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| Cde Bernard Bwoni: ZANU PF UK Vice Secretary General |
It has been a very interesting week to say the least
with cases of ‘stray donkeys’ and ‘little minds that cannot be corrected’. The
President HE RG Mugabe returned from his well-deserved break and he was on form
and rejuvenated indeed. The preparations for the country’s tobacco marketing
season are also underway, another bumper tobacco crop is expected and the only
worry is that there could be an over-supply of the crop that could lead to
lower prices. The Vice President Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa was in the mix
stressing the importance of recruiting the right technocrats to drive up the
country’s economic transformation.
The country and its economic success will be
guaranteed if strategic sectors of the country are manned by competent,
qualified and patriotic personnel who can solve problems. The move by
government to have technocrats in strategic positions of the country’s core is
a brave and progressive step in the right direction. A technical approach is
necessary for Zimbabwe to realise its full developmental potential. It is
important that those patriotic individuals with the right expertise and
education are inserted right in the nucleus of areas of strategic importance. However
the technocrats will need to rise above the disabling political antipathy.
The move to recruit technocrats will mean that crucial
sectors of the country are run by some of best qualified, competent and who put
the country first. It is in effect a government hired by the people as opposed
to elected, the experts steering the economy without people even seeing them as
politicians. The criterion for qualifying to top leadership is expertise and
ability to deal with real life situations and working hard to ensure successful
application of agreed outcomes. Zimbabwe does have an abundance of such
technocrats both inside the country and outside. It is about finding exactly
the right committed individuals who will continue to carry the people forward.
The
technocrat is an expert, granted, but being an expert on its own is not the
same as wisdom. The technocrat has to polish their own wisdom through
application, learning from failures, discipline and that sacred belief in doing
things for the greater good. But is wisdom enough to rescue Zimbabwe from its
current economic quagmire? Proper technocracy means tapping into minds from
many disciplines of technocrats with hands on experience not just academic
education and expertise. Developing countries like Zimbabwe will struggle to
achieve lasting economic progress if incompetent, unqualified and unpatriotic
personal remain embedded into critical areas of the nation’s strategic core.
The remedy is a mix of technocrats and the non-technocratic elements. It is
stating the obvious that governing is a social construct that serves social
functions and technocrats will inherently struggle with the social functions of
governance.
The government of Zimbabwe has remained committed to
good governance and challenging corruption and other social ills. The task of
eradicating corruption and maintaining a corrupt-free system is very delicate
and requires genuine political will. The ability to understand a situation and
deal with it correctly does not have anything to do with popularity but with
knowledge of the subject period. The reality is that technocrats have the
ability to rise above the paralyzing and polarizing political poison prevalent
continent-wide at the moment. They often bring very little in terms of
‘baggage’ and more of a reputational advantage both in terms of knowledge and a
sense of putting national interest above paltry party political pursuits.
Let’s
not confuse technocrats with loudmouth academics-turned-politicians and names
like Ibbo Mandaza often spring to mind. The thing with technocrats is that they
can practically claim wiser economic custodianship, greater ideological
commitment to economic principles and deeper connections with transnational and
multinational financial networks both domestic and international. The economy
is the driving power of any nation thus academic and practical awareness of
economics are a prerequisite of those intending on positions of economic
influence and a blend of technocracy and democracy is sure meant to lead to
economic transformation.
Ideally a country’s finance ministry has to have technocrats
with an academic background in economics and finance as standard because even
if you want to fuse the realities on the ground with economic principle you
would need an awareness, understanding and academic background in the subject.
Economics is a critical discipline for its all-encompassing nature and the fact
that it is intricately attached to the political function of the state. One
would be forgiven for feeling uncomfortable with someone who has not studied
economics to make heavy economic decisions that will greatly impact the country
for decades to come. However with the right technocrats in the background this
can work, but it has to be the right technocrats.
A seamless unification of the political and expert functions
of governing offers Zimbabwe a possible route out of the economic muddle the
country is confronted with. However thing to understand is that having a degree
does not make you automatically a technocrat because technocracy is defined by rational
rather than idealist thought processes where decisions are made based on the
real world processes. A political
functionary who can make good moral decisions with the public’s interest whilst
also having an awareness and ability to comprehend different expert opinions
and paradigms is crucial to any country’s economic revival. The country’s
leadership needs to be more conversant and appreciative enough to consult with
technocrats to help make sound economic decisions and at the same time be well
versed in the humanities and social sciences. It is important that leadership
is driven by ethos and that raison d’etre to do things right and to do the
right thing while considering long-term solutions. This means removing from
power those politicians who only value self-benefit over the public good.
It is impossible to exclude facts from political
decision-making processes and worldwide people yearn for a clever,
dispassionate and principled government and Zimbabwe is no exception. When the
usual rulers prove indecisive or are discredited, turning to the wisdom and
expertise of technocrats is a way forward. It is possible that when political
power is not publicly contested at all, electability is irrelevant and
expertise can give the ambitious an edge. Technocracy is actually a proven
model of governance which has elevated the standard of living of a people from
a third world to a first world in the case of Singapore and China. An
interesting point to note is that in China’s Politburo Standing Committee eight
out of the nine members are engineers and also the current Chinese Premier Li
Keqiang has degrees in Economics and Law, a healthy academic combination for
governance of function. But is that sustainable in the long run?
The Chinese have engineers, scientists, economists and
mathematicians in the political fold especially at Politburo level instead of
lawyers and others social science qualified politicians. Singapore is a country
run by technocrats and is often highly touted as a shining example in the governance
of function for the greater good of all citizenry through a clear understanding
of their needs and political will to ensure these needs are met. Herbert
Hoover who was the President of the United States in 1929 when the stock market
collapsed was a professional mining engineer and there was nothing he could do
when the American economy went into flames then. Here is an example of
technocracy backfiring or was it just an unfortunate moment in American
history? There is also the argument that China, run by technocrats, suffers
from heavy pollution, unsustainable inequalities and rampant corruption and the
technocrats have not managed to halt the degeneracy.
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| VP Mnangagwa leading the call for technocrats |
Zimbabwe’s move to embrace technocracy for
its expertise-based approach is commendable and should incorporate the
intricate details of the ZIMASSET economic blueprint and the country’s economic
empowerment policies. The country deserves better, an urgent need for
technocrats who will spearhead the rehabilitation of the country’s dilapidated
infrastructure and dysfunctional institutions. It needs practical functionaries
who will unclog systems and clear the entire deadwood that remains the bane of
most national establishments and institutions.
VP Mnangagwa started off very
well making it clear that corrupt officials would be dealt with decisively and
now he is talking progressively about harnessing the expertise of technocrats. The
ruling party has always been responsive when it comes to matters of national
importance. It should be said that institutions are bigger than
personalities and a reform programme can only be deemed a success when its
momentum outpaces its original architects. The invitation of technocrats into
government will bring that added edge into the country’s economic recovery
process.
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