Zanu PF resolutions clearly from a ‘tired and exhausted organization’- Tendai Biti

The Resolutions of the just ended ZANU conference are an interesting potpourri of ambitious vacuous targets set by a clearly tired and exhausted organization driven by two principle agendas namely power retention and extraction.

The 162 Resolutions betray anger and indignation directed at ZANU’s own clueless Government and commanding same to act with speed on some critical issues.

The Resolutions are an ambitious wish list which at the end of the day read like a badly written , content free manifesto. Beyond the mess and hubris of the long winding 162 Resolutions only 5 merit attention as these will have a major impact in the short term trajectory of Zimbabwe.

Resolution 1 which seeks to extend Mnangagwa’s term office to 2030 is a disastrous polemic. We have consistently argued that the 3 rd term agenda is a retrograde ambition that will push Zimbabwe to the brink of a conflict.

The overwhelming majority of Zimbabweans are decisively opposed to this. After all it was the same Zimbabweans who passed a constitution with entrenched term limits only 11 years ago in a overwhelming referendum.

The attempt to to assault and emasculate the Constitution will be resisted. After all the 2013 constitution was a negotiated settlement where ZANU consented to term limits. It can’t renege on its undertakings. Term limits offer protection against autocratic hegemony and those who lived 38 long years of abuse under Mugabe must surely understand the importance of term limits.

Resolution 34 which calls for the expediting of the new land policy allowing the privatization of agriculture land acquired during the land reform program was smuggled in without debate.

We have publicly argued that ZANU’s new land policy is a structural reversal of the land reform program being done without respect to the Constitution and the principles defined in Chapter 16 of the Constitution. The restoration of the land market requires national consensus.

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Given that land is a finite resource a privatization agenda without public input and a legal framework will just be a looting exercise. The last four decades has witnessed systematic extraction and grandscale looting by ZANU and the cartels that own it.

The entire economy is an arena of capture. US$2b is looted annually directly from State coffers whilst Zimbabwe experiences annual illicit financial flows of US$3b. Lithium, gold, platinum, chrome, diamonds and tobacco being at the center of the looting.

Further any debate on land tenure should not exclude the 19 m hectares of communal land.

The privatization agenda can’t be carried out without a land audit and the Land Commission creating a mechanism of vetting would be purchasers to avoid a situation where the majority of land will now be owned by a few.

Resolution 17 calls for complete de-dollarisation and use of the ZIG as Zim s exclusive currency. Conditions for de-dollarisation don’t exist. This dangerous resolution will fundamentally damage this economy. ZANU must accept that Zimbabwe’s currency challenges are a political problem.

That we have failed to hold on to a currency because of a government that can’t live within its means and survives through the excessive printing of money. A government so incompetent that it has allowed its ZIG currency to die through the negligent lapsing of SI 60 of 2024.

Resolution 23 which calls for amending the Mines and Minerals Act to allow anyone to explore land covered by an Exclusive Prospective Order (EPO) will needless to say have the dramatic effect of reducing and eliminating foreign direct investment in mineral exploration in Zimbabwe.

This resolution is ill thought. However what is clear is the tension between mining rights and land rights. Making mining rights superior to land rights is creating conflict on the ground. The Mines and Minerals Act therefore requires an extensive overhaul and modernization.

Finally Resolution 114 calls upon the ZANU government to expedite the promulgation of devolution laws. This resolution is an effective vote of no confidence by ZANU on its own government. 11 years after the enactment of the new Constitution ZANU refuses to an enact a devolution law.

Yet Devolution Funds are being disbursed without a legal framework. Devolution Funds have effectively become a slush fund. ZANU shouldn’t be allowed to kill Devolution by non enactment of the law. Elected Provincial reps for 2018 and 2023 have not held office because of this.

There is no question that Zimbabwe faces an existential crises of leadership. ZANU is tired and far removed from the day to day challenges of the ordinary wananchi. It’s 3 rd term agenda will cause chaos in the motherland. Those who plant storms will reap tsunamis.

Tendai Biti is a Constitutional Lawyer who served as Finance Minister in the 2009-2013 coalition government in Zimbabwe