Former Nkayi legislator Abednicho Bhebhe has accused the ruling Zanu PF party of hijacking government’s Vision 2030 development agenda for political expediency through Constitutional Amendment Bill No 3 (CAB 3) warning that the proposed reforms threaten constitutionalism, democratic accountability and institutional independence in Zimbabwe.
Speaking during the Nkayi Community Parliament virtual discussion on Sunday, Bhebhe said Vision 2030 was introduced by government as a national blueprint aimed at transforming Zimbabwe to an upper-middle-income economy by 2030.
The discussion focused on Vision 2030 and the dynamics of changing the Zimbabwean Constitution in factoring this vision.
Vision 2030 was aligned with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and implemented through the Transitional Stabilisation Programme (2018-20), National Development Strategy 1 (2021-25) and National Development Strategy 2 (2026-30).
However, Bhebhe argued that it was crafted as a State policy framework, not a partisan political project, accusing Zanu-PF of appropriating it to justify extending President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s stay in office beyond 2028.
“What Zanu-PF did at its annual people’s conference in Bulawayo in October 2024 was to pass resolution No 1 calling for constitutional amendments to extend the presidential term to 2030,” he said.
“That in itself is scandalous and violates the rights of the majority who are not bound by a political party decision.
Bhebhe maintained that national development agendas in democratic States are implemented through institutions such as Parliament, civil service, local authorities and non-State actors, regardless of which party is in power.
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“Vision 2030 was a government programme, not a personal project. Suggesting that only one individual can deliver implies that State institutions are weak and policy continuity depends on personalities rather than systems,” he said.
Bhebhe warned that CAB 3 weakens constitutional safeguards, particularly sections 89 and 328(7) of the Constitution, which were designed to limit the presidential tenure and prevent incumbents from rewriting constitutional rules to benefit themselves.
“The immediate effect is the erosion of the term-limit safeguard. Once the Constitution becomes adjustable whenever political convenience demands, its role as a restraint on power weakens for everyone,” he said.
Bhebhe further argued that extending the presidential term from five to seven years and shifting presidential elections from direct public vote to parliamentary selection weaken electoral accountability and reduce citizen participation.
Bhebhe said the proposed reforms would entrench political centralisation by increasing presidential appointment powers over Parliament and the Judiciary.
“CAB 3’s proposal to let the President appoint additional senators and choose all judges deepens the structural problem it claims to fix.
“Separation of powers depends on distinct sources of legitimacy. Once one office controls appointments to the other two, judicial review and legislative oversight become nominal,” he said.
He criticised proposals to transfer voter registration and custody of the voters’ roll from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) to the Registrar-General’s Office, arguing that the move reverses democratic reforms introduced after 2009.
“The RG’s Office is an Executive structure within the Ministry of Home Affairs. Returning the voters’ roll there compromises electoral independence and reintroduces risks of partisan manipulation,” he said.
Bhebhe opposed proposals to abolish the Zimbabwe Gender Commission and the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission, saying the move weakens oversight on gender equality and transitional justice issues, including the unresolved Gukurahundi matters.
He warned that dissolving independent commissions undermines constitutional checks and balances while violating Zimbabwe’s regional and international obligations on gender equality and human rights.
CAB 3’s broader danger, he said, was the concentration of power and weakening of democratic competition.
“A one-party State does not require banning the opposition. It emerges when electoral rules, term extensions and institutional changes systematically disadvantage competition,” he said. “Extending terms without strengthening accountability does not reward performance. It rewards tenure.”
Meanwhile, Silobela Community Parliament representative Nqobile Nkomo argued that Zimbabwe’s governance crisis is rooted in a long-standing project to establish a one-party State.
He said constitutional amendments and political reforms were being introduced gradually to consolidate Zanu PF dominance while weakening democratic participation.
He also criticised proposals allowing traditional chiefs to openly join political parties, warning that such a move compromises their neutrality and deepens political divisions in rural communities.
“There is no room for a chief to choose a favourite political party because chiefs are already servants of the political government. Partisan alignment turns traditional authority into a political tool,” Nkomo said.
