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Appointed governors an anachronism in modern democratic society
Nhlanhla Mpofu
February 24, 2012

The recent move by the incumbent governor of Masvingo, Titus Maluleke to ban twenty-nine non-governmental organizations (NGO) has brought to the fore the contentious issue of elected governors, their powers and mandate together with their relevance to the current political discourse and status quo. The move has illuminated upon the abuse of power by appointed governors to further individual agendas and the political interest of political parties. It has further resuscitated the call by the majority of Zimbabweans that the new constitution must establish and entrench the office of elected governors. This article therefore serves to provide insight into the dynamics and discourse behind having elected instead of appointed governors.

Current democratic practice, regionally and internationally detects that public officials such as parliamentarians, senators and governors be directly elected into office through periodic free and fair elections. Proponents of elected governors allege that appointed governors do not represent the people but their allegiance is to the President, and the political party, that put them in office. For instance, the move by Governor Maluleke, which has no legal backing or legislative precedent, is the act of an overzealous party appointee trying to fulfill the wishes expressed by his political party, ZANU-PF, at last year-s Annual conference in Bulawayo. The conference swore to abolish or close down non-governmental organizations that did not tow the party line or subscribe to the ZANU-PF way of doing things. Unfortunately for the people of Masvingo province, the organizations "banned" by Governor Maluleke are humanitarian agencies that have been providing food aid and attendant services to citizens in one of Zimbabwe-s driest regions.

Also it has to be pointed out that a governor appointed by the President of a centralized state like Zimbabwe will often be divorced from the experiences and concerns of local communities while the needs and demands of the President, to the appointed governor, often mirror those of the Presidency rather than local people who he/she is supposed to serve. For instance, at the height of the economic depression of the past decade, in 2008, the people of Bulawayo vehemently refused to allow ZINWA to take over water supply and management in Bulawayo. This was after realizing that ZINWA had failed to adequately provide safe water to some cities leading to a cholera pandemic. Shockingly, the resident Governor of Bulawayo, Cain.G.N.Mathema, against the wishes of the residents of Bulawayo and blind to the mechanizations and failure of ZINWA, was calling for the takeover of water supply and management by the national body already proven inefficient.

The legislative branch, notably Parliament, cannot withdraw confidence from any governor or veto the Presidential appointment. At the same time, the appointment of governors unilaterally by the President leaves room for the manipulation of the governor-s office to counter the dominance of divergent political parties as is the case with the appointment of governors for Bulawayo and Harare. Realizing the loss of faith and support among the urban population of the two major cities, the President appointed provincial governors to the two new provinces, a scenario that has led to duplicity of roles with the Mayors of these respective towns.

Appointed governors have served to deter democratic development in the sense that their administration of the province lacks the legitimacy and credibility for public officials who are in office via popular election. Staunch party supporters who unsuccessfully attempt to be elected into office, risking being stranded on political sidelines are often brought back into the fray by appointing them as Governors. For instance, Cain Mathema was overwhelmingly rejected by the people of Tsholotsho during the plebiscite of 2000 yet he was imposed on the people of Bulawayo as the resident governor, a position he holds despite ZANU-PF-s glaring lack of support. Such illegitimacy has been compounded by the continued insistence of the President of unilaterally appointing governors outside the letter, spirit and stipulations of Amendment 19 and the Global Political Agreement. The schoolboy bully manner in which the governors are appointed to their posts has thus come to alienate them from the people.

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