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Opening Remarks: National Conference on Governance in the Zimbabwean Context
Leonard Kapungu, Centre for Peace Initiatives in Africa (CPIA)
November 14, 2006

Mr. Chairman, Professor Walter Kamba
Members of the CPIA Board of Trustees
Members of the CPIA Advisory Group of Eminent Persons
Representatives of Ministries of the Zimbabwean Government
Representatives of our political parties
Representatives of our civil society
Members of the Diplomatic Corps present
Invited participants
Members of the Media
Ladies and Gentlemen

I have a habit that when I visit a place, I look for my good friends and colleagues from my long years of service, and pay them a courtesy visit. I followed this same habit when I arrived in Bulawayo yesterday. I visited a very few of these friends and chatted about our experiences.

One friend said to me, Leonard always remember there is a tomorrow. Always think of tomorrow! When you go fishing, do not be entangled in the fishing line of others. The other friend said, remember the importance of dialogue. Young people tend to threaten old politicians. It does not work. The more you threaten us, the more we harden! Remember we are fighters. We are at our best when we fight. Talk to us and acknowledge our contribution and you will see how easy we are, and how easily we can move forward together. These are words of wisdom, which I thought I should share with you.

It is my honour and pleasure to stand before you, esteemed delegates, at the National Conference on Governance in the Zimbabwean Context. It is CPIA'S belief that Zimbabwean problems should be solved within the Zimbabwean context. We at the Centre in our analysis have come to a conclusion that Zimbabwe needs to focus on five concerns namely:

• The Constitution and Constitutionalism
• Reconciliation among the people of Zimbabwe
• The consequences of the land reform programme
• Governance; and
• The Economy

Ladies and Gentlemen, in further analyzing the capabilities that are at the disposal of CPIA, we have come to the conclusion that, we at the Centre cannot adequately deal with economic issues, and we have left it to our many colleagues who are better equipped to deal with these concerns. Therefore, the Centre has been dealing with four of the above five concerns.

Today here in Bulawayo we are going to deliberate on the question of Governance in the Zimbabwean context. But before I say anything about Governance, let me say a word about the constitution as the two are related.

In Mutare in February 2006, the Centre for Peace Initiatives in Africa convened a conference on the Constitution and Constitutionalism. At that conference, we had a comprehensive debate that saw the publishing of a booklet. For those of you who haven't received a copy, we have some copies for you. Kindly see any of the CPIA staff. At this very important conference, the delegates agreed that Zimbabwe needed a home-grown - constitution.

There are some people in our nation who are calling for a home-grown constitution, and there are others who say that the Lancaster House Constitution was a result of the armed struggle and amendments have been made by the Zimbabwean Parliament. They argue therefore that it is a home-grown constitution.

I do not want to quibble with definitions. I remind myself of the good advise which my friends gave me yesterday. Leonard when you go fishing, do not be entangled in the fishing line of others. Let me just state the situation as I see it and as I strongly believe in it. The Lancaster House Constitution was a result of the two forces that were fighting against each other. One force launched an armed struggle for majority rule and equitable distribution of land, while the other force was for minority rule and protection of the land right of the minority. The result was a compromise which led to the Lancaster House Constitution. Let's bear in mind three sectors:-

A. The Conference that led to the adoption of the constitution was convened by the colonial power - Britain
B. That Conference was chaired by the colonial power
C. The colonial power provided the Secretariat for the Conference

Between 1990 and 2006, the Lancaster house Constitution has amended seventeen (17) times. We should therefore ask ourselves a question of whether that is a process to construct a Constitution of a great nation like Zimbabwe.

A home-grown constitution can not emerge from this environment. In my view we should consider the Lancaster House Constitution as a transitional Constitution that enabled smooth transition of power from the racist regime to independence, and that transition in our view should have lasted for 10 years to enable certain clauses of the constitution to elapse.

What we need in Zimbabwe is a constitution that takes into account the holistic experience of the last 26 years of independent Zimbabwe. Such a constitution can only emanate from consultations of, or a conference convened by Zimbabweans, chaired by Zimbabweans to discuss a draft prepared by Zimbabweans. The rejected 2000 draft constitution, had it been adopted - would have been a truly, a home grown constitution.

We are in Bulawayo today to discuss Governance as one of the central concerns which any country, Zimbabwe included, must come to terms with. The concept of governance has transcended the development discourse over the last decade to the extent that focusing on one with the total exclusion of the other has lacked meaning within the development agenda.

At the core of the nexus is how governance influences development in a given setting. This rise in the international policy agenda has prompted many societies to review the two concepts within their settings. Obviously in the redefining process a number of questions emerge.

What is governance; what are the basic ingredients of good governance; how can good governance be sustained? What is the nature of these rules that regulate the public realm? This conference is to focus on these and related questions in an effort to arrive at a consensus. It is hoped that after two days of serious, honest and candid deliberations, a common understanding of the concept and dynamics of governance will emerge.

However, from the outset, it should be acknowledged and emphasized that governance in the 21st century requires a new set of universal principles that take into account our society's diversity as well as the need for greater national and regional cooperation. These universal principles are unrelated to the concept of good governance as defined and imposed by external actors (International Monetary Fund, World Bank etc). These principles, however, must be defined in local contexts and specificities.

An important lesson is that governance is contextual in that whilst it is easy to define the universal concepts and principles they make no meaningful sense without reference to specific geographical realities.

