Analysing the conflict that exists between civil society and the state in Zimbabwe

The conflict between civil society and the state in Zimbabwe can be metaphorically be referred to a ball of spaghetti thus it is complex and cannot be simplified or generalized. Civil society groups are not a monolithic block but there are diverse occupying different spaces and institutional forms, varying in their degree of formality, autonomy and power. This complexity of civil societies goes as far as defining or explaining what constitutes civil society. The Zimbabwe Institute Report (2012) stated that there is no consensus on what constitutes Civil society organisations.

The Centre on Conflict, Development and Peace building report (2012) defines Civil Society Organizations as autonomously organized groups that take voluntary collective actions, around shared interests, purposes and values that are distinct from those of the state, family and market. These organizations are not driven by private or economic interests and they tend to show civic virtue and work within the public sphere. Such organizations include unions and professional associations, interest groups, faith-based organizations, traditional and community groups, researchers and research institutions, service delivery organizations, social and political movements, as well as business networks.

Cox (1999) argues that civil society in a bottom –up sense is the realm in which those who are disadvantaged by globalization of the world economy can mount their protests and seek alternatives. In a top down sense civil society are used to stabilize the social and political status quo. Cox sees civil society as having the power to liberate the public from the unfairness distribution of wealth caused by capitalism. His definition emphasizes the role played by most interest groups in advocating policy change for the betterment of the society. However it will be naïve to say all civil society organisations are against capitalism.

There has been adversarial relationship between the state and civil society organisations. The conflict between states and civil society is not unique to Zimbabwe alone; plethora of reasons can be cited to explain the paradigm. The politically inclined civil society especially those that has been advocating for regime change has conflicted with the state to a larger extent. In Zimbabwe 1999, Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), National Constitution Assembly (NCA) and Combined Harare Resident Association formed a coalition that led to the formation of Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) a formidable opponent that threatened the ruling party Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front, (ZANU PF), (Zimbabwe Institute Report 2008). Recently another civil society group the NCA has turned into a political party, (The Standard, Sep 23, 2013) and this triggers suspicion of civil society organisations operations and breeds conflicts with the state. Conflict of interests has soured relations between civil society and state relations especially in contexts where civil society threatens the existence of the ruling party within that state. In North Africa and the Middle East Civil society organization took part in ousting of political leaders in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya during the Spring Revolutions of 2011. In Tunisia, prominent civil society actors contested in the elections henceforth accounting for the conflict between states and civil society organisations (CCDP 2012).

The power of civil society organisations to mobilize people at the expense of States can lead to degeneration of relations. The Zimbabwean case can be outlined to justify the claim. The NCA which was formed from a coalition of 100 NGOs, community associations, and trades unions, as well as an indeterminate number of individual members who opposed the ruling government (Dorman 2001) and other civil society organisations like the ZCTU managed to mobilize support against the government during the Constitutional Referendum of 2000. Losing the referendum was a wakeup call for ZANU PF it proved that civil society organisations had the capacity to sore disunity and even topple the government. ZANU PF led government lost the referendum by 54% against 44% and the NCA represented the opinions of the majority of those who participated in the plebiscite (ibid). Such popularity threatened the existence of ZANU PF and it signaled the possibility of losing the elections in June hence repressive action such as arresting and brutalizing the activist began to be used to deal with civil society organisations which opposed the government.

The Government has tried to contain civil society organisations activities by using legislation. The NGO Bill 2004 was designed to emasculate NGOs in Zimbabwe that deal in governance and human rights. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe introduced a monitoring mechanism by putting the foreign currency accounts (FCAs) of NGOs including civics under its ambit, this resulted in delays in access to the funds by civics, and causing a chain delay in activities such as voter education, research and advocacy, Zimbabwe Institute (2008). Various mechanism were used to ensure that Civil society organisations activities were checked the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) and the Miscellaneous Offences Act (MOA) was passed to curb freedoms of assembly and association, in addition the Broadcasting Services Act (BSA) restricted the monitoring and reporting on elections and Access to Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) which was passed to curtail freedom of press. Bombing of media houses such as The Daily News and Voice of the People were used to intimidate and warn independent press. The same strategies are not just peculiar to Zimbabwe alone in 2009 the Ethiopian government adopted a comprehensive law governing the registration and regulation of NGOs. The law known as Proclamation to Provide for the Registration and Regulation of Charities and Societies (CSP) prohibited civil society organisations that receive more than 10% of their funding from foreign sources from participating in human rights and advocacy activities, (INCL 2009). The move was designed to close foreign funded civil society organisations. CSP Article 68 and 69 gave the Foreign Minister power to use his /her discretion to register civil society organisations. This culminated in the closure of 42 humanitarian aid organizations which were accused for working outside the mandate of the state, (INCL 2009). Likewise, the Kenyan government came into conflict with civil society organisations when it cut foreign funding to 15%. (www.devex.com/news/Kenyan-civil society organisationss-ngo-to-fight-proposed-foreign-fundind-restriction-82297

