Democracy Day: On the Centrality of Transparency and Accountability
By: Mcauthur Mkwapatira
Tags: Development, Zimbabwe, Transparency, Accountability, Democracy

Democracy Day: On the Centrality of Transparency and Accountability

‘Democracy’ is one of the most important and spoken about words in the 21st century. But its definition is perennially debated with political elites in every country insisting they are staunch adherents no matter how abusive they may be publicly perceived to be. It is for this reason that despotic regimes like North Korea unashamedly call themselves ‘democratic republics’ while liberal nations instead they’re despotic regimes. But, for the purpose of clarity and avoiding repeating what’s already been aptly communicated by a fellow writer, I shall only look at the objectives 'democrats' in Zimbabwe aim to achieve : equitable economic growth, poverty alleviation and citizens' enjoyment of the benign influence of good laws . The goal of this piece is to show that transparency and accountability are essential the realisation of these noble goals.

Simply put, transparency and accountability in governance refer to the state of governance processes being open to the scrutiny of citizens and all other stakeholders. Information regarding budgets, laws and government projects is made public and accessible with the aim of facilitating free analysis and open discussion of the same in order to hold public officials accountable and promote development. The principles of transparency and accountability, declared in the preamble to the Constitution of Zimbabwe; enshrined in the Founding Principles (section 3) and further mentioned a total of 13 times in the whole document (showing their importance), are pivotal to the country’s prospects of developing from the Begging Bowl of SADC to the Upper Middle Income Economy it is envisioned to be by government — a country with low levels of poverty and hunger, high levels of employment and better living standards for citizens.

As a cursory note, there are indeed examples of countries that developed without these and other democratic principles being practiced but they’re the global exception. Moreover, Zimbabwe’s decades of experience with opaque and despotic rule under Robert Gabriel Mugabe (RGM) prove beyond reasonable doubt that its leaders are a far cry from the competent ’benevolent dictator' classification. Under the despotic rule of RGM the country consistently sunk deeper into quagmire with astronomical levels of inflation and poverty. The country only got a temporary reprieve during the Government of National Unity years when democratic principles like transparency and accountability were more upheld.

This is because it’s part of human nature to self-aggrandize at the expense of others. Without transparency and accountability, public officials don’t have the incentive to overcome this base instinct and ensure policies are just and promote the interests of the Have-nots in society, not just the Haves who are a small minority. Absence of transparency and accountability, along with other fundamental rights, has consistently resulted in policies crafted to benefit the rich and politically connected at the expense of poor citizens.

A painful example is the numerous debt assumptions by the government which have forced taxpayers – ordinary citizens – to bear the brunt of the expenses caused by the wealth accumulation of politicians and their allies who benefited from a Farm Mechanisation Scheme. This perpetuates the tax burden of the masses undermining tax justice and also causes diversion of funds meant to capacitate hospitals and schools and improve the road infrastructure towards servicing of the debt. Those hospitals and schools would’ve improved citizens’ lives making it easier for children to learn, progress and get better lives in the future and ensuring that the burden of diseases doesn’t overwhelm communities.

The lack of accountability of public officials has also resulted in government and the citizens whom it serves being robbed in broad daylight. For example, government recently gave a green light to the start of work on the Kunzvi Dam which had been planned as early as 2011. While such an action was obviously noble and praise-worthy, news fast broke out that government had awarded a tender to a company whose bid was awarded to a company whose bid was $43 million more expensive, with no clarification on why such a decision was made even after the other company sought clarification which they are constitutionally entitled to. This means that through this single procurement decision mired in opacity, government was likely prejudiced of $43 million dollars. To a country with 7.9 million poor and starving citizens to whom education and health are inaccessible like Zimbabwe, that $43 million is a lot. It could have gone towards improving service delivery or building more infrastructure which the country desperately needs. What’s worse is this is just one project and it is a public secret that most lucrative tenders are given to politically connected people, even when they don’t produce competitive bids.

Thus, lack of accountability ensures that the corrupt officials get away with such cases and live to repeat the act soon, robbing citizens of the resources needed to develop Zimbabwe. It perpetuated the suffering of masses whose plight is not a priority for political elites.

So, for the country to achieve the objectives of democracy, whichever definition of it one ascribes to, transparency and accountability are essential. They incentivise good governance, facilitate the critique of policy actions and giving of solutions to common problems while ensuring that no single individual or group benefits to the detriment of others. Without transparency and accountability, it is very possible that Zimbabwe will grow into an upper middle income economy, but that income will be confined to the pockets of political elites and their allies while ordinary citizens remain poor as ever. Luckily, civil society organisations like the Zimbabwe Coalition of Debt and Development (ZIMCODD) are working to promote these essential principles through projects like the #HowFar Campaign which asks public officials for progress reports on past promises and other critical development matters. Organisations like Section7 have also stepped up with their civic education programs promoting citizen agency which is essential in not only pushing for transparency and accountability but in using them to demand the social and economic rights of Zimbabweans. These and other projects have the potential to promote development through transparent and accountable governance, but all efforts will be for nought if ordinary citizens like you and I do not actively take part and take charge.

If ordinary citizens don’t get a seat on the public finance management table, they’re guaranteed to get a prime spot on the menu.