Don’t kill Jomic

The road has not been easy for the committee, considering the polarised attitude and nature of the parties involved. However, it is our committed view that Jomic has to a large extent discharged its role in a professional and progressive manner. For instance, we are particularly impressed by the speed and effectiveness with which it has dealt with issues relating to political violence and some violations of the GPA.

The life of the GPA will end once Zimbabwe conducts elections whose outcome, we fervently hope, is accepted by Zimbabweans, by the southern African region and by the world at large. That would also mean that Jomic will have to fold up.

However, in addition to the relative success the committee has scored since its establishment, the idea and spirit of a joint monitoring committee is a noble one. We believe it should be transformed into a national commission. It is obvious that in the post-GPA era, more than one political party would be actively involved in governing this country – in addition to the smaller parties that, even without meaningful seats in Parliament and Senate, would remain relevant and useful to the political scene.

Our concept is that the commission should be a body comprising all political parties that have at least one parliamentary seat, represented on a proportional basis using agreed criteria. It should be guided by the objective of perpetuating the monitoring of political dynamics in Zimbabwe in a non-partisan way.

This is particularly important considering that, no matter who wins enough votes to run this country, Zimbabwe is likely to remain in a transitional mode for some time – and that will need an impartial entity playing an oversight role.