman at the top of each list.
The zebra-list system is used for parliamentary and local government elections in other Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states such as Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa.
The elections will be observed by teams from SADC, African Union, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa and the SADC Parliamentary Forum as well as observers from local civil society organisations and diplomatic missions accredited to Zimbabwe. sardc.net
