Friday, March 27, 2009

The Structure of Zimbabwe's Government

Zimbabwe is a Semi-Presidential Republic.  The structure of the Zimbabwean Government is similar to ours in that it separates power between the executive branch, the legislative branch and the judicial branch.  However, the composition of each of these branches differs from the composition of the American branches of government. 

The Executive Branch

The executive branch currently consists of two executives, the President and the Prime Minister, both of which serve 5-year terms. Robert Mugabe holds the Presidential seat while Morgan Tsvangirai holds the Prime Minister seat.  The President is the head of the state and is in charge of the Cabinet. The Prime Minister, on the other hand, is head of government and oversees the Council of Ministers.  There are two vice presidents and two deputy prime ministers.  Joseph Msika and Joice Mujuru hold the vice presidential positions, and Thokozani Khuphe and Arthur Mutambara hold the deputy prime minister positions. 

The Legislative Branch

Legislative power is vested in both government and parliament.  The Cabinet and the Council of Ministers hold legislative power along with the elected Parliament.  The Cabinet, overseen by the president, is the policy decision-making body.  The Council of Ministers—headed by the prime minister—functions as a liaison office and also “will assist in the formulation of policies, the supervision of government ministries by the prime minister and the implementation of cabinet policies.” Parliament is divided between the Senate and the House of Assembly, which functions similarly to the American Senate and House of Representatives.  The House of Assembly consists of 120 members elected by the common-roll electorate, 10 tribal chiefs, 12 presidential appointees, 8 presidentially appointed provincial governors, a speaker and an attorney general.  Sixty-six members make up the Senate; five representatives from each province constitute 50 of these members.  The president elects six additional members while traditional chiefs hold the remaining 10 seats.  Although there are currently only 66 seats in the Senate, Amendment Number 18 of 2007 allows the Senate to expand to 93 seats if necessary. 

The Judicial Branch

The Zimbabwean judicial branch functions as the American judicial branch does.  It consists of a Supreme Court and local court system.  A Chief Justice is appointed by the president to direct the judicial system in Zimbabwe. 

The Zimbabwean Constitution

The Constitution of Zimbabwe dictates the law of the land and is modeled similarly to the U.S. Constitution.  The Constitution originated from the Lancaster House Agreement, which was chaired by Lord Carrington.  The founding document contains a Bill of Rights, Amendments, focuses on majority rule, and protects human and minority rights. 

            Significant Amendments to the Constitution:

·      1987 Abolition of seats reserved for whites in parliament

·      1987 Abolition of Prime Minister office and creation of an Executive Presidency (this was the work of Robert Mugabe and has now been reversed)

·      1990 Abolition of the Senate and creation of appointed seats in the House of Assembly (the Senate was reintroduced in 2005)

 

The layout of Zimbabwean government appears surprisingly sound in structure.  The system makes sense and much of it mirrors American governmental organization.  However, President Mugabe has used the government structure, designed to implement democracy, to promote a more authoritarian society.  Therefore, Zimbabwe has been experiencing economic and humanitarian crisis.  The government has become tainted, and is driving the country further into calamity. 

President Robert Mugabe has led a slow regression away from the norms of democratic governance.  He has directed his government in the violation of human rights, corrupt election, and politicization of judiciary, military and police force.  The President implemented and enforced laws aimed at preventing freedoms of speech, assembly, and association.  Opposition members of parliament and governmental competition have been arrested, tortured and harassed by his order.  The legal system has not been enforced; rather President Mugabe’s word has been imposed.  Zimbabwe has become an “autocratic regime based on personal rule.”

Until February 11, 2009 Zimbabwe was under President Mugabe’s thumb.  He used torture, threat, and fear to govern the people of Zimbabwe.  The President brought the country into complete economic distress.  Inflation is rising at an astronomic rate.  All humanitarian advancements were destroyed in his wake. 

The structure of government that has been laid out for Zimbabwe has tremendous potential, but in order for it be successful, those who hold the governmental seats need to be virtuous.  On February 11 the Semi-Presidential Republic was reintroduced.  Morgan Tsvangirai, a symbol of hope for the Zimbabwean people, has filled the seat of Zimbabwean Prime Minister.  The next blog will go into greater detail about the elections and the process that Zimbabwe followed to reach this major turning point.  

2/19/2009

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