Public Policy formulation and Implementation in Zimbabwe

PUBLIC POLICY FORMULATION AND IMPLEMENTATION IN ZIMBABWE: INTERGRATIVE AND DIS-INTEGRATIVE TRENDS AND ITS NEXUS WITH PEACE BUILDING SADOMBA, Frederick Chakupa Senior Lecturer, Department of Peace Studies Zimbabwe Open University, Marondera, Zimbabwe and SHORA, Bruno Department of Peace Studies Zimbabwe Open University Marondera, Zimbabwe ABSTRACT Multitudes of researches on policy making and implementation in Zimbabwe have been undertaken. Nevertheless, we are part of those who sought to go beyond and investigate a connection that may be existing between public policy making, implementation and peace-building. We were also very much concerned as to why is it that despite the abundance of already existing knowledge base on policy and also tens of economic blue-prints, Zimbabwe is not yet there? This motivated us to search for the missing link. Such became the objectives of this paper. Serious content reviews and in-depth interviews on a simple random sampling basis were implored across the academia, the public, the political and business fraternity. Major findings of the study were that at times party business seem to override government business, citizen participation is not yet fully utilised, masses do not own the policies, policies are made at the top, some policies are personalised, at times legitimacy has hampered the success of some policies, the role of the civil service, the colonial legacy and the need to reform are all of paramount importance on this subject. Eventually, we made recommendations to the effect that there should a paradigm shift all together in this process and experiment initiating policy processes at the grassroots, broaden up citizen participation, accord ownership of policies to masses, mend relations with the developed as soon as possible, motivate the civil service and also reform major socio-economic institutions. In this regard, good lessons were also drawn from East Asia. Keywords: Public Policy, Peace-Building, Zimbabwe. SACHA JOURNAL OF POLICY AND STRATEGIC STUDIES SADOMBA, Frederick Chakupa and SHORA, Bruno SJPSS 7(1) 2017 11- 12 1. INTRODUCTION It is common cause that post-independence black majority governments have come up with tens of public policies, chief amongst them being the ZIMPREST (1996-2001), Economic Structural Adjustment Programme-ESAP (1990), the Land Reform Programme (2000), the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act (Act no.14 of 2007), Short Term Economic Recovery Plan-STERP (2009), Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable SocioEconomic Transformation- ZIMASSET (2013-2018), SONA/the 10 Point Economic Plan (2016), just to mention but a few. Some meaningful and historical achievements have been recorded out of some of these policies, for instance, empowering the once poor marginalised black community to also own major means of production such as land and companies. Of course some unruly elements capitalised on the era for self-enrichment. However, as a matter of fact, if all these policies, or rather super economic blue-prints had been all that successful, there will be no doubt that by now Zimbabwe would have been a socio-economic powerhouse, not only in SADC but in Africa, (IMF, 2010). Of course, some short comings of these policies have or rather can be attributed to a sanction regime imposed by the Western Powers at the turn of the new millennium as well as to some unforeseen natural disasters such as droughts and flooding as well as heart-breaking pandemics such as cholera (2008) and typhoid. One can also find fault in a political crisis which can be traced back to around 1999, the time when Zimbabwe first encountered a robust domestic political opposition in the form of the Movement of Democratic Change with the emergency of other political out fits later with others including the MDC splitting to form some new off-shoots. In this study, we tend to ask ourselves, why is it that despite a plethora of a number of social and economic blue-prints, Zimbabwe is not yet there, were it ought to be by now. We sought to address this puzzling question by interrogating the way all these policies are formulated and implemented in Zimbabwe. Being peace practitioners, and also with the understanding that peace does not merely means an absence of war (Sandy and Perkins, 2002), we further sought to establish the nexus between policy formulation, implementation and peace-building in Zimbabwe. In so doing, we further sought to establish the missing link between all these important facets. In our analysis, it will not be possible to scrutinise all the policies which Zimbabwe has drawn or not drawn since 1980. For the purposes of this research, more bias was towards the ZIMASSET (2013-2018), with the only reason being that it has been one of the most recent yet so topical government policy. Nevertheless, were necessary, reference was made to some other policies even from other countries, all with the ultimate aim of drawing some lessons so as to enhance policy success in Zimbabwe. 