Most experts and scholars have pointed out that "particular conditions of each country provide both constraints and opportunities to improve governance". This is the challenge for Zimbabwe and it is in this light that CPIA understands the need to convene a forum to "take stock, reflect, analyse and recommend" the kind of governance ideal for Zimbabweans.

Ideally, the first function of governance in the Zimbabwean context must be to construct and give cohesion to the community. For this to happen it will not be sufficient for the governance process to be legal, it must also be seen to be legitimate and thus must encompass the following five qualities;

• Meet community needs.
• Be based on common and recognized principles and values.
• Be equitable
• Be exercised efficiently by those in power, and worthy of trust; and
• Apply the principle of least constraint.

At the base of it, it must encompass the principle of sharing. We must share power, we must share happiness, we must share suffering, we must share resources, and we must share responsibilities. Sharing enhances cohesion and trust in each other.

Emerging from this assertion is the cardinal lesson that the key to governance is no longer the allocation of power to one level government but the cooperation between levels of government and the embodiment of the interest of the people in the way they are governed. To this end, the creation of institutions formulated into sectors whose operation is based on rules through which governance is characterised by objectives, ethical principles and concrete work plans should be emphasized.

At CPIA we believe that governance that responds to the realities of a nation is based on popular participation and it is through such forums as the National Conference on Governance that principles and values guiding a nation are shaped and or further sharpened to suit the growing demands of a population. The fundamental question to ask ourselves is "How can we ensure that the masses, in their multidimensional diversity are made to share equitably in the resources, responsibilities and public services available in their respective provinces?" The equal contribution by all sectors is key to the development agenda in Zimbabwe.

Governance should therefore accord all stakeholders within the Zimbabwean political framework an opportunity to contribute to the future of the country. As noted by the Former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, contribution from all strata of society invariably helps the formulation of a democratic agenda which the people can resonate with. He posited that in his own traditional society

"Everyone who wanted to speak did so. It was democracy in its purest form. There may have been a hierarchy of importance among speakers, but everyone was heard: chief and subject, warrior and medicine man and woman, shopkeeper and farmer, landowner and labourer. The foundation of self-government was that all men and women were free to voice their opinions and were equal in their value as citizens. Democracy meant that all men and women were to be heard, and a decision was taken together as a people .

We believe that from these profound words comes a need by all stakeholders to begin to discuss and formulate governance policies that shape our visions and values as Zimbabweans. The National Conference on Governance thus becomes a significant platform to begin to shape these values.

Rationale of the Governance Conference

At various conferences organized by the Centre for Peace Initiatives in Africa on constitutionalism, democracy and human rights, the question of governance invariably crops up - perhaps underscoring the need for stakeholders to take a closer look at the subject. As different stakeholders continue to engage in discussions and consultations regarding the future of our country, it is absolutely vital for all Zimbabweans to have a common understanding of governance or good governance from a Zimbabwean perspective.

Previously, CPIA has held a number of consultative meetings with various stakeholders aimed at mapping a way forward on the future of Zimbabwe and coming up with strategies to resolve our current problems.

The consultative meetings held, identified the need to establish frameworks for dialogue on the contentious issues affecting the nation. From the consultative meetings with CPIA's stakeholders, the concept of the National Conference on Governance in the Zimbabwean context was developed to set-up a national plan of action on governance.

The OVERALL OBJECTIVE of the National Conference on Governance in the Zimbabwean context is to contribute towards the initiatives aimed at having enhanced peace, stability, security and development through sustained dialogue. It is our fervent hope that the conference together with other initiatives will form a basis of the way forward that will:

• Establish an environment that is conducive for sustainable and mature dialogue among and between the people of Zimbabwe and other stakeholders
• Contribute towards the elimination of long standing possible points of conflict in Zimbabwe
• Lead to the acceptance to move to the process of a home grown Constitution
• Produce a blue print that embodies the Zimbabwean views and elements of democracy and good governance

We at CPIA believe that important issues and concerns in our country should be discussed openly and frankly. In our deliberations we need to brainstorm Governance in our context as Zimbabweans in order to come up with workable solutions which will help to build a better Zimbabwe we want.

Ladies and Gentlemen, you are entitled to ask where CPIA gets the funds to organise such a conference. We at CPIA believe in transparency, we always tell our participants, the donors of our programmes. We decided to hold the conference on governance because everywhere we turned, the question of governance was been introduced in discourse. The IMF was talking of governance, the World Bank was talking of governance, EU was talking of governance. We therefore asked these organizations if ever they had asked Zimbabweans what they mean about governance.

We maintain that governance should take in to account local conditions. It was necessary for Zimbabweans to express what they meant on governance in the Zimbabwean context. It was at that point that we challenged the European Commission to fund a conference on Governance in the Zimbabwean context and they took up our challenge, and here we are today in Bulawayo.

Let me therefore take this opportunity to thank our sponsors, the European Union, especially Ambassador Xavier Marchal and his staff for their kind prompt response to our request. Let me also thank my hardworking staff, especially Etherton Mpisaunga and Cecilia Nedziwe for their negotiating skills that brought us to this spot.

Our other major programmes are supported by the Governments of Norway, Netherlands and Sweden. Let me take this opportunity to thank these Governments.

Let me also thank all those who have contributed in one way or another to make this conference happen. To the esteemed participants, thank you for coming to share your knowledge and rich experience with us.

I thank you.

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