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Roundtable on the Inclusive Government of Zimbabwe
Research and Advocacy Unit Zimbabwe, Idasa
September 30, 2009

http://www.idasa.org.za/Output_Details.asp?RID=1975&oplang=en&OTID=27&PID=54

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Introduction

The meeting was convened with a view to obtaining an informed and nuanced view, from the perspective of key stakeholders, of Zimbabwe's Inclusive Government (IG). While various large gatherings of human rights NGO's have met to consider issues relevant to the IG, it was the feeling of the conveners that these meetings have been unwieldy and that opinions expressed at these meetings often have been tempered by the institutional concerns of the various NGOs, and a frank analysis of Zimbabwe's polity has been lacking. Thus, a small group of experts, covering a wide range of current concerns, were consulted under Chatham House rules.

Initial Concerns

The meeting began with a consideration as to how to handle theme of the round table - to examine Zimbabwe's IG. It was suggested that one approach would be to look at key Articles of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) and consider their implementation. Other suggested approaches were to look at important themes under the rubrics of Economics, the Humanitarian Situation, etc, or to cast the net broadly and consider the entire context of the GPA. This latter approach would include an examination of the processes leading up to the GPA, its genesis (which involved very little consultation with civic organisations), how this has informed subsequent developments and the nature of those developments. Thereafter, recommendations on possible ways forward could be debated. A civil society representative then suggested that one approach would be to examine the meaning to be ascribed to "working" and the teleology of the GPA in this regard. It was agreed that this would be the way forward.

Is the IG "Working"?

The group noted that the State media, MDC media releases, and politicians from all signatory parties to the GPA were at pains to emphasise that the IG "is working" albeit with "unsurprising" "teething problems". There are various facets to these statements:

• "Working" could be merely existential in the sense that the IG is intact and has not dissolved in the face of the divergent objectives of, and acrimony between, the signatories.
• "Working" could mean that some governance is taking place which is responsible for bringing a modicum of economic, social and political stability to Zimbabwe after a period of extreme turbulence in all of these spheres.
• "Working" could mean that the MDC's stated objective of returning Zimbabwe to the rule of law and democratic governance is being incrementally realised.
• "Working" could mean that ZANU PF's stated objective of "removing illegal sanctions" is a work in progress and the, probably unstated, goal of achieving legitimacy after unrecognised 2008 elections with a consequent easing of international pressure had been achieved.

The group noted that very little power had accrued to the MDC through the GPA, and that the MDC appeared to be reluctant to exercise the little power that it had. This led to an unpacking of the MDC's concept of a "working" IG. In particular, the MDC argument that, while it recognised that the GPA was highly flawed and left Mugabe's powers almost completely intact, it had little choice other than to sign and enter the IG. Failure to do so would have resulted in a formal or de facto coup by the security sector and a continued and intolerable humanitarian crisis. This had been avoided by the GPA and the tactic had thus "worked" to this extent. A corollary of this tactic is for the MDC to demonstrate that it is not a threat to ZANU PF - achieved in part by not seeking to exercise power in any sphere which ZANU PF regards as its exclusive domain - to thereby ameliorate the acrimony between the parties, calm the political waters, and for there to be a mutual "re-humanising process" to reverse the dehumanisation that had preceded the accord. This approach was designed to gradually "change the mindset" of ZANU PF stalwarts, and the MDC, simply by virtue of being in the corridors of power, would increase its leverage and be able to open up democratic space sufficiently for free elections to be held under an improved constitution. The approach demanded that the MDC claim that the IG was "working". The group gave this approach the moniker "make believe" politics.

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