Back to Index

This article participates on the following special index pages:

Appointments under Zimbabwe's inclusive government
Derek Matyszak, Research and Advocacy Unit Zimbabwe
November 02, 2009

Download this document
- MS Word version (123KB)
- Acrobat PDF version (132KB)
If you do not have the free Acrobat reader on your computer, download it from the Adobe website by clicking here.

This paper considers the general appointment of persons by the President of Zimbabwe to positions in the new inclusive government and specifically in terms of any Act of Parliament or the Constitution. The issue of these appointments has proved contentious, with the MDC-T claiming that the appointments which have been made (and one which has not) violate the agreements relating to power sharing between the parties.

On the 27th January, 2009 the Extraordinary Summit of the SADC issued a communiqué which stated that:

• the allocation of ministerial portfolios endorsed by the SADC Extraordinary Summit held on 9 November 2008 shall be reviewed six (6) months after the inauguration of the inclusive government.
• the appointments of the Reserve Bank Governor and the Attorney-General will be dealt with by the inclusive government after its formation.
• the negotiators of the parties shall meet immediately to consider the National Security Bill submitted by the MDC-T as well as the formula for the distribution of the Provincial Governors;

Despite the MDC's complaints, SADC has done nothing to follow up on this communiqué. ZANU PF has refused to "deal" with these issues, insists that it has not breached any of the agreements with the MDC, and that there is nothing unlawful or improper in the actions of President Mugabe in relation to these appointments.

In addition to relevant statutes, there are three documents of importance in this regard:

1. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by the three parties in July, 2008.
2. The Global Political Agreement (GPA) formally signed by the three parties on 15th September, 2008.
3. The Constitution of Zimbabwe with particular focus on the clauses introduced by Constitutional Amendment 19 signed into law by the President on 11th February, 2009.

The paper is written without knowledge (and thus consideration) of any verbal agreements which may have been reached in relation to appointments by those involved in the Inclusive Government.

Download full document

Visit the Research and Advocacy Unit fact sheet

Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.

TOP