The recent cabinet reshuffle, which has left the total number of Ministers and Deputy Ministers in the Zimbabwean Government at a grand total of 66, with vacancies still to be filled, reminds me of the debate that took place during the constitution-making process back in 2012. It was on the size of Government. Should there be a cap on cabinet numbers? That was the question.
There were two diametrically opposed schools of thought on this issue. One side preferred a maximum limit on the number of Government Ministers. The other side preferred an open-ended clause, allowing the President the freedom to choose as many Ministers and Deputy Ministers as he wished.
I leaned towards the side that preferred a maximum cap on numbers, consistent with a preference for small and limited government which had also been expressed by the people. Our argument was that unlimited powers on cabinet appointments facilitated and encouraged a system of patronage and therefore, big government which the country could not afford.
The other side argued for an open-ended clause, consistent with what had been happening since 1980, when the Head of Government had unlimited powers of cabinet appointments. The only exception had been during the GPA period, where a maximum cap had been imposed but had also been completely ignored. They argued that a maximum cap was unduly restrictive on a President.
My observation was that the proposition to place a maximum cap on cabinet numbers was viewed by this group in the same light as any proposal that sought to limit the powers of the President. All were perceived as attacks upon President Mugabe, the man who had held office as Head of Government since 1980. Efforts to limit Presidential powers were regarded as an insult on the President; an indication that he had done badly, and these insinuations had to be resisted. All this was notwithstanding pleas to the effect that the constitution was not being created for individuals, not for Mugabe or anyone else.
Despite this resistance, the very first draft of the constitution contained a clause that capped the number of cabinet ministers and deputy ministers. This was consistent with the general sentiments expressed by the people who preferred a smaller, leaner and cost-effective government. Those of us who had backed this clause celebrated its inclusion in the draft.
But, as it turned out, this was temporary. As the draft document progressed to higher levels in the chain of negotiation we discovered, to our surprise, that the clause had been expunged. There was no reasonable explanation for its exclusion but I suspect it fell victim to the horse-trading that takes place in politically-charged negotiations, particularly at higher levels of the political food chain. Maybe it wasn’t seen as a necessary clause and it may have been sacrificed for other perceived gains. It wasn’t the only clause that fell victim to the politics of political compromise.
The odd thing is that the removal of that clause capping cabinet numbers was actually a retrogressive departure from the position that had been introduced by the Global Political Agreement (GPA). But the fate of the GPA clause also gives a hint as to why it didn’t succeed. This is because while the GPA imposed a maximum limit on Cabinet numbers, President Mugabe had simply ignored and contravened it by proceeding to appoint Ministers and Deputies in excess of the maximum limit. The GPA mandated the appointment of 31 Ministers but President Mugabe appointed 41. There should have been 15 Deputy Ministers but he appointed 22.
Regrettably, the opposition parties, which were now in coalition with Zanu PF don’t have clean hands either as they were complicit in this blatant violation of the GPA. They did not challenge it, but instead, also nominated their own members who were appointed as Minister and Deputy Ministers.  This was political expediency at play, at the expense of constitutionalism. The limits of executive power were plainly ignored. This probably explains why the clause was removed at the higher levels of the negotiating chain, because no-one had taken it seriously in the first place and they all thought it was an necessary restriction.
There was, however, a constitutional challenge from civil society when the GPA was violated, but the courts sat on the matter until the expiry of the GNU after which point the legal dispute had lost its relevance.
Thus, the trend of big government continues. President Mugabe sees nothing wrong with expanding his Cabinet, even if it does not make economic sense, given the country’s lean times. The opposition parties are hamstrung by previous conduct, as they did not challenge Cabinet size during their tenure in government.
If that clause capping Cabinet numbers had been adopted, the problem of big government would probably have been avoided.
Here are 10 facts on the Zimbabwean Cabinet at present:
- In total, there are 66 Ministers and Deputy Ministers.
- 5 of the 66 are Ministers appointed from outside Parliament in terms of s. 104(3) of the Constitution. All 5 of them are men. Not a single woman has been appointed by President Mugabe under this facility. 1 of the 5 used to be Prof Jonathan Moyo but the spot became vacant when he won the Tsholotsho North seat. It was filled by Patrick Zhuwao in the most recent Cabinet Reshuffle. Zhuwao is President Mugabe’s nephew. He had previously lost in the ZANU PF primary elections in 2013 and he now becomes the Minister of Youth, Indigenisation and Empowerment.
- The Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development has 2 Deputy Ministers: Paddy Zhanda and Davis Marapira. Their boss is Joseph Made, who is one of the 5 who were appointed by President Mugabe from outside Parliament.
- The country still does not have a substantive Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs. Vice President Mnangagwa was assigned to administer the Ministry but the courts have indicated and the government has accepted that VP Mnangagwa is not the Minister of Justice. Under the constitution, a Vice President cannot be a Minister at the same time.
- Despite there being 2 vacancies in the Justice Ministry – Minister and his Deputy – President Mugabe still appointed Makhosini Hlongwane as a Minister without Portfolio.
- There is a new Ministry of Rural Development and Preservation of National Cultural Heritage. This Ministry takes the function of supervising traditional leaders – chiefs, headmen, etc, formerly under the Ministry of Local Government.
- There are 9 Ministers of State responsible for the provinces with 1 vacancy in Matabeleland South still to be filled. These Ministers are the old Provincial Governors by a new name. The new Constitution did away with Provincial Governors. Provincial Chairpersons are supposed to be presiding over provinces under the devolution structure provided for in the constitution. However, devolution has not been implemented and President Mugabe has simply re-appointed Provincial Governors under the title of Ministers of State responsible for provinces.
- The case of J B Matiza is some record. After the elections in 2013, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Local Government. Then in January 2015, he was moved to become Minister of State responsible for Mashonaland East province. Recently, in July 2015, he lost his Ministerial position and is now Provincial Chairperson of Zanu PF in Mashonaland East.
- Simon Khaya Moyo has been moved 3 times since 2013. He started as a Senior Minister in the President’s Office. Then in January 2015 he was appointed Minister of Economic Planning and Investment Promotion and now he has been moved to a newly created Ministry of Policy Coordination and Promotion of Socio-Economic Ventures.
- 2 Deputy Misters were sacked in the latest reshuffle. They are Ziyambi Ziyambi (Home Affairs) and Rtd Brigadier General Walter Kanhanga (Tourism & Hospitality)
Wamagaisa
Editors: As with all articles on this website, this is not to be used without author’s permission and only then, to be used with following acknowledgement: This article was first published on www.alexmagaisa.com Follow on Twitter @wamagaisa Contact at wamagaisa@yahoo.co.uk
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