The Zimbabwe Constitutional Movement (ZICOMO) condemns President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s appointment of Kudakwashe Tagwirei as Minister of Economic Development and Investment Promotion.
Tagwirei entered Parliament through one of ten presidentially appointed Senate seats created by the controversial Constitutional Amendment No. 3, known during its passage as CAB3. ZICOMO maintains that the amendment is illegal and unconstitutional and that his Senate appointment is consequently a nullity. Elevating him to Cabinet does not resolve the disputed legality of his entry into Parliament.
The amendment’s validity remains contested in the courts. Yet the Government continues to make appointments that entrench its consequences. ZICOMO regards this as an attempt to create a political fait accompli while the constitutional challenge remains unresolved. Every further appointment creates another beneficiary with an interest in preserving the disputed amendment.
The President cannot settle a constitutional dispute by proceeding as though the courts have already ruled in his favour. He must account for the basis of these appointments and their consequences should the relevant provisions be struck down.
Tagwirei’s passage from an appointed Senate seat to Cabinet illustrates the presidential patronage ZICOMO opposed throughout the CAB3 process. Expanded appointment powers have enabled a businessman closely associated with the President to enter Parliament and acquire executive authority without seeking an electoral mandate. Zimbabweans are entitled to ask whose interests this constitutional change was intended to serve.
The President’s constitutional power to appoint ministers does not answer the challenge to Tagwirei’s Senate appointment or legitimise the amendment through which he obtained that seat. Successive appointments cannot oblige citizens to abandon their objections.
Tagwirei’s extensive business interests raise further concerns now that he holds responsibility for economic development and investment promotion. The Government must explain how it will comply with section 106 of the Constitution, which prohibits ministers from exposing themselves to situations involving a risk of conflict between their official responsibilities and private interests.
That explanation must include public disclosure of his commercial interests and enforceable measures preventing him from participating in decisions affecting them. Presidential confidence cannot substitute for constitutional compliance.
ZICOMO calls for the immediate reversal of Tagwirei’s Cabinet appointment and reiterates its rejection of his appointment to the Senate under Amendment No. 3. Parliament must scrutinise these decisions and demand answers from the executive. Silence in the face of presidential patronage would amount to an abandonment of its oversight responsibilities.
The Constitution belongs to the people of Zimbabwe. Its amendment must serve a demonstrable public need. ZICOMO will continue to oppose Amendment No. 3 and challenge appointments made under its disputed authority.
Zimbabweans have every right to resist constitutional changes that concentrate power among the President’s associates and the politically connected wealthy elite, the Zviganandas. Public office carries obligations to the whole country. Proximity to the President provides no exemption from accountability.
Source: ZICOMO condemns Kudakwashe Tagwirei’s elevation through a contested amended
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