Catholic bishops in Zimbabwe have warned President Emmerson Mnangagwa that the debate over a campaign to extend his term in office is plunging the country into deeper economic and political problems.
In a scathing pastoral letter, the influential Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference (ZCBC) said the southern African country was “doomed” if the government failed to arrest rampant corruption and stopped talk about extending the President’s term of office.
President Mnangagwa’s ruling Zanu PF last year passed a resolution to extend his term by two years, beyond 2028, when it expires.
The 82-year-old ruler has repeatedly said he does not want to extend his rule beyond the two five year-terms set in the Constitution, but his loyalists continue to publicly campaign for him to hang on to power.
A faction linked to his deputy Constantino Chiwenga, who led the coup that toppled long-time strongman Robert Mugabe nearly eight years ago, is said to be strongly opposed to the term extension.
Former fighters in Zimbabwe’s liberation war have also been calling for President Mnangagwa to step down because of alleged incompetence, nepotism and failure to rein in corrupt elements in his government.
The bishops said rising poverty in the country was “not accidental” but a result of poor management of the country’s resources.
“We are all worried about the situation in the country,” the bishops said.
“Politically, instead of focusing on bread and butter issues we are caught in distractions such as the third term conversations, something that has brought with it divisions and unnecessary diversions from the things that do matter.
“Businesses are closing and many people are losing their jobs, and the few who are still lucky to be working are burdened under the regime of taxes.”
Zimbabwe’s economy has struggled for more than two decades, with hyperinflation and currency collapses now commonplace.
One of the promises President Mnangagwa made when he took office in 2017 was that he would turn around the economy by ending corruption and creating jobs, a pledge his critics say he has failed to fulfil.
The bishops said corruption had become a stumbling block to Zimbabwe’s path to economic progress.
“Corruption is rampant and seems to be out of control,” ZCBC’s pastoral letter said.
“At the rate at which it is taking place, cutting through various sectors, the nation is doomed.
“One wonders why the corrupt seem uncensured and even rewarded whilst haemorrhaging the nation.”
The bishops said the widening gap between the rich and poor had deepened poverty in Zimbabwe.
“Few individuals seem to be benefiting from the wealth of the nation,” the letter said.
“We would like to remind our people that poverty is not accidental, but a result of particular choices and systems.”
George Charamba, President Mnangagwa’s spokesperson, described the third term debate as “dead and buried.”
He said the President had pronounced himself clearly that he was not interested in staying beyond 2028, despite calls by his lieutenants for him to cling on to power.
“The bishops raised the issue of the debate around the presidential term of office,” Mr Charamba said. “While this is really within their remit to proffer views and ideas on the matter, what the government found a bit disturbing is pronouncing itself on a matter which is in fact dead and buried.
“The President has made it clear that he has no intention of accepting that proposal, which is coming from the party and society.”
Church leaders have become increasingly critical of President Mnangagwa’s regime, amid accusations that he has failed to deliver on promises of political and economic reform.
His government has been accused of turning a blind eye to rampant corruption, rights abuses and economic mismanagement.
A ‘co-conspirator’
Last month, the Zimbabwe Heads of Christian Denominations said President Mnangagwa must resist the lure to stay beyond the end of his term, lest he become “a co-conspirator in overthrowing the country’s Constitution.”
Critics say removing presidential term limits to allow him to rule beyond 2028 could prove to be a mammoth task for the ruling party, as the constitutional amendments must be approved by a two-thirds parliamentary majority and two separate referendums.
Zimbabwe first held a referendum on the Constitution in 2000, where a draft supreme law crafted by Mugabe’s regime was overwhelmingly rejected after an opposition campaign against it.
The new Constitution that introduced two five-year terms for the President was approved in 2013 during the tenure of an inclusive government formed by Zanu PF and the opposition.
In 2021, President Mnangagwa’s government introduced 27 amendments to the Constitution, which have been described as a significant shift towards “authoritarian consolidation and democratic erosion.”
Political analysts say the push for presidential term extension is a way of managing the head of State’s succession, in which the military is expected to play a major role, as it did in the case with the late Mugabe, which culminated in a coup.
