Memo to the new Prime Minister of Zimbabwe

Dear Mr Tsvangirai

I’M SURE there is a lot in your in-tray, during these, your first few days in office and that, therefore, you will hardly have time to read this letter.

However, I write hoping that it might have the good fortune of catching your attention in the rare spare moments of your busy schedule. Or that, at the very least, one of your aides might stumble upon it.

Unlike much of the correspondence that you will receive at this time, this one offers no congratulations. I do not believe that a person should be congratulated for being given a job. Rather, congratulations must, indeed, be showered when a man produces results in the course of performing his job. So I will withhold the platitudes for now.

I salute you though, Sir, for accepting what must surely be one of the worst jobs in the world at present. You have become a co-skipper of a vessel that for years has been stuck in icy waters, most of the crew and passengers surviving only by the grace of the Merciful Hand.

No doubt, you are aware that the road ahead will be rugged and bumpy. Also, it will soon dawn on you that the honeymoon with supporters and followers will subside. That’s because of the natural perception that you are now on the other side; the side of those who hold power. Indeed, some of your comrades have already cast doubt on the wisdom of your decision to partner Robert Mugabe in government. There will be a lot waiting on the sidelines only to say, if this undertaking fails, ‘we told you so’.

Perhaps the greatest challenge at this point is to harness the will and commitment of the doubtful so that they, too, can play their part in this new arrangement. You are going to have to deploy your political acumen, Sir, to play some diplomatic gymnastics to bring them on board because the last thing that Zimbabwe needs in this transitional phase is another power struggle. That means showing them that you understand their concerns – they are like the parent whose daughter marries the village scoundrel – the parent may disapprove of the union, but eventually they will have to accept their child’s will.

The reality, Sir, as you know, is that resolving Zimbabwe’s problems will take hard work, honesty, skill and patience. It is important to reassure supporters that you will do all you can but also to be honest that these changes will not happen overnight. The Zimbabwean currency will not suddenly stabilise, inflation will not drop immediately, jobs will not emerge in the short-term, indeed, there will be more power-cuts, more water shortages in the short-term.

I mention this, Sir, because all too often I have seen politicians promise beautiful heaven when the practical reality is that hell will take time to fade away. The ‘we will do this’ type of talk is alright for opposition politicians because it is their currency for purchasing public support.

Once in government, you face the harsh realities of searching for resources, satisfying the many, often colliding demands of the different interest groups and balancing the books. Where employers and employees previously sang from the same hymn sheet in your favour, there is likely to be some discord as each struggle to catch your attention.

But you know well that our greatest failing lies in not producing enough and living beyond our means. The demands of political expediency mean that you are carrying a heavy cabinet and an even weightier Parliament. Both will gobble up scarce resources. It would be prudent to avoid the all-too-familiar picture of conspicuous consumption.

I read with interest and approval your denunciation of a ‘culture of entitlement’. I have never understood why politicians and indeed ordinary people, think that getting a government post is a matter of entitlement. It is not unusual for people to say so and so should get such a ministerial post because he deserves it. I do not think public service should ever be a matter of ‘deserving’ a job but one should be judged on competence and commitment to deliver.

It is because of this culture of entitlement that Zimbabwe has been weighed down by the same recycled personnel who quite plainly have nothing new to offer but everything to gain personally from retaining their status. These men and women that you have appointed to cabinet must know that their positions are no different from any other job and that if they do not deliver, they will get the sack.

It helps no one to keep a non-performing employee simply because he or she is a party cadre. This is their chance to show they can live up to their promises. They should also have the decency to resign should they be caught up in scandalous affairs.

I have noticed how political expediency caused the National Security Council Bill to be passed in unprecedented fashion last Tuesday. Whilst one wants to understand the practical demands that had to be met by those extraordinary measures, it is also hoped that it does not become the norm. It is to be hoped that political expediency will be routinely deployed as an excuse for overriding rules and principles as that would lead to an unpleasant legislative culture.

Your inauguration speech touched on the key priorities – implementation of the democratic agenda, dealing with the humanitarian crisis and economic stabilisation. The latter two require the deployment of resources and skill and can be overcome. Both however, are victims of the failure of the first one – the politics.

The way I see it, Sir, is that the political structures can be constructed through the constitutional reform process and legislative changes but that there is another, more latent aspect that requires due care and attention. It is, Sir, the matter of political culture.

