Of Nepotism and Cronyism: A Look into Zimbabwe’s New Government

By Johnstone Ndlovu

Emmerson Mnangagwa, the winning candidate from the recent 23 August 2023 elections was elected to become Zimbabwe’s president for another term. The re-election meant that he was given another 5-year mandate to lead Zimbabwe. Starting his new term, President Mnangagwa picked a Cabinet to work with him and aid him in his vision to transform Zimbabwe into an upper middle-income country by 2023.

The Cabinet that President Mnangagwa picked features a lot of the common faces from the old administration as well as a few more new faces. The faces picked – both the old faces and the new faces – however all do have one common denominator. They are all closely related/associated with Mnangagwa as a person or his family in general. Owing to this, many political analysts have concluded that the appointments made by President Mnangagwa border more on nepotism and cronyism rather than meritocracy.

Some of the old faces retained in key ministries include Mthuli Ncube as the Finance Minister, Oppah Muchinguri as the defence minister, Anxious Masuka as the Agriculture Minister, Soda Zhemu assigned to the mine’s portfolio from energy, Kazembe Kazembe reappointed as the Home Affairs Minister, and Ziyambi Ziyambi reappointed the Justice Minister.

Commenting on Mnangagwa’s first term as the president, political analysts said that the last 5 years were not inspiring something which can be traced back to the personnel in Mnangagwa’s Cabinet. They argue that the ideas or lack thereof by the previous Cabinet to devise policies to take Zimbabwe back on the developmental trajectory meant that it was prudent for the president to drop many of the old faces and pick new ones with fresh ideas. The lack of many new faces in the new Cabinet is thus worrying as the same people who failed to transform the country’s fortunes have once again been assigned the same tasks.

Godfrey Marawanyika and Ray Ndlovu writing for Bloomberg said, “A former University of Oxford professor, Ncube (finance minister) was tasked with reviving an economy that fell into disarray during Robert Mugabe’s 37-year rule – a brief he has struggled to fulfil. While he oversaw the reintroduction of the local currency in 2019 and initiated talks with Western creditors over the restructuring of the nation’s $18 billion debt, his efforts to raise living standards, create jobs and foster investment have borne little fruit.” His reappointment therefore casts doubt on his ability to transform the country’s economic trajectory.

More worrisome however as highlighted by political analysts when it comes to the new faces in Cabinet is how they are all related or closely associated with the President. The new ICT minister Tatenda Mavetera was the convener of the Young Women for ED (an alias for Emmerson Mnangagwa according to some political analysts even though official it is regarded as an abbreviation for Economic Development). The Young Women for ED group was at the forefront of campaigning for Mnangagwa before the 24 August elections and thus, the appointment of its convener Tatenda Mavetera is seen more as an appeasement appointment rather than an appointment based on meritocracy.

Compounding the matter was the appointment of Mnangagwa’s own son and nephew in the new Cabinet. The president’s son is now the country’s deputy finance minister. The president’s son David Kudakwashe Mnangagwa though having a finance background owing to his academic background and work experience in finance and investment firms is regarded by many as someone who needs to learn the ropes first in a background post rather than as the deputy finance minister.

Another Mnangagwa who is now part of the new Cabinet is the president’s nephew Tongai Mafidhi Mnangagwa. He was appointed the deputy minister for the tourism ministry. Commenting on the appointments of the two Mnangagwas, political analysts said that they were put in two of the most important ministries to oversee and report in real-time all that’s happening in these key ministries to the president. Thanks to the appointments, the president does have unfettered access to everything that happens in the finance ministry as well as the tourism ministry which is one of the biggest revenue generators.

Fadzai Mahere, the newly elected member of Parliament as well as the outgoing spokesperson for the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) which is the main opposition party lambasted the appointments in the new Cabinet saying that they aren’t based on meritocracy. She described the appointments as “indefensible”. The incoming CCC spokesperson Promise Mkwananzi said, “Rather than think of the national plight, Mr. Mnangagwa has set up an infrastructure to feed his family”.

State publication The Herald however defended the appointments saying the fusion of “new blood and veterans” in the new Cabinet is “designed to ensure continuity for national development in line with Vision 2030”.

Another cause of concern was the reappointment of Kembo Mohadi as one of the two Vice Presidents. Kembo Mohadi resigned during Mnangagwa’s first term in office as the country’s Vice President following a sex scandal. The decision to reappoint Mohadi has been condemned by the general citizenry, the opposition and women's organisations. The founder of the Labour, Economists and African Democrats party Linda Masarira said “Consideration should be done especially when appointing executives of this country, taking into consideration that 54 per cent of the voting population are women. But we continue to structurally undermine women’s rights and women’s participation… We are just demanding at least one female president, a gender-balanced cabinet. There is no democracy without women. We will not tire to demand what is rightfully ours and what belongs to the women’s movement in Zimbabwe.”