The minute Cde E.D. Mnangagwa assumed office of the presidency, the clock started ticking on his first 100 days in office. But why the fascination with a president’s first 100 days?. Does a first 100 days provide some insight into how President Mnangagwa will run the government up until elections or beyond if he wins a fresh mandate?
By Vusi Nyamazana
The concept of grading the president’s first 100 days was born of the Great Depression, when Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) was aware that voters were desperate for fast action from their president. Knowing that the promise of expedient moves to ameliorate job loss, hunger and depleted national morale would set him apart, FDR became the first president to make big promises about immediate action and then followed through in a serious way. FDR’s impact on American government was nothing short of monumental, but although he was elected to the presidency no fewer than four times, he enacted a good chunk of his most significant policies during his first 100 days in office.
President Mnangagwa in his inauguration speech on the 24th of November 2017, defined his Presidential priorities. The key was not just what he said he’d do, but when. There is particular pressure on him to deliver something in the first 100 days to demonstrate he’s moving the country forward.
We expect the media and the public to keep scrupulous tabs on these first months of President Mnangagwa’s presidency. The first 100 days is really important in Zimbabwe considering that the economy has collapsed and all economic fundamentals are wrong. Given this scenario he would be judged so much on his early accomplishments. Unfortunately for him, Zimbabweans may not give him time to make mistakes and learn, nor focus on long term vision and not have to worry so much about tactical maneuvering.
Unfortunately, President Mnangagwa has to live in the Zimbabwe he inherited. A country with a struggling economy and a financial crisis. It’s a Zimbabwe in which his early days has a disproportionate impact on all that follows. Any significant missteps will feed downward spirals that can be hard to arrest. So its far better for him to get early wins that build personal credibility and political capital, rather than dig himself into holes and have to clamber back out. He has a back breaker task to build a granite foundation in a period of confusion.
There are those who argue that 100 days is not really important, and that it is an ‘arbitrary benchmark” which hasn’t correlated very much with subsequent success or failure. Whether an administration has success or not really depends on the five years, or 10 years if it has two terms. What truly matters is what the president is able to accomplish over the course of his entire term. The first 100 days mark according to this argument, is not the end of the story, its the end of the beginning.
The larger point, though, is that Zimbabweans should focus on the first 100 days, but be mindful that President Mnangagwa still has plenty more time ( +-240 days before elections) to get things done as president. Whether he possesses the competence to do so is an open question, but he certainly has the time.
We expect the President to give his administration a self-appraisal in honor of the 100 day mark that ends on the 4th of March 2018.
Vusi Nyamazana is a Political Analyst. Call or Whatsapp on +27 78 421 6302 or email vusi.nyamazana@yahoo.com