I have in my previous work written about it as the influence of the ‘human factor’ – the idea that no matter how beautiful our laws and structures may be, things will never work unless the human agents, i.e. the people working within those structures are prepared to do the right thing.

The new Finance Minister, Mr Tendai Biti said as much in Parliament in a speech during the recent passage of the National Security Council law. He said, “Mr Speaker, I want to make one thing very clear, we may create all these institutions in the law … we can create all these beautiful bodies but between us and Zanu PF, if there is no love, if there is no respect and if there is no paradigm shift that we are now equal share holders, then all these institutions will come to nought …” (Hansard, Tuesday 10 February 2009).

One hopes that the human factor will be a positive force but much depends on the human agents from all parties. You, Sir, as leader will have to nurture this very fragile baby.

This is something that will take time; something that will require, as you said in your speech, the separation between the state and the party. No doubt there will be many obstacles in the path, given the manner in which the state has been so intimately wedded to the party for the last 30 years.

There will be resistance from those used to certain ways; those who see the world through the lens they have known all their adult lives. But the key lies in the civil service; in the state institutions and even the state media – there are many decent men and women in there whom, if given their independence, will do the right thing and perform their professional duties with honesty and competence.

On the economy, I think first and foremost we simply need to enhance our productive capacity. We must eschew the politics of race, tribe, party affiliation and all other indices that divide us and deploy our best talent to do what they do best. I must add that it does pain me to see a man like Roy Bennett being wasted in the corridors of government. From what I hear, the man is an excellent farmer; why not give him space to do what he does best? Let us identify our core strengths and focus our energies on them.

You know, Sir, that your position brings a temptation to become all things to all people. It can only be a recipe for disaster because, sooner or later, you will annoy everyone. Nevertheless, critical assessment of your performance (and your team’s) comes with the territory.

True, there may be those who are waiting for you to fail and then claim some dubious credit for predicting it. But there are also many who are critical because they are genuine about wanting to see change and delivery.

I hope you will listen to them, Sir and not characterise them as enemies of the state.

I hope there will never be a time when you will get so paranoid as to think that everyone is out to get you.

I hope it will never be an offence to criticise you, Sir. Indeed, open up a forum, where you can interact with your people; hear their concerns directly and respond to them, just as you will hopefully have a vibrant, televised Prime Minister’s Questions in Parliament. I know there is no opposition but that platform could be useful to other interest groups.

Speaking of which, Sir, I trust that, if offered, will you politely decline the use of that long, wailing motorcade. With the fuel shortages, transport blues, poverty, etc, surely, you know all those cars will not be necessary? And I trust also that when you arrive from an international trip you will let all those traders in Mbare get on with the business of making a living and not ask them to come to the airport to sing and ululate for you. Even your ministers, Sir, surely, you will let them get on with their jobs – they don’t really need to stand in a long line to greet you at the airport each time you arrive.

And I hope that when you celebrate your birthday, you will do it happily in the comfort of your home and family, being the personal affair it is and even if your most loyal fans seek to make it a national event, you will resist the temptation with the strength of Samson. Most likely, they are not really doing it for you; they are doing it for themselves because they want to be seen to be the best and biggest of them all, and for that they will await a reward.

There will be hiccups, some big, others small, but do keep an eye on the bigger picture. If the electric switch fails to work, it does not mean we should bring down the whole house – we can fix the electricals, whilst working on other parts of the house, even if it means using the faint light of the mobile phone.

I said I would offer no platitudes at this stage but what I will certainly do is to wish you, your team and my fellow Zimbabweans the very best of good fortune. I will share with you the wisdom of my favourite song by the late master of song, Simon Chimbetu, entitled Vana Vaye (the children).

In it, the singer pleads with his elder brother to mention the plight of the children when he goes to attend the grand conferences; he asks the brother not to forget about the children. I might also add, that other one, Pane Asipo (those we lost on the way) in which Chimbetu reminds us that even in our joy and celebration of a new era, we must never forget those whose lives and limbs were broken and lost on the way.

Best wishes, Sir

Yours ever,

Alex T. Magaisa

Alex Magaisa is based at, Kent Law School, the University of Kent and can be contacted at wamagaisa@yahoo.co.uk