Chinamasa says Amendment No. 3 is the only path to growth

ANESU MASAMVU

Zanu PF Treasurer-General and former Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa has mounted a forceful economic defense of Constitutional Amendment No. 3, arguing that extending the presidential and parliamentary term from five to seven years is essential for long-term development, economic stability, and continuity under President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration.

In an exclusive interview with Business Times, Chinamasa framed the proposed constitutional changes as a strategic economic intervention designed to reduce costly election cycles and allow government to focus resources on infrastructure, industrialisation and growth instead of “contestation for power after every year.”

“You know, a constitution is a living document. It must suit the circumstances of the time,” Chinamasa said, arguing that constitutions exist to serve the interests of citizens rather than preserve rigid structures.

At the heart of his argument is the extension of the electoral cycle from five to seven years, which he says would give government enough time to implement and complete long-term projects without disruption from recurring political disputes and election-related tensions.

“You need to have a sound policy on reindustrialisation of our country. All those things can not be implemented overnight. They need a longer time frame,” he said. “Development is about continuity.”

Chinamasa argued that Zimbabwe’s current five-year electoral cycle fuels repeated political disputes that drain resources and slow development.

“Every time the opposition loses, they always make unfounded allegations of rigging,” he said. “You go through another two years where those contestations are in court, and no amount of effort is put to the real work of development.”

The former Finance Minister revealed that the 2023 harmonised elections cost the government close to US$200 million, excluding spending by political parties.

“It reduces the opportunities for quarrelling, which in our case always come after five years, and are very costly, not only to the political parties involved, but very costly in terms of development to the country,” he said.

Chinamasa also claimed that opposition political activity is externally funded and aimed at destabilising Zimbabwe and reinforcing sanctions.

“In the case of the opposition, I’m aware that they are funded only from outside,” he said. “It doesn’t matter to them how often they go to elections and how often they bring up incidents for quarrelling because it’s all funded from outside to destabilise us.”

Defending the timing of the amendment while Zimbabwe remains in an electoral cycle running until 2028, Chinamasa said the proposed changes are necessary to preserve what he described as a positive economic trajectory under Mnangagwa.

“His Excellency, President E.D. Mnangagwa has done a tremendous job,” he said. “We are under sanctions. We have not had any assistance from the World Bank or IMF, although we are members. We have not had access to capital from any quarter.”

Despite those constraints, Chinamasa argued Zimbabwe had achieved significant economic gains, claiming the country is now among the top 10 fastest-growing economies on the African continent.

“The only investment we are receiving here is mainly from the Chinese and to a small extent Indian,” he said. “But notwithstanding all those factors, we have noticed expansion and growth in our economy.”

He said the government wanted to maintain that momentum through to 2030.

“We want that trajectory to remain so for the next five or so years, and you will see a difference in Zimbabwe in 2030,” Chinamasa said.

Pointing to agriculture, mining, and artisanal gold production as key growth drivers, Chinamasa said Zimbabwe was effectively “raising ourselves with our own bootstraps” despite sanctions and limited external financing.

“Our artisanal miners have done fantastic. They produce fantastic output, almost rivaling the output from the formal mining sector,” he said.

Chinamasa also pointed to government revenue growth as evidence of economic progress under the current administration.

“When I left as Finance Minister, our revenues were something around US$3 billion annually. Now we are talking about US$8 billion or so in a very short period of time,” he said. “For a country under sanctions, that is a marvel.”

He added that Zimbabwe now holds foreign currency reserves of around US$1 billion and has moved into export surplus territory, developments he described as more important than “spending time quarreling every five years.”

Under the proposed amendment, Zimbabwe would not hold parliamentary or local authority elections in 2028, with the next elections instead taking place in 2030. Chinamasa argued that postponing those elections would result in “tremendous savings” for the economy while giving the government more time to execute long-term development plans.