THE FORUM FOR DEMOCRATIC REFORM TRUST
PROPOSALS FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS AND CHANGES IN
OVERALL GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE AND POLICIES
INTRODUCTION
Many of Zimbabwe’s present woes stem from the fact that we have a Constitution which is fundamentally flawed. The Constitution as it is presently framed is a negation of the principle of separation of powers in that it has vested enormous power in the hands of the ruling ZANU-PF Party without all the checks and balances necessary in any democratic society. As a result the ZANU-PF Government has disproportionate representation in Parliament, the power to pass any legislation it wishes, the power to amend the Declaration of Rights and is unaccountable for its actions. This has led to an authoritarian Government which survives upon deception, a climate of fear, control of the media and manipulation of the general populous. The result has been incompetence, widespread corruption, human rights abuse and a stifling of innovation.
All Government power flows from the Constitution and it is thus vitally important that the Constitution be amended so that it honours the following principles:
– a meaningful separation of powers between the executive, legislature and judiciary;
– respect for human rights, freedom and democracy;
– accountability for all Government actions;
– a balance should be struck between discouraging tribalism and regionalism on the one hand and yet encouraging the representation of all points of view on the other hand.
The Constitution is not the only thing that requires attention. Overall Government policies should reflect the abovementioned principles and should strive to achieve the following:
– efficient and streamlined government;
– the stimulation of the economy through pragmatic policies which promote investor confidence.
– the restoration of national pride.
The following proposals are designed to meet the abovementioned objectives.
A. CONSTITUTION
1. Executive
The Constitution must seek to separate the executive from the legislature. One of the major problems that Zimbabwe faces at present is that there is no clear divide between the executive and the legislature. The legislature has become a rubber stamp for executive action. A further problem is that the terms of office for the President are unlimited and far too long. Accordingly the following proposals are made:
(a) there shall be an office of an Executive President and vice-President;
(b) the term of office of the President shall be four years and the President’s terms of office shall be limited to two terms;
(c) the President and vice-President shall be elected on a joint ticket at a separate
time to House of Assembly elections so that there is a gap of two years between the election for the President and the election for the Legislature; election of the President and vice-President shall be by direct, universal and equal suffrage;
(d) the President shall have the power to appoint a cabinet (subject to them being approved by a simple majority of the Legislature) and is not obliged to draw cabinet members from the Legislature;
(e) the President shall have the power to initiate laws for submission and consideration by the Legislature and shall also have the power to veto legislation passed by the Legislature.
(f) The President shall have the power to appoint the Ombudsman, the Attorney-General, (which shall not be a cabinet post), the Auditor-General, the Chief of the Defence Force, the Commissioner of Police, the Commissioner of Prisons and Ambassadors, subject to them being approved by the Legislature;
(g) In the event of the death, impeachment or incapacitation of the President, the vice-President shall automatically assume the position of the President until the next scheduled Presidential elections; in the event of the death, impeachment or incapacitation of both the President and the vice-President, the Leader of the Senate shall assume the position of the President pending fresh Presidential elections, which shall be held not later than six months after the death, impeachment or incapacitation of both the President and the vice-President.
2. Legislature
As indicated, Zimbabwe’s Parliament has become sterile. There is little meaningful debate and the whims of the executive are invariably followed. This is compounded by the fact that, because of the first-past-the –post Westminster Constituency System, there is a disproportionate representation in the House of Assembly. These problems are compounded by the fact that there is no blocking mechanism in Parliament whereby legislation can be reviewed by another body and sent back for further consideration. This has resulted in certain pieces of legislation, for example the University of Zimbabwe Amendment Act, being rushed through Parliament without much thought being given to its wider effects.
The following general proposals are made:
(a) a bicameral parliament shall be re-instituted comprising of the House of Assembly and
the Senate.
(b) for purposes of elections, Zimbabwe shall be divided into ten provinces comprising
Mashonaland East, West and Central, Harare Manicaland, Midlands, Masvingo, Matabeleland North, South and Bulawayo.;
(c) The positions of Leader of the Senate, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Leader of
the House of Assembly, Leader of the Opposition in the House of Assembly and the
Speaker shall be created and shall all be accorded Ministerial status insofar as benefits
are concerned.
(i) House of Assembly
The following proposals are made regarding the establishment of the House of Assembly.
