In its 2013 election manifesto, the ruling party, Zanu (PF) promised among other things to create 2,2 million jobs as well as implement policies that would improve the ordinary people’s welfare through access to decent housing, access to health and affordable education.
By Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition
Events that have unfolded after the party won the 2013 elections, though under controversial circumstances, have however been to the contrary.
Quite worrisome is the fact that government, which evidently lacks the capacity to address the multitude of challenges facing Zimbabwe today, lacks a sense of urgency to address the economic meltdown currently prevailing in the country.
It is disturbing that the ruling party seems pre-occupied with holding on to power at the expense of the economy and infighting among ruling party officials has made the situation much worse.
Instead of the 2,2 million jobs promised in 2013, Zimbabwe last year witnessed a spate of an estimated 28 000 job losses as industries continued to close while Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) continued to evade the country due to policy inconsistency although the government has tried to play down the situation through the much hyped mega deals with China and other foreign firms.
Currently, the health sector, which has been seriously underfunded, is in a critical state amid reports of a serious drug shortage at major hospitals that are referring impoverished patients to private institutions that often charge high fees which are beyond the reach of the majority of ordinary Zimbabweans.
The education sector has also not been spared and currently, discontent is high among teaching staff around the country owing to non-payment of bonuses and uncertainty over pay dates.
While critical sectors of the economy such as manufacturing, farming and mining remain in a very critical state, the government, seemingly unaware of the extent of Zimbabwe’s economic demise, has since its 2013 election victory come up with policies and measures that have proved its disregard of the constitutional Bill of Rights.
The current house demolitions which are most rampant in Harare have shown government’s total disregard of the Constitutional Bill Of Rights.
Zimbabwe’s Constitution guarantees the right to adequate shelter under Section 28 while Section 74, under the Declaration of Rights is clear that “No person may be evicted from their home, or have their home demolished, without an order of court made after considering all the relevant circumstances”.
The demolitions being implemented by the Harare City Council are in total disregard of Section 74 of the Constitution as in some cases, the destructions are being done against court orders while in most of the cases the plight of the victims who will be forced to sleep in the open after being rendered homeless is not being considered as well.
Resultantly, the victims are being forced to live under squalid conditions at places where they would have been reportedly resettled. Children have been affected as well and some are being forced to drop out of school due to the displacements.
To add on to the house demolitions are issues such as the introduction of pre-paid water meters that have been met with resistance among impoverished Zimbabweans as well as the war against informal traders who have sought refuge in the informal economy in a country with an unemployment rate of over 80 percent.
CIZC attributes the current Zimbabwean crisis to democratic deficits, political challenges and poor governance.
In light of this challenge, CIZC advocates for a democratic developmental state in which the advancement of political and civil rights as well as the economic well-being of citizens is prioritized.
It is CIZC’s firm view that the weak enforcement of the Constitutional Bill of Rights, breakdown of the rule of law, failure to democratize the politics, disregard of property rights, poor political leadership as well as the decay of State economic institutions has worsened the Zimbabwean crisis over the years.
CIZC advocates for macro-economic stability that is pro-poor, inclusive and human centered.
The government’s fundamental flaw has been its failure to make the Bill of Rights the cornerstone in decision making and interpretation of the law, formulation as well as implementation of policy.
CIZC remains concerned with government’s apparent lack of urgency as far as aligning new laws to Zimbabwe’s constitution is concerned.
