A long way to go for the Inclusive Government and the GPA
With the objective of obtaining information about the implementation of the Global Peace Agreement and to provide support to civil society organizations in disseminating information on the Inclusive Government to as many Zimbabweans as possible, the Mass Public Opinion Institute (MPOI) conducted a public opinion survey in Zimbabwe.
The survey, which was conducted in August 2010, had a sample size of 1000 people and it focused on the following issues:
- Performance of the Inclusive Government
- Media
- Inclusive Government’s policies and priorities
- Constitution-making
- Parties’ commitment to the Inclusive Government
- Macro and economic evaluations
- Performance of State Institutions
- Partisan Affiliation
In its efforts to restore the economy, results show that 48% of people interviewed think that the Inclusive Government is doing well in terms of restoring the economy. A lot of people felt that the economy had improved in the past twelve months and one in ten people think the economic condition had deteriorated.
But on free political activity, 35% had a negative view on the government’s performance.
In 2010 COPAC embarked on constitution making consultations around Zimbabwe and a lot of people acknowledge that they heard about COPAC but in terms of giving education to people on the constitution, people felt that COPAC failed dismally as 69% of people say they did not receive education on constitution making process.
From the observations, 51% of the respondents had a negative view about the trust they have in the security forces as protectors of human rights. 32% view the performance of the security forces in a positive light saying that they are executing their duties in a fairly good way.
The much publicized Indigenization and Economic Empowerment Act has gained popularity especially among males, recording 32% people saying it’s a good policy.
Though a lot people can receive radio signal, in some parts of the country some people still can’t access a TV signal. With ZBC still exercising its monopoly on the airwaves and the continued bombardment of political messages from ZANU PF the survey showed a lot of bias towards one party in terms of fair play on campaigning material being played on radio.
To measure the response on political affiliation, MPOI asked: If you were to vote for a Parliamentary candidate of choice, which party will that candidate belong to?” Since this issue is very sensitive most people in the survey were not comfortable to have their views shared in public. 24 % of people responded saying their vote is their secret and 17 percent did not want to comment. In this category MDC T commands 32 % and ZANU PF has 18 % though when asked who has real power it came out that the President still has a lot of power in the GPA
According to each sector touched on by the survey it shows an information gap where people who profess ignorance on issues related to the Inclusive Government also lack the freedom to express their views in public.
I believe the organ on National healing and reconciliation still has a long way to go in making its work known by people since only 11% of people interviewed think the organ is doing a good work as compared to 67% who are not sure.