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100 Days: An agenda for government and donors in a new Zimbabwe
Adam Smith International
July 20, 2007

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Contents

Introduction
1. Restoring economic stability, protecting livelihoods and building a platform for sustained growth
2. Removing existing and avoiding new causes of conflict
3. Ensuring government capacity to deliver the 100-Day Agenda
4. Providing security and protecting citizen rights
5. Improving access to basic services
6. Agreeing a roadmap to a new constitution
7. Freeing speech and access to information
8. Enabling government to communicate with citizens and win their support
9. Encouraging the return of exiles from abroad

Forward

This report sets out an ambitious 100 Day Agenda for a new Zimbabwean Government. We do not know when that Government will take office, its form or composition, but we do know that it will face a host of extremely severe problems that have resulted from the policies pursued by the government of Robert Mugabe. Speed is critical in addressing the problems of a failing state like Zimbabwe.

It is much easier to take firm and effective action at an early stage than to wait until the situation is no longer advantageous. The lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan are very clear on this point. Little was done to reconstruct Iraq in the immediate aftermath of the Allied victory so that, partially as a consequence, the security situation worsened to such an extent that reconstruction is now next to impossible. Similarly in Afghanistan, it took a very long time to deliver any concrete benefits to the population, a significant factor in the re-emergence of the Taliban.

Zimbabwe will need a clear plan and the political will to implement it. From the international community it will need high quality advice and assistance as soon as possible. It will be vital to build up the momentum for reform from the earliest days of the new government. Consequently we have produced this report offering recommendations to the new Zimbabwean Government as well as to the international community.

One part of the report addresses the Government, the other addresses donors. Together the paper provides the full context for the solutions we suggest for rebuilding the country. Whilst considerable research has gone into the background of Zimbabwe's situation we have limited the amount of facts and figures in this paper to make our advice as focused on solutions as possible. We have drawn upon our own extensive experience of working in conflict-affected countries, including Iraq, Afghanistan,Palestine, Sudan,Rwanda, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

Our work in these countries has encompassed a very broad range of work including policy formulation, public financial management, private sector development, state enterprise reform, civil service reform, legal and regulatory reform, human resource development, change management, training and capacity building, anti-corruption and natural resource management. Our experience suggests that overcoming the challenges faced by Zimbabwe will take commitment, hard work, and time, but with good advance planning, effective policies and prompt and well-managed assistance Zimbabwe will be able to do better than other countries that have recently faced the task of large-scale reform and reconstruction.We therefore hope that this report is both a useful contribution to debate and a practical guide to action.

Introduction

This paper sets out advice and guidance for you, the incoming President of Zimbabwe, on actions that your new government should take on coming to power.

Our recommended actions are designed both to establish firm foundations for political, economic and social regeneration of Zimbabwe and, critically, to establish the legitimacy of your new government in the eyes both of the Zimbabwean people and the international community.

Legitimacy is critical to the success of a new government both at home and abroad. Domestically, legitimacy reduces the risk of further political upheaval and increases the likelihood that potentially difficult reform efforts will be both successful and far-reaching. Internationally, legitimacy is a necessary pre-requisite to getting the volumes of aid and emergency assistance that will be required to kick start a sustainable government led programme of regeneration.

The paper sets out actions that should be taken or actively considered in the first 100 days of a new administration. The actions - taken together - form a comprehensive, strategic reform programme that will establish a reputation for competence and position your government as setting its own agenda rather than having its agenda set for it by external actors in general and the diplomatic and donor community in particular. The importance of appearing to be actively in control of your own government's programme, rather than passively receiving direction from outside actors, is a key factor in establishing legitimacy.

To this end the programme set out here aims to provide thinking for all areas of government action and seeks to help:

- Restore macroeconomic stability and resolve the severe monetary crisis which is an immediate threat to the lives of citizens and the security of their livelihoods;
- Remove the causes of conflict between citizens and prevent new conflicts being created as a consequence of the transition of political power, through immediate actions and the establishment of longer-term processes;
- Assess and understand all current government capacities, including central government institutions, identify gaps with desired capacity, and develop medium and long-term plans to fill those gaps;
- Improve government capacity to provide security to all citizens without discrimination and to safeguard their rights under law through an impartial judiciary;
- Increase access to basic health services, education and utilities, through improved government effectiveness and coordination of alternative delivery channels;
- Win acceptance from the major political parties and civil society organizations by clearly communicating how a new constitution will be developed, and how government will respond to their needs and interests during the interim period before a new constitution is agreed;
- Remove inappropriate restrictions on freedom of speech and access to information, both for individual citizens and the media;
- Persuade citizens of the new government's commitment to the welfare of all sections of society, of its break with previous governments and of its greater legitimacy, by ensuring citizens are fully aware of the government's decisions, plans and achievements in all the above activities; and
- Work towards bringing back much-needed human capital lost over recent years through the brain drain. Clear communication of a 100 day programme and implementation of the actions contained within it would ensure the new government has the political space and capital to drive progress forward and to maintain its popular mandate.

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