According to Zimbabwe Institute Report 2008, the partnership between civil society organisations and Donors is not one between equals but ‘a power relationship’. Their control of resources enables donors to play a more dominant role in ‘agenda setting’, (ibid). Agendas are donor driven, civil society organisations can be forced to be skeptical of governments if their donors are against the governments. According to Dr Naidoo (2003) civil society groups do not represent the views of anyone but themselves and that if they are accountable at all, it is usually 'upward' to their funders, rather than 'downward' to those they purportedly serve. Political and human rights civil society organisations, which are funded by the West such as Witness organization produced documentaries to discredit the Zimbabwean government and to expose human rights violations. Through publications and documentaries like Hear Us: Women Affected by political Violence in Zimbabwe Speak Out which featured Memory a MDC political activist who was abducted and raped on 11 June 2008. The documentary further reports that 500 cases of assaults and 700 cases of political intimidation were reported by the Zimbabwe NGO Forum between January and July. Such documentaries are portrayed in vivid and graphical pictures with certain level of manipulative exaggerations to capture the audience emotions and draw sympathy to MDC. Human Rights civil society organisations that advocate for social justice are usually in conflict with the states and are often dealt with decisively with State apparatus for example Women in Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) chairperson have been arrested more than 50 times during the past 10 years (www.ipnews.net/2013/04/clampdown-of - civil society organisations).

It will be naïve to view the relations between the Zimbabwe and civil society organisations as broken and antagonistic in nature. The government has shown wiliness to partner with certain civil society organisations than others. Mohan (2001) observed there has been insidious use of NGOs as vehicles for personal and party political gain by local officers. This is achieved through various mechanisms - petty corruption, largesse, and interlocking political affiliations. The ruling party has partnered with civil society organisations like the War Veteran Association of Zimbabwe and Zimbabwe Federation of Trade Union to protect its interest and to deal ruthlessly with opposing parties and civil society organisations. In 2002 and 2008 elections members of the War Veteran Association of Zimbabwe (war veterans) were deployed to terrorize MDC activists and supporters and civic groups like NCA, Zimrights and ZCTU amongst others, (The Zimbabwe Institute 2008). The history of Organization of Rural Association for Progress (ORAP) shows how the government is willing to work with those who carry the same vision and perception of development. During the dissent war ORAP’s meetings were banned since it was operating in Matebeland, (Dorman 2001), however soon after the founder Stembiso Nyoni was co-opted into ZANU PF the organization is an ally of the state.

History has shown that the Zimbabwean government does not treat lightly civil society organisations that use confrontational approach to its policies. Civil society organisations which organize strikes and demonstrations were treated with brutality and resentment. ZCTU’s mass action strikes and demonstrations were regarded as destabilizing the economy. In December 1997, more than one million workers, management, informal sector entrepreneurs, and civil servants joined street demonstrations to protest new levies and taxies imposed by the government to cover the unbudgeted costs of a secret, enormous payout deal struck between President Mugabe and “war veterans”—a move provoked by public revelations of high-level political corruption in draining a war veterans injuries compensation fund. The Zimbabwean State responded by unlashing the wrath of the dreaded riot police that heavily pounded on demonstrators with merciless alacrity. The same scenario of mass Industrial action has contributed to the fall of Arab regimes like Bahrain government Egyptian and Tunisian (Fattahi 2012).

Covert methods have been used by the state to undermine civil society organisations according to Dorman (2004) Zimrights collapsed because of its confrontational approach against Zimbabwean government. The Central Intelligence Organization (CIO) was used to constantly pounce on it leading to its closure. Dorman (2004) asserts that ‘No other Zimbabwean organization (sic except Zimrights) was so regularly attacked in the media by President Mugabe.’ The bombing of Daily News send a clear message to civil society organisations which were so vocal and confrontational against the ZANU PF led government as mentioned earlier. Civil society organisations which are less confrontational which follows procedures to put issues on the agenda are respected and accommodated than the former.