2. MATERIALS AND METHOD This study was based on a review of related old, recent and current literature. Qualitative data was crucial hence interviews were carried out on the research population which comprised of various technocrats, politicians, economists and peace practitioners based in Marondera and Harare. The Simple random sampling technique was adopted in the process. Limited financial resources could not facilitate the gathering of data across all the country’s provinces. Nevertheless, from this sample, probable conclusions were made and eventually, recommendations were offered. SADOMBA, Frederick Chakupa and SHORA, Bruno SJPSS 7(1) 2017 11- 13 2.1 Findings (a) The link between ZIMASSET and Peace-building Our stand point and view has been that good policy formulation, good policy implementation leads to a socio-economic and political development that which will eventually transform into a foundation for a peaceful society, hence we term it as well “peace-building”. Looking at the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (ZIMASSET 2013-2018), we read from the main policy document that: This economic blue print was developed through a consultative process involving political leadership in the ruling ZANU PF party, government, private sector and other stakeholders. (b) Party politics vs government From the above extract, we get to have a rough picture of how policies or rather the ZIMASSET was formulated. First and for most, it was developed through a wider consultative process involving political leadership in the ruling party ZANU PF. It is not in dispute that before we talk of a government, we talk of political parties which then become raw materials for the formation of government, but now, when we talk about a national policy being underlined to have been developed by a particular party, that may raise some concerns when it comes to the implementation of such a policy and later on peace building as shall be demonstrated. Underpinning a particular policy to be a brain child of a certain political party runs the risk of failing to attract the much needed cooperation from other political parties, mainly those in the opposition camp whose numbers despite being outnumbered (if the 2013 Election results is anything to go by) cannot be ignored when it comes to a successful implementation of a policy. This therefore calls for the drawing of clear lines between government business and political parties’ when it comes to the crafting and formulation of policies so that at the end of the day, the process does not appear to be a family affair, but rather a national process and exercise in the truest sense. Such an approach of a political party perspective in the formulation of policies does not seem to contribute much towards peace building. As a number of youthful urbanites interviewed revealed, there were of the opinion that the ZIMASSET was a ZANU PF project which they found difficult to comprehend and embrace, yet in actual facts, it is a national and government project which seek to revive the economy from various angles and clusters. To an extent, there is some truth in that belief as the ZIMASSET blueprint largely formed the ZANU PF’s manifesto ahead of the 2013 general elections. The net effect of such a scenario is that those outside ZANU PF are likely to resist the policy by whatever means possible. A concrete example is a scenario whereby sections of the youthful community having actually mocked the title of the policy “ZIMASSET” and likened it to heavily built backs of some women and in peace circles, it has been long accepted that conflict is detrimental to development. 2.2 Policy making, implementation and citizen participation, the hallmark of a stable society The other missing link we have come to discover in the formation and implementation of policies in Zimbabwe is that of a lack of citizen participation at all levels or stages of the process. The major players cited in the ZIMASSET Towards an empowered society and a growing economy (2013) document includes “ZANU PF, government, the SADOMBA, Frederick Chakupa and SHORA, Bruno SJPSS 7(1) 2017 11- 14 private sector and other stakeholders”. Citizens, if at all, seem to be mentioned in the periphery. 3. OWNERSHIP OF PUBLIC POLICIES We were of the opinion that since a policy is made for the people, its success is hinged on the willingness, the acceptance and the ownership of the policy by the general populace. In this regard, Babooa (2008) chips in with some interesting remarks to the effect that “Public participation is regarded as one of the milestones of democracy”. The moment we start talking of democracy, some democratic tendencies and citizen participation, we gravitate towards peace building, hence the nexus. In the Government of Zimbabwe, National Monitoring and Evaluation Policy which was developed to enhance the implementation of ZIMASSET by providing clear guidelines for the conduct of monitoring and evaluation of all government programmes and projects, it was reported that the development of the policy involved stakeholder consultative workshops which were conducted in Harare and Bulawayo to input into the policy. It was further reported that the workshops drew participants from various social spheres, public sector, business, political arena, multilateral agencies, civil society and academia. Indeed in the crafting of any policy, the need for technocrats may not be over emphasized but general public participation is something which now needs to be amplified if any change or some better results are to be realised. A good example in this regard is what COPAC did during the crafting of the new 2013 Constitution. Extensive, real and actual public out reaches were conducted followed by a referendum. There is no doubt that there are very few conflicts if any even across the political divide over this constitution. People own it hence its implementation and enforcement will not be a mammoth task and that would at most translate to peace building. 