Insider Mediation

The necessity for a national dialogue process in Zimbabwe has been debated since the 2013 Constitution established a National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC). The NPRC is mandated to provide an institutional framework for social dialogue on justice, reconciliation, and peaceful conflict resolution. Although the President of the Government of Zimbabwe has repeatedly endorsed the work of the NPRC, concomitant abusive and resistant actions by different actors have undermined Government efforts and credibility leading to mixed viewpoints on the NPRC’s efficacy. Following his assumption of office, the President, HE. E.D Mnangagwa  recognised that a renewed call for an inclusive national dialogue process was necessary if peace and prosperity for national development were to be achieved. At the beginning of 2019, he invited all political parties to a summit “without preconditions, to begin a process of an inclusive national dialogue”. However, the main opposition political party the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) then, and now Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), declined the invitation and instead called for a genuine dialogue under “a credible convener and mediator to solve the crisis.” Ideas about how a national dialogue should be set up continue to differ. The Government of Zimbabwe views a potentially home-grown inclusive dialogue process as engaging all political parties coordinated by the NPRC. Despite Government efforts, this has yielded minimal results thus far. Other actors include Heads of Church Denominations who wield considerable influence in Zimbabwe’s political history and have tried to mediate between and among different actors since Mugabe’s era. Of note, the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) has initiated a separate national dialogue process, whose aim is to strengthen efforts towards an inclusive, comprehensive national dialogue process focused on addressing the economic justice, social cohesion, and good governance issues. The ZCC has to some extent undertaken concrete steps towards complementing government efforts in the implementation of an inclusive national dialogue process.

There is a general consensus that current developments in Zimbabwe present a unique window of opportunity to support a much-needed national dialogue process spearheaded by Zimbabweans themselves. In this situation, supporting insider mediation is viewed as crucial for three main reasons. First, there is substantial scepticism in Zimbabwe towards external involvement, and any third-party mediation is generally perceived as interference in Zimbabwe’s internal affairs, with great potential to jeopardise any dialogue outcome process. Concerns over the protection of national sovereignty and preservation of national identity and ownership of the processes, make the insider mediation an ideal bridge-builder and go-between strategy for an acceptable process. Second, despite the need for insider mediation in Zimbabwe, specific expertise in this area remain limited. Therefore, developing a critical mass of mediation experts and strengthening the mediation skills of those involved in the national dialogue process will increase the likelihood of its success. Third, a nationally driven dialogue process is more likely to yield sustainable peace dividends. Local ownership of the dialogue process and the involvement of insider mediators ensures that the impact outlives the project.