Why Split the Ministries: Power Play or Strategic Mandate Restructuring?

Richard Runyararo Mahomva

Zimbabwe’s polarised political culture has constantly made national development questions often tackled through narrow partisan terms. As such, ministerial assignments and reassignments are usually viewed through ideologically antagonistic perspectives, pessimistic and conspiracy-ridden lenses.

The establishment of a standalone Ministry of Finance and a new Ministry of Economic Development and Investment Promotion on the 8^th of October 2026 has not been spared this defamation.  It has been argued that the decision advances patronage, corruption and intra-power struggles within the ruling ZANU PF. On the contrary, this submission unpacks the efficacy of this mandate change.

A specialised Ministry of Finance could strengthen fiscal discipline, revenue mobilisation, expenditure control and debt sustainability achieved since 2017.  On the other hand, a specialised Ministry of Economic Development and Investment Promotion will guarantee the impactful implementation of the National Development Strategy (NDS) 2. This ministry will aid Zimbabwe to expand productive capacity and accelerate employment-generating growth.

Why the Continuous Restructuring?

The functions of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) are not static. Depending on the short- and long-term objectives of fulfilling electoral promises, the Head of State has the constitutional prerogative to determine the performance objectives, timelines and specialised mandates of any MDA. In establishing, monitoring and evaluating the functions of Cabinet, the President determines which ministry does what, when and how. After all, President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa has decades of practical engagement with Cabinet-making process. He is by far the most experienced statesman in Zimbabwe who was there when this country’s first cabinet was appointed in 1980. 

All ministerial restructuring processes determine the allocation of responsibilities, resources and institutional power. From a Weberian perspective, this prerogative represents the exercise of legal-rational authority through the reorganisation of bureaucratic structures to align administrative responsibilities with national priorities. The President’s constitutional authority also extends to appointing individuals to implement the national vision. The national vision is pursued through the creation, merger and dissolution of ministries. Accordingly, in April, the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Fisheries and Rural Development was split into two entities, namely:

1. Ministry of Lands and Rural Development; and
2.  Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources Development.

The de-concentration of responsibilities also reinforces division of labour. The result is improved institutional efficiency, accelerated policy implementation and more measurable development outcomes. Such organisational adjustments further demonstrate that effective governance must remain adaptive to evolving policy priorities, emerging economic realities and changing national development imperatives. Therefore, what are the implications of the establishment of a stand-alone Ministry of Finance?

Unpacking the Treasury Reform.

In independent Zimbabwe, the importance of state revenue control was examined in Professor Jonathan Moyo’s (1992) seminal publication, The Politics of the National Purse. Moyo (1992) demonstrated that effective treasury management and budgetary planning are fundamental to the sustenance of the state. Therefore, the national treasury is the fiscal backbone of government, guaranteeing the financial capacity to deliver public goods and services in response to citizens’ needs. Without sound budgeting practices and effective fiscal policies, critical sectors such as health, education, national security and social welfare risk institutional decline. Well-considered budgetary priorities consequently strengthen national security and promote socio-economic stability.

Likewise, poor budget planning undermines state security and the effective protection of economic democratisation. Likewise economic democratisation constraints produce endless class struggles and conflict. Therefore, if strong budget mechanism promote durable peace and social cohesion,  President Mnangagwa’s discretion to split the two ministries is a direct response to the need for building lasting peace which enhances prospects for high  investment and prosperity. Further to this, prioritising a specialised treasury institution strengthens the government’s capacity to formulate and implement tangible poverty-reduction measures through strategic resource allocation and sustainable public expenditure.

Budget formulation depends on diligent revenue mobilisation. A ministry dedicated to this function can address longstanding weaknesses in revenue administration, including revenue leakages and collection inefficiencies. This institutional separation allows the Ministry of Finance to devote greater attention to fiscal policy formulation, budget planning and expenditure management. Meanwhile, a specialised revenue institution can concentrate on broadening the tax base, improving compliance and developing innovative domestic resource mobilisation strategies. These measures can strengthen the national fiscus and improve the government’s capacity to finance public services. Such improvements are particularly important for sustaining the public service system, whose operations and remuneration depend substantially on resources allocated through the national budget.

This way adequate and predictable budgetary allocations will enable ministries and public agencies to implement their mandates and achieve measurable performance outcomes. Furthermore, the Ministry of Finance will expand international resource mobilisation through grants, concessional loans and other financing agreements with bilateral and multilateral development partners, as well as appropriate private-sector financiers. These engagements should be guided by prudent debt management and sustainable borrowing practices. By strengthening domestic revenue collection and mobilising external resources, the government can expand its fiscal capacity to finance infrastructure, social protection and poverty-reduction programmes.