(a) The election of members of the House of Assembly shall be in accordance with the principles of proportional representation; there shall be 80 seats in the House of Assembly.
(b) Seats shall be allocated per province and for the purpose of determining the number of seats per province the total number of votes cast countrywide shall be divided by 80 which result shall constitute the quota of voters per seat; the total number of votes cast in each province shall then be divided by the quota of voters per seat and the result shall constitute the quota of seats per province.
(c) The total number of votes cast in each respective province in favour of a registered political party which offers itself for this purpose shall be divided by the quota of voters per seat and the result shall, subject to the formula mentioned in (d) below, constitute the number of seats to which that political party shall be entitled in that respective province.
(d) Where the formula set out in (c) above yields a surplus fraction not absorbed by the number of seats allocated to the political party concerned, such surplus shall compete with the other surpluses accruing to any political party, parties or independent candidates participating in the election, and any undistributed seat or seats (in terms of the formula set out above) shall be awarded to the party, parties or independent candidates concerned in sequence of the higher surplus.
(e) A political party which qualifies for seats shall be free to choose at its own discretion which persons to nominate as members of the House of Assembly to fill the said seats subject to those persons.
(i) being resident in the respective province, and,
(ii) having stood as a candidate in the respective province in the election.
(f) An independent candidate who qualifies for a seat shall take up one seat in the House of Assembly; any surplus votes in excess of the number required to qualify for a seat in favour of an independent candidate shall be distributed to other political parties participating in the respective province pro rata to the votes cast in their favour.
(g) Members of the House of Assembly shall be elected to a four-year term and, as indicated above, the elections to the House of Assembly shall alternate with the Presidential and Senate elections with a two-year gap.
(h) Members of the House of Assembly have the power to initiate and pass legislation (save for amendments to the Constitution, which shall require a two thirds majority, and the Declaration of Rights which shall be entrenched) by simple majority; thereafter legislation must go to the Senate and if passed by a simple majority shall go to the President who can either sign the legislation into law or veto the same. If legislation is vetoed by the President then the House of Assembly can pass legislation on a two-thirds majority and the legislation must then receive a two-thirds majority from the Senate to become law.
(i) The House of Assembly shall also have the power to set up a system of committees to consider presidential appointments of members of the cabinet, ambassadors, judges and the like and the appointment of the same shall become effective only after a simple majority has been obtained in the House of Assembly.
(j) Members of the House of Assembly shall elect from their number, by simple majority, a Leader of the House of Assembly.
(k) Likewise the minority members of the House of Assembly may elect from their number a person who shall be the Leader of the Opposition.
(l) The Office of Speaker of Parliament shall be created, and the Speaker shall be elected by members of the House of Assembly provided that no person shall be elected as Speaker unless he or she has received more than 60% of the votes cast; the necessary number of ballots shall be conducted until such result is reached.
(ii) Senate
(a) Two senators from each province in the country shall be elected at the same time as the
presidential elections, by direct, universal and equal suffrage within their province of
residence for four-year terms of office (their terms of office shall accordingly alternate with
members of the House of Assembly);
(b) To be elected to the Senate one must be a citizen of Zimbabwe and over 45 years of age;
(c) The Senate shall have the power to vote on legislation (save for amendments to the Constitution, which shall require a two thirds majority, and the Declaration of Rights which shall be entrenched) referred to it by the House of Assembly and if passed by simple majority the legislation shall then be referred to the President for enactment or veto;
(d) The Senate shall also have the power to refer legislation back to the House of Assembly for reconsideration prior to the same being voted upon;
(e) If the President vetoes any legislation and the same is passed by a two-thirds majority in the House of Assembly the Senate may, by a two-thirds majority, enact such legislation;
(f) A Leader of the Senate shall be appointed by a majority vote of senators;
(g) Likewise members of the Senate representing minority parties or who are independents shall be entitled to elect from them a Leader of the Opposition.
3. The Judiciary
The independence of the Judiciary in Zimbabwe has been weakened in that the Executive has the
power to determine the Judges’ tenure of office (after they reach the age of 65) and the Judiciary
has little say over its own budget.