3.1 The top vs the grassroots Moreso, in this case, workshops were held in Bulawayo and Harare. Surely, Harare and Bulawayo is not Zimbabwe. Although when reduced to scale, they can be representations of the entire Zimbabwe, one clearly sees the other missing link, whereby policies are formulated in major cities by some technocrats but are supposed to be implemented throughout the nations. Moyo (2005) quoted the Central Statistical Office (2002) which stated that 70% of Zimbabwe’s population resides in rural areas. Now, if the 70% is not largely part of the policy formulation, yet for any policy to be deemed successful, it would have been implemented by around 70% of the population boggles one’s mind. It is high time we move away from the culture of having meetings and gatherings at resort places and hotels, most probably with some monetary allowances, nice regalia and good meals, to discuss polices yet with very minimum citizen participation or far much away and beyond the reach of the general populace. It is rather high time we go to the grass roots and try to develop policies from there, and then hand them over to the masses for implementation, of course with the guidance of technocrats. This is not an attempt to build castles in the air but the government once successfully did that in the yesteryears of the 90’s during what came to be known as food for work programmes. Infrastructure was set up and maintained. Schools and bridges were maintained, just to list but a few. At most, development took place especially in the rural areas and the foundations of peace went deeper. SADOMBA, Frederick Chakupa and SHORA, Bruno SJPSS 7(1) 2017 11- 15 In this regard, Mavheneke (1995:81) as quoted by Babooa (2008) was justified of his assertion that: “There is a myth regarding public participation. The myth is that central government can decide and manage their own public policy and local people are a threat rather than an asset in policy making.” In as much as central governments or the presidium can direct certain policies, we are part of those with the opinion that decentralisation of both public policy formulation and implementation is called for and can actually yield better results. There is a dire need to rope in local governments, municipalities, traditional leaders, religious leaders, and the general public, etc. (Babooa, 2008). 3.2 Personalisation of public policies In other words, a bottom up approach could provide the missing link. More so, transferring ownership of policies to people may rule out allegations of personalisation of some public policies at times resulting in personal fights for personal millage, resistance and sabotage. A typical example is the controversy and discord which surrounded the AgroImports Substitution Programme, which is commonly known as (Command Agriculture Policy whereby senior government officials (Proffesor Jonathan Moyo, Vice President Cde Emmerson Munangagwa, Vice President Cde Phelekhezela Mpoko) would offer contradictory statements about the thrust of the policy and all this was in an effort to undermine or denigrate each other. Similar sentiments were also echoed in the Herald newspaper of the 10th of October 2017 following a cabinet reshuffle by President Mugabe: Personal differences and discord between cabinet ministers is sending highly misleading and damaging signals to potential investors and other supporting stakeholders, forcing them to shun the Zimbabwean market or sit on the fence, waiting for the dust to settle between peers in government. To the expectant electorate who see a brighter future in the consummation of the ZIMASSET programme, the cabinet dissonance presents a potential hurdle that could derail the objectives of the people-centred economic blueprint. With some ministers on each other’s throats daily, chances of effectively fulfilling ZIMASSET objectives are heavily dented. However, there is no doubt that to a greater extent the Command Agriculture was a success as the once empty silos all over the country appear to have been filled up with grain yet more deliveries are still on their way, and the government of Zimbabwe should be commended for supporting farmers through a (presidential) input-scheme. In fact, the Sunday Mail of the 15th of October 2017 (p.B5) reported that through this policy, the government could have saved US$257 million in foreign currency, money which ordinarily could have done the unfortunate, import grain. However, the ever critics of the government attribute the success of this policy to a natural cause, that is good rains. More so, the alias given to the policy, “command agriculture” seem to spell negative innuendos on the implementation of the policy, which obviously is commanded from the top, with those below simply receiving whatever they are given. In several other cases, as according to Cuhls (2015:5), in issues to do with policies, side effects have occurred, hidden agendas could be observed, or the objectives were