A high-sounding nothing: An evaluation of the state of the nation address

After weeks of anticipation, the nation was underwhelmed when President Mnangagwa delivered an un-inspiring, anaemic, soulless, and lifeless State of the Nation Address (Sona).

A meticulous evaluation of the Sona indicates that the whole address was just a regurgitation of government commitments, priorities and promises of delivery void of actionable strategies to address the national question and crisis.

My evaluation of the Sona concludes that the whole address was a high sounding nothing – it was all smoke and mirrors.

While the president touched on various aspects of the nation's “progress” and challenges, there are several areas that require further attention and action.

Sadly, the Sona, was divorced from the current socio-economic needs, political needs, justice needs, peace and transitional justice needs of the wider citizenry including the diaspora citizens.

In his opening remarks President Emmerson Mnangagwa, noted that, “The peace and tranquillity that has prevailed since the 10th parliament session, has allowed evident results in all parts of the country”.

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 To argue that there has been peace in Zimbabwe is flawed.

The 2023 – 2024 State of Peace Report by the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights) exposed that Zimbabwe is plagued by negative peace where 42.3% of citizens interviewed rated the peace in Zimbabwe as very low.

Therefore, the assertion that Zimbabwe is peaceful rendered the whole Sona false-hearted and another propaganda herald. The Sona was not an honest reflection of the state of the country.

“Our commitment to enhance the well-being of the people of our motherland, Zimbabwe by entrenching unity, stability, security and development remains a key mission for my administration.

“Government is committed to the realisation of the promises made by our ruling Party, Zanu PF”, the president said.

However, the reality on the ground shows that government is not committed to improving the lives of the ordinary citizens.

 A helicopter scan of policies passed by government signposts to the fact that the government is anti-people, anti-majority and anti-poor people.

The devaluation of the local currency, sky rocketing inflation; low purchasing power, economic decay, inconsistent monetary policies and heavy taxation on the poor is the reality of many Zimbabweans that the Sona failed to acknowledge and share solutions to the same.

The Sona ignored the important issues – corruption, youth unemployment, and failure by parliament to pass critical legislation.

Throughout his whole address, where he was not casting blame on sanctions or third parties, the president opted to be economical with the truth.

In the first year of the 10th parliament, only, one out of 13 bills gazetted, was successfully passed.

The president failed to take accountability and blamed this on parliament – turning a blind eye to his role and his cabinet’s critical role in routing Bills in parliament.

The president’s ruling party not only holds the majority of seats in parliament but was also allegedly behind the capture of parliament through pseudo-opposition leaders.

The Sona, was supposed to acknowledge that the 10th parliament is the weakest in the history of lawmaking in Zimbabwe and map strategies towards filling this gap; legitimizing the legislative body and accelerating the passing of important Bills like the Finance Bill (H.B.8.2024) ; Death Penalty Abolition Bill (H.B.5.2023) ; Medical Services Amendment Bill (H.B.6.2024); and Persons with Disabilities Bill (H.B.2.2023), among others.

Another notable aspect of the Sona was its silence on the dire and urgent need for economic reforms, political reforms and human rights reforms.

Simply, the address lacked specific, measurable, actionable and time-bound plans for addressing the economic crisis, democratic recession, and human rights question that continues to plague the country.

It would have been beneficial for the president to outline concrete steps and policies to address these pressing economic issues. Instead, the president was quick to point out the El-nino induced drought and sanctions as major problems facing the country.

Whilst empirical and anecdotal evidence shows that these two have a contributing effect to the Zimbabwean crisis, emphasis on these in the Sona betrays the sincerity of the Mnangagwa administration and its aptitude in problem diagnosis, analysis, prognosis and solving. A sustainable solution to the Zimbabwean crisis requires honest introspection and accountability of causes, effect, and solution holders.

Again, like previous Sona’s and the president’s every other day’s speech, the focus was also on agricultural development and food security.

Mnangagwa is always right in stressing the importance of revitalising the agricultural sector and ensuring food self-sufficiency.

While this is a crucial priority for a country grappling with food insecurity, the address could have delved into specific policies and programs aimed at achieving these objectives.

Further, the continuous lack of tangible results in the agriculture sector against the backdrop of a harsh drought leaves a lot to be desired.

The Sona’s silence on drought mitigation strategies and tangible results in this regard has only served to deepen the sense of disillusionment among the wider citizenry from Zambezi to Limpopo.

Lest this evaluatory piece becomes a destructive criticism, let me conclude that, the Sona, was a high sounding nothing – all smoke and mirrors. It lacked substance and failed to address the real issues facing Zimbabwe.

The president and his administration should take this as a learning point and a volta moment.

As the country continues to grapple with economic hardship and political turmoil, the need for decisive and effective leadership has never been greater.

 As a crucial point of departure, the Mnangagwa administration should look no further than the National Development Strategy (NDS) 1 and the roadmap for NDS 2 and its associated economic performance indicators.

This should be accompanied with strict constitutional compliance, democratic reform, rule of law and reigning in of all party stalwarts and lieutenants by the President. This will easily usher in the much-awaited Zimbabwean renaissance.

• Phillip Nyasha Fungurai writes in his own personal capacity. He can be contacted on thinktank.cogitare@gmail.com