With the above in mind the following proposals are made:
(a) Judges shall be appointed by the President on recommendation from a Judicial Service Commission comprising the Chief Justice, two senior lawyers from private practice, the Attorney General and a nominee of the Minister of Justice;
(b) the Judiciary shall be entitled to submit its own budget to the Legislature which shall only require a one-third majority in the House of Assembly and the Senate. The President shall have no right of veto over the Budget;
(c ) the retirement age of Judges shall be raised to 75 years. Supreme Court Judges may extend their tenure of office subject to a majority vote in favour of such an extension being obtained from a majority of the balance of Supreme Court Judges presiding at the time;
(d) the Supreme Court shall have the power to review any legislation passed by the Legislature to ensure that the Constitution and the fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed thereunder are upheld.
4. Declaration of Rights
The existing Zimbabwean Declaration of Rights has always been flawed and this problem has been compounded by the fact that the Rights contained therein have been watered down by the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment Act of 1990. It is proposed to strengthen the Declaration of Rights in the following manner:
(a) if needs be the Declaration of Rights shall be rewritten to bring it more in line with
international conventions on human rights and the rights contained in other African
Constitutions, such as the Namibian Constitution;
(b) in doing so provision such as the amendments to Section 15 of the Constitution shall
be repealed and new measures introduced;
(c) in particular Section 23 of the Constitution shall be amended to prohibit discrimination
on the basis of sex, and the citizenship provisions in the existing Constitution shall be amended so that they are non-discriminatory as far as women are concerned;
(d) once the Declaration of Rights has been amended as set out above the Rights shall be
entrenched so that they cannot be amended by either the Legislature or Executive.
(e) a Human Rights Commission appointed by the Chief Justice shall be established which
shall be given wide powers to investigate, monitor and report on human rights abuses
to the Legislature. Such reports shall be made public.
B. SIZE OF GOVERNMENT
1. Cabinet
One of the major reasons why Zimbabwe is in such economic decline is because of the bloated Government and Civil Service. It is important that a better balance be achieved between State and civil society. With this in mind it is proposed that:
(a) The cabinet be limited to 14 posts as follows:
Minster of Defence
Minister of Home Affairs
Minister of Agriculture, Lands, Resettlement and Rural Development
Minister of Transport
Minister of Finance, Commerce and Industry
Minister of Health
Minister of Education
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Minister of Labour and Social Welfare
Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs
Minister of Energy and Water Resources
Minister of Natural Resources, Environment and Tourism
Minister of Mines
Minister of Local Government and Housing
(b) There shall be no Deputy Ministers and Governors;
(c) All other ministries presently existing shall be abolished.
2. Parastatals
Parastatals shall be privatised on a phased basis beginning with the manufacturing entities
and progressing to service parastatals. Policies shall be devised as to which parastatals are
strategic and necessary for the overall economy and cannot be made profitable or self-
sufficient, If it is believed they are strategic to the entire economy, some Government
support shall be continued.
3. Civil Service
The Civil Service at present hinders rather than promotes development. The following measures shall be introduced to redress this:
(a) the size of the Civil Service shall be dramatically reduced primarily through the
reduction of Ministries and by cutting down on numbers of staff in the remaining
ministries;
(b) unnecessary bureaucratic procedures and red tape shall be abolished wherever possible;
(c) methods shall be made to improve the efficiency of the civil service by providing
improved conditions so as to attract competent people to the Civil Service;
(d) the Civil Service shall be apolitical and accountable to the public and necessary
legislation shall be introduced to ensure the same.
C. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY
The weakness of our Constitution has been compounded by the fact that Government has been able to get away with inefficiency, mismanagement, corruption and serious violations of human rights without censure. To prevent this from happening again the following policies shall be implemented.
1. Control of the Media
Government’s control over the mass media shall be removed through the following measures:
(a) The Mass Media Trust shall be wound down and its shares in Zimbabwe Newspapers (1980) Limited sold on the Stock market;
(b) legislation shall be passed allowing for the free operation of broadcasting services and newspapers;
(c ) legislation shall be passed prohibiting interference in the media by either the Executive or the Legislature;
(d) should public money be used to support a broadcasting corporation such grants shall be subject to approval by a two-thirds vote of the House of Assembly and the Senate.