adopted during the course the process. Such a state of affairs does not auger well with the success of any policy and later on peace building. SADOMBA, Frederick Chakupa and SHORA, Bruno SJPSS 7(1) 2017 11- 16 4. SANCTIONS AND FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT As correctly admitted, the Western imposed economic sanctions had a very negative impact on most of Zimbabwe’s policies. However, taking lessons from countries such as Iran, Cuba and North Korea, which have nevertheless prospered despite being under sanctions for decades, we need not be complacent about that reason or position neither should it continue to be an excuse. From in-depth interviews carried out amongst the business and political community, it became apparent that there is a missing link, that of Foreign Direct Investment. It is this aspect which can see a genuine resurgence of industries, manufacturing and eventually, exports. The same lessons can be learnt from how the East Asia’s giants prospered and as a result there has been relative peace in the region. “The emergency of a market driven trade, Foreign Direct Investment nexus in the form of a positive relationship…was another critical factor underlying East Asia’s development” as propounded by Fukasaku, Kawai, Plummer and Duval (2005:10). Now it is the best time than ever before for Zimbabwe to mend its relationship with other international players for the good of all home grown policies which obvious require funding and investment partners. However, Zimbabwe will have to be careful on the kind of players it will engage. Some are wolves in sheep’s clothing as in the long run they tend to be exploitative. It is rather a new form of imperialism, which is soft and gradual. Quite different from colonialism which was directly fought and defeated. Zimbabwe also does not need to give in to some unorthodox conditions which are not in tandem with Ubuntu values or Zimbabwe’s culture which may come attached to certain Foreign Direct Investments and at most, the Zimbabwean government has successfully guarded against that, although at some instances it has left the nation underfunded with its budget always being on the deficit side, and it is the ordinary man who has bears the brunt. On a related note, the Zimbabwe Institute in Capetown found fault in our policy formulation and implementation with the manner in which policies are managed in Zimbabwe. As the Institute scrutinised the role of the government in public policy (p.11), it did not have kind words for the ruling party in Zimbabwe: “While the role of the government is recognised as vital in spreading development, progressive Zimbabwe must break with the ZANU PF practice of micro management of national projects at the highest level of government.” As already alluded to, policies should be managed at a national level in the truest sense and inviting all players right from the bottom to the top and above all, across all the political divide for maximum cooperation and less resistance, so that positive peace can become a reality. The opposition should also desist from the culture of merely opposing a policy simply because it came from a ZANU PF led government. A good policy simply requires everyone’s support for the good of all, (ZEPARU, 2012). 4.1 Policy vs legitimacy One other factor which needs not to be ignored when dealing with policy matters and a search for meaningful peace in the society is the aspect of legitimacy. A legitimacy crisis following the disputed poll of 2008 is what eventually led to the creation of a Government of National Unity in 2009 and this clearly demonstrates how serious the issue of legitimacy can be. Legitimacy can be defined as the authenticity or the rightfulness of something. Therefore, what this means is that a policy can succeed or fail depending on the legitimacy of it or lack of it or the legitimacy of authorities. In some other words, this can be an ethical issue. In this context, a policy has to be made by an authority legally mandated to make it. On the other hand, a policy has to be spearheaded not only by the politically loyal or correct, but by those qualifies, skilled and experienced, (Agaiwal and Somanathan, 2005). SADOMBA, Frederick Chakupa and SHORA, Bruno SJPSS 7(1) 2017 11- 17 Buttressing the aspect of legitimacy, Zvohushe and Zhou (2012:5) asserts that what makes a policy a public policy is not its impact but its source. It means that due process and real public consultation has to be followed when formulating policies by a government and this will culminate to peace building. Actually, Zvoushe and Zhou (ibid) even concede that at domestic level, policies serve as mechanisms of conflict management hence the nexus between policy formulation, implementation and peace building. 4.2 The civil service and policy implementation One of the best implementers of any government policy are the civil servants through various government arms and departments. This group of people ought to be highly motivated and well rewarded for the success of any policy, failure of which, the obvious is inevitable, corruption. Although, former finance Minister, Cde Chinamasa is no record for saying the wage bill takes more than 80% of the entire budget, freezing salaries, remuneration and other benefits may spell doom for the success of some other policies. Whilst reforming the civil service is a nobble idea, other measure may just have to be implored so as to deal with the dilemma. It should be noted that East Asia had a remarkable record of high and sustained economic growth as governments employed numerous mechanisms to increase the appeal of a public service career, thereby heightening competition and improving the pool of applicants, (The World Bank, 1993:18). 