As the fiscal policy custodian, treasury should consolidate stability while strengthening economic shocks resilience. This means that  the ongoing 2027 budget construction process should provide adequate space for priority social spending and high-impact development expenditures. The Ministry should reinforce stronger fiscal discipline measures and eliminate any public sector debt appetites.  

 The Enablers and Environment for Economic Development and Investment Promotion

The 10-month Staff-Monitored Programme (SMP) by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected that Zimbabwe’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would grow by 5.0% in 2026. This follows the country’s strong economic performance, with a growth rate of 8.3% in 2025. These improvements provide a more predictable economic environment for domestic and foreign direct investment. Herein lies the Ministry’s task of formulating robust investment incentive strategies to attract domestic and international capital to drive Zimbabwe’s economic growth. The sustained stability of the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) and prevailing single-digit inflation lend credence to the economic development trajectory that Zimbabwe currently enjoys. These developments have the potential to strengthen investor confidence, which, in turn, justifies the formulation of dedicated investment strategies under a Ministry exclusively mandated to advance this objective.

In 2025, Zimbabwe recorded US$2.45 billion in official diaspora remittances. There is a need for investment promotion initiatives that channel this stream of income into productive and profitable sectors of the economy. The Department of Investment Promotion within the newly split ministry must develop mechanisms to ensure that diaspora remittances are transformed from their predominantly subsistence-oriented purpose into investment capital that supports value addition. Diaspora remittances must be incentivised to flow into various value chains within Zimbabwe’s large-scale business enterprises, thereby expanding productive capacity, stimulating industrial development and strengthening domestic capital formation.

 The unbundling of the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion also presents an opportunity to decentralise the burden of parastatal oversight. This governance responsibility may be distributed between the two ministries. Most importantly, such institutional reorganisation could refine the functions, accountability frameworks and operational outputs of strategic entities such as the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) and the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA).

The existence of the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA) will be instrumental in supporting the capital mobilisation mandate of the new Ministry. This comes at a time when ZIDA is changing the yardstick for measuring its performance by prioritising implemented projects over merely licensed ones in pursuit of its current US$18 billion investment target. This shift towards measuring actual implementation rather than licensing commitments provides a more meaningful basis for assessing investment promotion outcomes and the extent to which approved projects translate into tangible economic activity.

Agriculture, mining, industry, hospitality and property are recording visible growth, demonstrating the potential of an economic development model that promotes a new investment culture in Zimbabwe. Therefore, such growth can  be consolidated through a fully-fledged Cabinet ministry dedicated to economic development and investment promotion. An institution with this specialised mandate can coordinate investment attraction, facilitate capital mobilisation and strengthen synergies between productive sectors. This will translate emerging economic opportunities into sustainable national development.

Once domestic economic growth and increased investment have been realised, Zimbabwean capital must also penetrate markets in other jurisdictions, just as major global economic powers have established manufacturing and value-addition conglomerates across developing countries. Zimbabwean capital must similarly extend beyond national borders and establish a presence in markets outside the country. This outward expansion of domestic investment would create opportunities for regional economic integration, strengthen the international competitiveness of Zimbabwean enterprises and enable local businesses to participate more effectively in global value chains.

Conclusion

The attainment of sustainable economic prosperity hinges on clear growth indicators backed by rational executive decision-making. Zimbabwe’s transformation will not be achieved through polemical and pessimistic political discourse. Instead, a shift in mindset, supported by responsible, media-aided branding of Zimbabwe, is a key enabler in the attainment of the aspirations of NDS 2. Public administrative decision-making must be understood in terms of deep-rooted intentions to protect the national interest rather than as a mere exercise in political power play. Issues of economic development planning are fundamental to the functionality of the state and must be treated with the appropriate degree of importance. As it stands, Zimbabwe must meet its self-set targets for poverty eradication and investment growth. Therefore, the creation of specialised organs to administer this fundamental transformation is key. A standalone Ministry of Finance can strengthen fiscal discipline, revenue mobilisation, expenditure control, and debt sustainability. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Economic Development and Investment Promotion can accelerate investment attraction, industrialisation, diaspora capital mobilisation, and the expansion of productive capacity. Ultimately, this institutional realignment must translate macroeconomic stability into employment creation, poverty reduction, competitive enterprises, and sustainable national development, including the expansion of Zimbabwean capital into regional and international markets.