2. Corruption
The following policies shall be introduced to combat corruption in society:
(a) Existing anti-corruption legislation shall be reviewed and the penalties increased;
(b) Legislation similar to the Hong Kong Bribery Ordinance (which makes it an offence for public officials to have a standard of living which exceeds their income) shall be introduced;
(c ) an independent Corruption Commission, appointed by the Chief Justice and approved by a simple majority in the legislature, shall be created with wide powers including the power of subpoena requiring the attendance of any person before the Commission, to order production of any document or record, to cause any person contemptuous of any such subpoena to be prosecuted before a Court of competent jurisdiction, to question any person, and power to require any person to co-operate with the Commission and to disclose truthfully and frankly any information through his or her knowledge relevant to any investigation of the Commission;
(d) legislation shall be passed to strengthen the Office of the Ombudsman (the appointment thereof shall be made by the President subject to a committee hearing and a simple majority having been obtained in the Legislature);
(e) all politicians, prior to taking office, shall be required to:
(i) place their assets and businesses under the control of a “blind trust†run on similar lines to those employed in the United states of America;
(ii) make full disclosure of all assets and business operations, and such assets and operations shall be subject to public scrutiny and audit both prior to and after the period of public office.
3. Repeal of Unjust Legislation
There shall be a general review of all legislation currently on the statute books and legislation which gives Government undue or unnecessary powers shall be repealed. In particular the Law and Order Maintenance Act shall be repealed.
4. Freedom of Information Act
Legislation shall be introduced similar to the Australian, Canadian and United States of America legislation allowing the public access to Government documentation (save for that documentation which if disclosed would prejudice the security of Zimbabwe). The absence of such legislation to date has enabled Government to hide cases of inefficiency, mismanagement and corruption.
D. GOVERNMENT MINISTERIAL POLICIES
1. Ministry of Defence
With Zimbabwe’s present defence budget exceeding 11% of total Government capital and recurrent expenditure and given the fact that the subregion would appear to be moving towards peaceful resolution of its problems, the following general policies shall be implemented:
(a) Zimbabwe shall enter into non-aggression pacts with all surrounding nations;
(b) existing military co-operation agreements shall be reviewed and any such agreements entered into with authoritarian states shall be terminated;
(c) Zimbabwe shall pursue a policy of neutrality and non-intervention in the affairs of other countries which shall, for example, involve an immediate withdrawal from Mozambique of all military personnel;
(d) the size of the defence budget shall be dramatically reduced with the aim of bringing it down to less than 3% of total capital and recurrent expenditure;
(e) the role of the Army shall be revised with an emphasis on civil defence. With this in mind the following policies shall be instituted:
(i) training shall be concentrated on small highly drilled reaction forces which can respond to national disasters and protect VIPs, diplomats and tourists;
(ii) the number of barracks shall be reduced and where barracks are not required for the defence forces they shall be turned into factories/agricultural training institutions/schools/universities where possible.
(iii) the Army Corps of engineers shall be tasked, inter alia, with building an infrastructure of dams, bridges, highways and other facilities strategic to the welfare of the nation;
(iv) The Army shall be taught skills to be able to grow food and other crops to feed itself and the nation.
(f) regarding the Air Force the following policies shall be implemented:
combat jets shall be reduced to one squadron for ceremonial purposes;
(i) there shall be no new purchases of combat jets and the number of existing
(ii) the Air Force’s role shall concentrate on surveillance of our borders, anti
3. The Ministry of Home Affairs
The following functions falling under the Ministry of Home Affairs shall be given special attention:
(a) The Police
(i) as indicated above the appointment of the Police Commissioner shall be subject to approval by a Committee of the House of Assembly;
(ii) additional funds shall be provided to improve Police communications and transport;
(iii) the Police Act shall be strengthened with a view to combatting corruption within the police force and in particular any police officer either charged with a criminal offence or being investigated regarding a criminal offence must be suspended immediately. If a commissioned officer is suspended the suspension shall not be lifted until an independent Commission of Inquiry has been convened, which Inquiry shall be presided over by a High Court Judge;
(iv) both the Police Internal Security and Intelligence Service (PIS) and the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) shall be abolished and replaced by a small intelligence unit responsible for investigating economic sabbotage and gathering foreign intelligence. Legislation shall be passed governing the operations of the intelligence unit which shall fall under the Ministry of Home affairs and which shall have a budget subject to public scrutiny;
(v) training in human rights law shall become a compulsory aspect of police training;
(vi) the Police shall be apolitical and accountable to the public and necessary legislation shall be introduced to ensure the same.