States are more responsive to what the Zimbabwe Institute report called ‘soft sector’ civil society organisations such as civics that look at women issues. The Zimbabwe Institute Report (2008) observed that ‘soft sectors’ are not viewed as threat contrary to civics whose mission is to monitor the state’s role in governance and record in transparency and civil and human rights. The passing of the Domestic Violence Act was easily advocated for by civil society organisations like Women in AIDS Support Network (WASN) and Musasa Project among others without any conflicts arising. In North Africa and The Middle East civics that are into women issues are treated with suspicion since they threaten Muslim society views on the position of women. States like the Saudi Arabia are reluctant to protect these groups from sexual assaults when they are demonstrating. States that have strong Islamic laws are reluctant to adopt women empowerment policies. The notion of women empowerment would upset the balance of power, (CCDP 2012). States are willing to work with civil society organisations that share the same religious views with them than those that bring alien ideas

The state and CSOs are ever at loggerheads when it comes to what constitute fair and transparent elections. Some civil society organisations have been labeled neo-colonial agents because they do not agree that there is democracy in Zimbabwe. Elections bring the worst of the relations between CSOs and the State. According Zimbabwe Institute (2008) state-sponsored violence was used in 2008 civics involved in voter education, election monitoring and observation in the period between March and June2008. On 25 April 2008, police officers raided offices of the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN), and seized election documents that they claimed were subversive and meant to overthrow the ZANU-PF government. The raid on ZESN offices came a few days before the announcement of the presidential results and perhaps aimed at harassing, intimidating and therefore preventing ZESN from announcing election results that would contradict ZEC’s official results. Counter measures were used by the civics through ‘naming and shaming’ perpetrators, publicizing graphic pictures of torture victims the on global media and subsequently discrediting the run –off elections.

The Zimbabwean government has conflicted with Human Rights activism on the rights lesbians and gays. The Zimbabwe state believes that such sexual orientation is intolerable since it erodes the social morality of the community. Associations such Gays and Lesbian Association of Zimbabwe (GALZ) has been raided by police in Zimbabwe on several occasions signifying antagonism between it and the state. In 2012 News Day carried a story that Human rights Watch had wrote a complaint against President Mugabe over the raid of GALZ and the arrest of 44 of its members. Monica Tabengwa who is Lesbians Gays Bi-sexual and Trans-sexual (LGBT) researcher at Human Rights was quoted as saying “This latest police raid on the country’s leading LGBT group shows the government’s intolerance of the rights of Zimbabwe’s sexual and gender minorities”. (News Day 29-08-2012). It is in this context that some civil society organisations are regarded as threat to local cultures hence states use its machinery to thwart their agendas. Similarly some states in Africa have shown detest of this type of western democracy. The Nigerian government has clashed with Amnesty International over the arrest of ten gay men, (CNN 16 January 2014). My Zimbabwe carried a report that the World Bank had suspended a 90 million loan that was intended for Uganda Health System following Yoweri Museveni’s signing of an Anti-Gay Bill, (www.MyZimbabwe.com/news/Whatsapp-to-punish-country-for banning-gays.html). In 2012 Uganda closed down 38 organizations accused of promoting homosexuality and undermining the national culture. The ethics and integrity Minister Simon Lokoko claimed that the NGOs were receiving support from abroad to facilitate homosexuality and recruiting young children into it. The Minister stated “I have established beyond reasonable doubt that the 38 NGOs , if not even more, exist not for humanitarian reasons but to destroy the traditions and culture of this country by promoting homosexuality’, (www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jun/Uganda-bans-organisations-promoting-homosexuality) Amnesty International condemned the raid citing that it was ‘ludicrous and senseless harassment of human rights activists’,( ibid). The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex association (LGBT) lists 38 African countries which violate gay rights including Zimbabwe. Such different perceptions have marred the relations of states and civil society organisations and Zimbabwe is not a unique case.

Civil Society such as Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) has tended to establish parallel systems that conflict with local government in Zimbabwe. Most NGOs are lavishly and adequately funded and have budgets that surpass that of states while local governments are resource-less and cashless, (Solomon H 2002). In most cases the populace views the NGOs as salvation agents while the local governments is blamed for failing to supply their needs, (Solomon H 2002). The credit for giving aid is given to NGOs than the Local Governments which represent the State. This scenario is also worsened by the fact that some NGOs chose to bypass local governments. In addition some NGOs do not comply with Local Government procedures such as supplying monthly and regular reports. The theoretic relationship should be; civil society organisations are suppose to complement government efforts however some groups start acting like private enterprises forgetting the importance of the State hence leading to skewed relations.

In conclusion the Zimbabwean and Civil society relations has been more of adversarial than that of partners in development. A number of factors have created such a relationship such political differences, regime change agenda, methods of airing differences and incompatible social beliefs and due to the imposition of Western democracy. Ways of settling these differences has been characterized by brutality, repressive laws, name calling, exaggeration and subjective reporting. This paper has traced historical problems that have marred relations. The recommendation is that conflict though it is inevitable it should be functional thus rewarding. Strong cooperation between state and civil society can lead to development of Zimbabwe. Civil societies need not to diversify their sources of funding but also seek independent and self sustaining sources of funding in the long-term while the State has to do away with repressive laws

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