by Dorcas Rumano
Zimbabweans from all walks of life have celebrated the slender cabinet announced by President Emmerson Mnangagwa last Friday.
The President appointed only 20 Ministers with some ministries from the previous administration being merged. Previously, the Cabinet had 23 Ministers.
Political analysts applauded the downsizing of the cabinet saying it will significantly reduce the wage bill currently threatening to hit a staggering 100%.
Commenting on the issue of a trimmed Cabinet on her twitter handle @efie41209591, a Zimbabwean author and filmmaker Tsitsi Dangarembwa appreciated the decision made by the President saying, “Good to see the Zimbabwe Cabinet reduced to 20 Ministers. In a proposal I once developed for @amutambara, I had them down to 17. Good going. Thank you, @edmnangagwa.”
In addition, Zimbabwe Council of Churches leader, Bishop Lazarus Khanye has also applauded the President for downsizing the cabinet. Khanye expressed confidence in the new lean cabinet saying that it would bring the long awaited economic and political transformation.
Buttressing Bishop Khanye’s utterances, Buhera District Schools Inspector, Godfrey Chimbwanda said that the new cabinet was lean; hence it will cut costs compared to the old tradition when the cabinet was bloated.
The 20 Ministers together with the 13 Deputy Ministers appointed by President Mnangagwa has given the country positive hope for economic development.
The President has lived up to the promise that he made during his inaugural meeting with all Permanent Secretaries in November last year, where he said he would appoint a lean cabinet to rebuild the country’s economy.
“I am currently in the process of putting together a new Government structure, which should essentially be leaner. This, of course, will entail the merging of some line Ministries in order to remove functional duplications as well as contain unnecessary expenditures, so as to enhance productivity and efficient delivery of service,” said President Mnangagwa then.
The then Ministry of State for Government Scholarships in the Office of the President and Cabinet was abolished while the Ministry of Environment, Water and Climate is now merged into the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Culture and Rural Resettlement and in the new Ministry of Environment, Tourism and Hospitality.
However, President Mnangagwa assured civil service then, that those whose ministries would be merged would not lose their jobs.
President Mnangagwa said, “I want to assure you that no one will be laid off, except those who have reached retirement age.”
Zimbabwe is now one of the countries in Africa with a lean cabinet. Neighbouring countries such as South Africa and Zambia, have 30 and 25 ministries in their cabinet, respectively.