4.3 The colonial legacy and the need to reform There is an old adage which says that if you want to see new, changed results, you may as well have to change the process. Morrell (2006) asked a billion dollar worthy question; why has Asia succeeded while Africa has not? There are a lot of answers to that question ranging from colonialism, how Europe and America underdeveloped Africa (the slave trade, sanctions), governance issues, corruption, nepotism, imcompetence and many more. Morrell states that sustained development cannot be achieved without institutional reforms. Note that most institutions in Africa were set up by the colonial administration and they were tailor made to suit the colonial master. Most African governments simply inherited and perpetuated the same. As a result, we now have a new class of a few select black elites who are also now at the benefiting end and the rift between the rich and the poor seem to be widening further. This calls for institutional reforms, especially financial institutions (mainly the banking sector, micro and macro financial houses), the health sector, the security sector, just to mention, but a few. Although on a positive note, in Zimbabwe reforms have been taking place in the education sector with however a controversial New Curriculum having been drawn, and also a new constitution having been drawn in 2013, generally, institutional reform is something which is strongly resisted in Zimbabwe as it is deemed to be a Western imposed regime change agenda, worse still being something which is normally advocated and peddled for by the opposition camp. Could this not be one other missing link in our policy formulation as well as peace building? (The Patriot, 2015). Lastly, with an admission that this study is not breaking new grounds per se, it is one of a plethora of studies which questions Zimbabwe’s policy formulation and implementation. We however discover that if the policy maker would take heed to advice and recommendations from most scientific studies as this one, Zimbabwe’s fortunes could be turned around. There appears to be a lack of will as at times the academia appears to be enemies of the state, mostly after calling a spade a spade. In essence, and as according to Dr Marume, Jubenkanda, Namusi and Madziyire (2016:56), public policy makers must accept the objective truth and results of scientific investigation. SADOMBA, Frederick Chakupa and SHORA, Bruno SJPSS 7(1) 2017 11- 18 5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5.1 Conclusions Positive peace is of paramount importance for any meaningful development. There is need for a paradigm shift from formulating policies at the top and in boardrooms, hotels and workshop but rather to get to the bottom and formulate policies at the grassroots and accord ownership to the citizens, mainly the rural folk, who constitute 70% of the population. Policy issues ought to cease to be party business but rather become national interests so as to minimise resistance from other quarters. More so, there is need to warm up relations with other developed countries so as to boost Foreign Direct Investment. What also spelt the miraculous growth of East Asia and it is possible for Zimbabwe to also achieve that especially owing to it possessing vast natural resources which can be the starting capital for development and peace. 5.1 Recommendations (a) There is need for a paradigm shift all together in this process and experiment, initiating policy processes at the grassroots, (b) broaden up and amplify citizen participation, (c) accord ownership of policies to masses, (d) mend relations with the developed world as soon as possible so as to boost Foreign Direct Investment (e) motivate the civil service and also reform major socio-economic institutions REFERENCES Babooa. S. K (2008) Public Participation in the Making and Implementation of Policy in Mauritius with Reference to Port Louis’ Local Government. 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International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences. Vol. 2 No. 8 [Special Issue-April] Centre for promoting Ideas. USA ©2011-2017 Sacha & Diamond Academic Publishers, Meridian Centre, 258 Kingsland Road, Hackney, London E8 4DG, England, United Kingdom. In Compliance with the Standards Approved by the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council Abstracting and Indexing in: GIGA - The Electronic Journals Library of the German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Information Centre, Hamburg; Google Scholar; Global Development Network (GDNet); Social Science Research Network (SSRN); Econlit - The American Economic Association's Index; EBSCO; IndexCopernicus USA; British International Libraries; Anton’s Weekly Digest; Econlit (USA); International Abstracts in Operations Research; Environmental Science and Pollution Management; Research Alert For the Advancement of Knowledge to the World. www.sachajournals.com