ROUNDTABLE ON THE INCLUSIVE GOVERNMENT OF ZIMBABWE
AMANZI LODGE, 30TH SEPTEMBER, 2009
SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION
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:
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“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.