(b) Immigration Policy
(i) the current discrimination against women in immigration policy shall be abolished
through legislation;
(ii) given the fact that the level of skills in Zimbabwe is extremely low, people with
the correct qualifications and/or skills shall be allowed to immigrate to Zimbabwe
and become permanent residents;
(iii) skilled Zimbabweans living outside Zimbabwe shall be encouraged to return to
Zimbabwe.
(c ) Passport, Birth and Deaths and Identification documents
Much of the red tape and incompetence which presently affects these office shall be cut and every effort shall be made to attract competent staff to run these departments.
(d) Law and Order Maintenance Act
As indicated above the Law and Order Maintenance Act shall be repealed.
3. The Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Resettlement and Rural Development
It should be noted that a more detailed paper of agriculture and land policy is included separately. Accordingly this section will deal with general policies to be implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Resettlement and rural Development. Policies are governed by the principle that there must be real improvement in the standard of living for rural people without an overall loss of productivity and as such a balance must be struck. Following are the principal policies which shall be implemented:
(a) Land Reform
(i) a thorough review of all the present communal areas shall be undertaken and
the view of the people in those areas shall be sought and if needs be subjected
to a referendum;
(ii) subject to the views of the people being canvassed it is proposed that existing communal lands and land presently owned by Government for resettlement should be put up for tenure by skilled farmers. The size of each smallholding shall be determined by the Farmers. The size of each smallholding shall be determined by the Farmers Unions and title shall be given to individual owners;
(iii) legislation shall be introduced to prohibit grazing of livestock by people not
actually resident on existing communal lands;
(iv) the long-term goal shall be that all rural land ultimately shall be privately
owned. It is recognised that this is a mammoth process and that it will take
some time. Appropriate legislation shall be introduced to assist people who are
presently resident in communal areas to purchase land. Likewise legislation
shall be introduced to discourage urban based businessmen from purchasing
such land;
(iv) national and international experts shall be brought in to advise Government;
(v) how to revitalise present communal areas and to halt their desertification.
(b) Indigenous Commercial Farmers
(i) certain aspects of the Land Acquisition Act 1992 shall be amended, in particular changing the compensation procedures and the designation procedures. Compensation shall be subject to review by the Courts and the Minister shall be allowed to designate land only in certain circumstances. The powers granted to the Minister shall be reduced and the purpose of the Act shall be reframed in such a way to ensure that it is used for the resettling of only competent indigenous (being Zimbabwean citizens) commercial farmers on existing commercial farms;
(ii) with the above in mind further legislation shall be introduced to give the necessary financial backup to indigenous commercial farmers to enable them to purchase commercial farms in terms of the Act and to enable them to finance their future farming operations;
(iii) funds allocated to tertiary agricultural educational institutions like Gwebi
College shall be increased with a view to improving the quality of education
given by existing institutions and to building further institutions;
(iv) in liaison with commercial farmers, legislation shall be passed enabling
graduates of agricultural education institutions to be employed by registered
commercial farmers for a set number of years so that they can gain the
necessary practical experience necessary prior to being placed on farms
acquired in terms of the Land Acquisition Act.
(c) Environmental Policy
(i) conservation legislation shall be strengthened to enable Government to take
over any degraded land, subject to fair compensation being paid, for resettlement by indigenous commercial farmers;
(ii) in liaison with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of energy legislation shall be passed promoting the use of coal stoves in rural areas and speeding up the electrification of rural areas;
(iii) emphasis shall be given to construction of large dams and irrigation schemes.
(d) Promotion of Commercial Farming
(i) pricing policies and taxation benefits favourable to increased production
shall be introduced;
(ii) priority shall be given to the supply of inputs (aside from labour) as cheaply as possible;
(iii) fiscal policies designed to support the financing and research of all aspect of commercial agriculture shall be promoted.
The Ministry of Transport and Communications
(a) Transport
(i) Air Zimbabwe shall be privatised and encouraged to enter into co-operation agreements with other regional and international airlines;
(ii) an “open-air†policy shall be declared to increase the number of airlines flying into Zimbabwe;
(iii) support for the National Railways of Zimbabwe’s restructuring programme shall be continued;
(iv) funds available for road maintenance and construction shall be increased;
(v) joint ventures for the manufacture of locomotives and motor vehicles shall be encouraged.
