SEVERE DEFICIENCIES OF POLITICAL WILL AND STRATEGY COMPREHENSION ON THE PART OF ZANU PF WILL SEE SPECTACULAR FAILURE OF THE POORLY THOUGHT OUT NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY (NDS), JUST LIKE OTHER POORLY THOUGHT OUT STRATEGIES LIKE ZIMASSET.

Among the fundamental reasons for the spectacular and obvious failures of Zanu pf usually poorly thought out strategies, is the abundant dearth of political will to implement crucial long overdue reforms vital for any successful strategies to be realized. These are the kind of reforms that have impossible demands for Zanu pf, especially, a prompt and genuine end to conflation of the criminal party Zanu pf and the state to remove room for abuse of state resources and institutions for illegal and illegitimate power retention, in addition to complete return to constitutionalism which means restoration of the primacy of accountability and transparency, which among other vital implications such as deterrence against human and property rights violations and curtailed government profligacy as well. It is in light of this that the article has an insightful perception of objective reasons for the inevitable and eventual failure of the so called National Development Strategy, just like other Zanu pf poorly thought out strategies riddled by lack of political will among other issues.

Zanu pf is all about being a big hat and no cows. Not only does it have an objectively diagnosed prominent dearth of political will which is compounded by lack of funds for actual implementation and subsequent realization of the intended strategic goals. If one were to comparatively analyse all the so called Zanu pf strategies, they have more things in common that make them fail, way more than what a chicken and an egg have in common. Of particular significance, are the facts that the theoretically good on paper strategies are way too ambitious for a broke government seeking to realize the completion of the doomed to fail strategies. The lack of popular will from Zanu pf, a direct contrast from opposition means that primacy for people’s welfare, a legitimate government responsibility which is not the case for Zanu pf is trumped by politics of self-preservation and self-enrichment which is among the reasons Zanu pf so called national strategies lack the lacklustre appeal to success hence the factual claim that the NDS will fail spectacularly.

Ironically, these strategies, should they see the light of the day are actual threats to Zanu pf power retention. Why would Zanu pf threaten its own power, by cooking strategies that result for instance in guaranteed advancement across the current deliberately programmed rigid social strata by providing jobs or ensuring food security? It doesn’t make sense because Zanu pf other power retention strategies such as media repression regurgitating tired propaganda would be a wasted investment. Partisan distribution of food aid and other forms of aid and subsidies that Zanu pf uses to hold people hostage for the ransom in the form of their votes would be useless as well, translating effectively to a loss of power. This is compounded by the fact that the success of the said theoretically good strategies means that demands for accountability and transparency increase, so do the need for inclusionary and broad based participation by the people subsequent the successes of the NDS. These are things Zanu pf cannot afford as it definitely would lose its illegitimate power, hence, strategies like the NDS are bound to fail spectacularly.

Without legitimate Foreign Direct Investment due to lack of recognition as a legitimate government, compounded by Zanu pf unquenchable corruption, no strategy of Zanu pf is bound to prevail against all odds.  Unavailability of solid credit lines from International Financial Institutions, due to sanctions owing to the fact of Zanu pf heinous violations of fundamental constitutional liberties such as human and property rights against the opposition, minorities and perceived opponents seeking regime change only erodes the already deteriorating situation further, hence   the inevitable failure of NDS.

In the hands and under the oversight of the opposition, the strategies would work beyond perfection. Before the Government of National Unity conceived through the Global Political Framework, Zanu pf had a strategy similar to NDS which, as expected, had failed spectacularly. The primacy of people’s welfare by the opposition, and unquestionable patriotism of the servant leadership of the opposition saw the later formulating a potent and impressive strategy, the Short Term Emergency Recovery Programme (STERP, Feb-Dec 2009), which saw exceptional augmentation of people’s then miserable lives, courtesy of Zanu pf. These were opposition formulated and spearheaded policies and strategies which include the Three Year Macro- Economic plan (MPT), the Budget Framework (2010-2012). An impressive 9% per annum GDP was recorded. The youth were vaccinated against employment. Meritocracy prevailed. The point is the opposition gad the political will, and had legitimized the GNU, as such lines of credit were open, restrictions on the country were eased and service delivery evolved to match world standard, compounded by affordable and equitable access. All this was underpinned by the servant leadership of the opposition and the primacy of peoples’ welfare.

Lack of consultation and broad based participation from the inception of the NDS will be its Achilles heel. There is sufficient deficiency of consultation appropriate for the intended significance of national economic formulation process. Interest groups who are the intended beneficiaries are left out. The dearth of their input in the formulation and subsequent implementation suffers thus undeniable active disinterest marred by disharmony and lack of cohesion between government and stakeholders such as the youths. This top-down developmental approach, wholly different from the bottom-up developmental approach of the opposition is the reason why the NDS will fail, for the left out will feel that anything for them, but without them is not for them.

In conclusion, the NDS will fail because of lack of political will, illegitimacy of Zanu pf, human and property rights violations which have seen inaccessibility of credit lines from International Financial Institutions, corruption, self-preservation tendencies, and triumph of Zanu pf self-enrichment agenda over primacy of people’s welfare and lack of consultation of stakeholders. Only the opposition has ably demonstrated formulation and implementation of strategies that outperformed expectations especially due to  abundance of political will, innovative augmentation of people’s welfare hinged on the primacy of their welfare and the bottom-up, broad based and consultative servant leadership characteristic of the opposition.