(b) Communications
(i) every effort shall be made to privatise the Posts and Telecommunications Corporation;
(ii) recognising that an efficient telecommunications system is vital to economic development priority shall be given to updating the existing telephone system.
5. The Ministry of Finance, Commerce and Industry
There is a completely separate chapter on economic policy and accordingly only broad policy issues will be dealt with here, which are as follows:
(a) Promotion of a free market economy
(i) Government shall be committed to promoting a free market economy;
(ii) there shall be a reduction of control over all sectors of the economy by Government;
(iii) foreign exchange controls shall be loosened with a view to having ultimately no foreign exchange controls whatsoever;
(iv) ownership of foreign exchange accounts shall be permitted;
(v) there shall be tariff protection for certain fledging industries;
(vi) ESAP shall be implemented with more vigour and with a few changes.
(b) Taxation
(i) Government shall aim at reducing maximum effective rates for taxation for individuals to approximately 20% and companies to 30%;
(ii) more stringent tax legislation and accompanying penalties shall be introduced to ensure that overall revenues increase through the combined effect of lower taxation rates and disincentives to evade tax;
(iii) legislation shall be introduced to ensure that all income earners, save for those below the poverty datum line, are included in the tax system;
(iv) legislation shall be introduced to allow deductions to be made regarding donations to registered charities, welfare organisations and educational institutions.
(c) Monopolies
(i) a monopolies commission shall be established;
(ii) anti-trust legislation shall be introduced.
(d) Financial Accountability
(i) the public of Zimbabwe at present has no idea how foreign exchange reserves are spent and the legislation shall be introduced to ensure that Government is accountable for expenditure of both foreign and local funds;
(ii) with the above in mind the Legislature shall be given the power to appoint an independent advisory board, chaired by a Chartered Accountant appointed by the Institute of Chartered Accountants to audit and report on expenditure of foreign currency earned by both the private and public sector.
(e) Customs
(i) the present method of using customs duties to raise funds for Government shall be abolished;
(ii) as mentioned above duties shall be implemented primarily with a view to protecting fledging local industries from competition from external competitors.
(f) Government Businesses
(i) Government businesses such the State Trading Corporation, the Zimbabwe Reinsurance Corporation and the Zimbabwe Development Corporation shall be either abolished or privatised;
(ii) furtherrmore Government shall dispose of all its business investments in companies such as the Delta Corporation;
(iii) political parties shall be prohibited by legislation from owing and running businesses, and any political parties owning existing businesses shall be required to sell off their interests in such businesses.
6. The Ministry of Health
Recognising that Government has an obligation to improve health facilities for all its people the following policies shall be implemented:
(a) there shall be a greater allocation of funding in the budget than at present and funding shall keep up with inflation in real terms;
(b) Government shall embark on a major building programme, especially in cities, to ensure that adequate facilities are provided;
(c) there shall be greater investment in the purchase of modern health equipment;
(d) Government shall look at ways and means of providing attractive conditions for medical staff so that the same can be kept and further staff attracted to Zimbabwe;
(e) all restrictions on Doctors wishing to enter private practice shall be removed;
(f) the present tax credits given to tax payers who are on medical aid schemes shall be increased.
7. Ministry of Education
All Zimbabwe’s educational institutions shall be brought under the wing of one Ministry. Government’s overall policy shall be marked by an increase in Government’s expenditure on education as it is believed that the further prosperity of our country lies in a highly educated workforce. The ability to read and write and to perform the elementary functions of arithmetic should be ensured for every citizen.
(a) Government controlled Universities
(i) Government shall encourage the setting up of independent universities in the country;
(ii) Government shall give existing universities further autonomy and legislation such as the University of Zimbabwe Amendment Act shall be repealed taking into account the wishes of the academic community;
(iii) the National University for Science and Technology shall be turned into a general university and consideration shall be given to renaming both the University of Zimbabwe and NUST.
(iv) Government shall respect the right of the students and academics to protest peacefully and shall enter into dialogue with academics and students wherever possible.
(b) Government Schools
(i) Government shall be committed to the principle of free education, at lease initially, up to the seventh grade;
(ii) the emphasis on academic education for all shall be changed and more effort shall go into technical and agricultural education, especially in rural schools;
(iii) primary school fees shall be abolished although token secondary school fees shall be levied.
(iv) efforts shall be made to improve teachers’ conditions and those of academics in teachers training colleges.
(c) Private Schools/Universities
(i) the Education Act 1992 shall be amended to remove Government control over the setting of fees in private schools;
(ii) legislation shall be introduced to allow payments by companies, partnerships and individuals to construct registered private schools to be tax deductible;
(iii) Zimbabwe shall be promoted as a haven of secondary educational institutions and foreigners shall be encouraged to attend our private schools;
(iv) existing legislation shall be reviewed to ensure that a setting up of further private schools and universities can be encouraged.
8. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
In the past our embassies have often been used to promote a particular ideology. The general policy of Government shall change and our foreign policy and embassies shall be designed primarily to promote trade, investment and tourism. With this in mind the following policies shall be introduced:
(a) The number of embassies shall be cut and only those located in countries which are most likely to invest in Zimbabwe, trade with Zimbabwe or send tourists to Zimbabwe shall be maintained and strengthened;
(b) Existing ties with authoritarian states shall be downgraded;
(c) Diplomatic ties shall be established with south Korea, the Republic of China, Israel (diplomatic ties with the PLO shall be retained) and South Africa (subject to the latter continuing on the road to democracy) and other countries which meet the criteria mentioned in (a) supra;
(d) Zimbabwe shall re-assess its participation in certain international for a;
(e) As mentioned above regarding defence policy, Zimbabwe shall withdraw its
military from Mozambique as soon as possible;
(f) Zimbabwe shall encourage increased co-operation, especially in the field of the economy and energy supplies, in the sub-region and with this in mind shall reduce customs tariffs and shall consider making application to join the South African Customs Union.
9 The Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare
(a) Labour
Labour policy in Zimbabwe has been a paradox in that the Labour Relations Act has had the effect of overprotecting the labour force and yet Government policy has been to undermine the trade union movement. Policies shall be introduced to create an atmosphere whereby the hardworking are amply rewarded, the unproductive can be fired easily and the trade union movement is promoted. In particular the following policies shall be introduced:
(i) the termination of employment provisions in the Labour Relations Act shall be streamlined and the present five-tier system shall be abolished; in its place a two-tier system shall be implemented comprising of a first hearing before a local labour board with right of appeal, thereon to the High Court on matters of law only; codes of conduct for employers and employees shall be introduced;
(ii) Government shall encourage trade unions to enter into collective bargaining with employers and shall strengthen constitutional provisions to prevent Government from having the power to de-register trade unions.
(b) Social Welfare Organisations
As mentioned above Government, shall do all in its power to encourage the development of civil society and in this regard the Government shall enact legislation to promote private welfare organisations especially those which provide medical, educational, legal aid and feeding services. As indicated above legislation shall be introduced to make donations by companies and private individuals to such organisations tax deductible.
10 The Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs
Not many changes shall be made to the operation of the Ministry of Justice save for the following:
(a) consideration shall be given to establishing High Courts in Mutare, Gweru and Masvingo;
(b) the Attorney-General shall not be in the cabinet although his or her appointment shall be subject to approval by the Legislature and shall be limited to two four-years terms of office;
(c) Government shall do everything within its financial resources to extend legal services to people who cannot at present afford the services of private legal practitioners. This shall be done through increasing funds made available in terms of the Legal Assistance Act and by increasing grants to organisations such as the Legal Resources Foundation of Zimbabwe. Donations made to organisations such as the Legal Resources Foundation shall be tax deductible in the hand of the donor.
11. The Ministry of Energy and Water Resources
(a) Energy
(i) Government shall review the Batoka Gorge project to see whether it is necessary and viable at the present time;
(ii) Government shall expedite steps to import electricity from the Caborra Bassa Dam;
(iii) Government shall work on regional co-operation projects such as the development of Zairian hydro electrical schemes, so as to obtain the cheapest electricity possible;
(iv) expansion of Hwange Power Station to its maximum 6 phase capacity shall be considered.
(b) Water Development
(i) Government shall give top priority to the development of dams and irrigation schemes throughout the country and these shall be integrated with resettlement programmes;
(ii) legislation shall be passed to build a pipeline from the Zambezi River to Bulawayo and to develop irrigation projects in Matabeleland North (using pipeline water) and Matabeleland South (using water released from Bulawayo’s existing storage dams);
(iii) co-operation treaties shall be entered into with neighbouring countries to develop and use water resources available on boundaries and in adjacent territories; for example Government shall seek to co-operate with the Government of Mozambique for Mutare to draw on Mozambique water supplies; likewise negotiations shall be entered into with the Republic of South Africa and Zambia to develop dams on the Limpopo and further dams on the Zambezi, respectively.
12. The Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Tourism
Existing policies shall be continued save that as mentioned above, further legislation shall be introduced to prevent pollution, land degradation and the destruction of our natural resources.
13. The Ministry of Mines
The only significant policy changes shall be as follows:
(a) the Minerals Marketing Corporation shall be abolished;
(b) legislation shall be introduced to control gold panning and other speculating which is damaging to the environment.
14. The Ministry of Local Government and Housing
(a) Local Government
(i) Legislation shall be introduced to reverse the policies of the last 12 years which have been to centralise controls;
(ii) additional powers shall be given to local councils and municipalities to run themselves with a minimum of interference from Central Government;
(iii) in particular revenues generated from local concerns, such as beer gardens, shall be kept by local councils and municipalities for local development.
(b) Housing
(i) policies shall be introduced to reinforce the involvement of the private sector in housing;
(ii) the viability of the building societies shall be restored by allowing them to operate with more autonomy and control over interest rates;
(iii) legislation shall be introduced to encourage private home ownership through tax benefits on interest payments on mortgage bonds and by granting 100% special initial allowances to companies and businesses for expenditure on lower income group housing and 50% special initial allowances being granted to companies and businesses on middle and higher income group housing.
E. GENERAL GOVERNMENT POLICIES
1. Promotion of an economic community in Southern Africa
Recognising that there are great benefits to be enjoyed if an economic community in Southern Africa were to be established, Government shall seek to encourage the formation of an economic community which shall include all countries in Southern and Central Africa south of the northern borders of Angola, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique. Whilst the initial programme of action shall be to develop an economic community, Government shall pursue the option of encouraging the development of a federal Southern African State comprising all the countries demarcated above.
2 .Removal of all vestiges of Marxist/Leninism
Government shall legislate to remove all vestiges of Marxism including the removal of the red star from the national flag and all coats of arms. Other traditions established by the present Government which are in keeping with standard Marxist/Leninist policies shall be discouraged although not legislated against.
3. National Anthem
Ishe Komborera Africa shall be retained as the National Anthem.
4. Promotion of the family
Recognising that the family is the most important part of a strong nation, existing legislation shall be reviewed to see what can be done to bolster families. Consideration shall be given to introducing a Family Day as a day of thanksgiving for families.
5. Promotion of freedom of worship
The freedom of worship shall be encouraged and donations to bona fide churches and para-church organisations shall be tax deductible in the hands of donors.
6. Local and international human rights groups
The establishment of local human rights organisations shall be supported through Government grants, and international human rights groups, such as Amnesty International, Africa Watch, the Commonwealth Human Rights Unit and others, shall be invited to open offices in Zimbabwe. Likewise international human rights groups shall be encouraged to monitor all elections and to submit reports on alleged human rights abuses to Government and the national press.
7. Family Planning
Existing family planning policies shall be continued and strengthened through the introduction of tax benefits to encourage small families.
8. Promotion of Sport
Aside from a Sports Commission appointed by the President to advise on sports bodies there shall be minimal Government interference in sport. Government however shall spend money on the construction of sports facilities in liaison with local councils and municipalities.
9. Referenda
Government shall commit itself, if needs be through provisions contained in the Constitution, to consult people through referenda on major policy issues.
10. Promotion of national pride
A conscious effort shall be made to reduce the size of Government both in terms of size and attitude. In this regard Government shall promote national pride ad loyalty over party or ideological loyalty. Awards and national decorations shall be granted on the basis of commitment to one’s country and achievement which benefit one’s country, rather than on the basis of one’s loyalty to a particular party or ideology.
JUNE 1992. Drafted by David Coltart