A faction of the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) linked to the party’s former leader Nelson Chamisa on Friday, 24 May, announced a 16-member shadow Cabinet.
The announcement was made by the party’s chief administrator Jameson Timba who assumed the leadership role of the CCC after Chamisa abruptly quit the party in late January this year claiming the opposition outfit had been hijacked by ZANU PF.
Speaking during a press briefing in Harare yesterday, Timba said the CCC shadow cabinet was a product of the Citizens National Assembly. He said (via <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/local-news/article/200027386/ccc-names-shadow-cabinet">NewsDay</a>):
<blockquote>
The Citizens National Assembly saw it wise that the key pillars and the agendas of our voices in Parliament are to push for electoral and political reforms in the country so that once we address the fundamental problem that this country is facing, the symptomatic social and economic problems are to be attended to.
The country is facing a crisis of governance borne out of a cycle of disputed elections. This has led to a crisis of confidence where the people of Zimbabwe do not trust those who have put themselves in the seat of governance.
</blockquote>
He stated that by appointing a more streamlined 16-member shadow cabinet, the CCC demonstrated its commitment to maintaining a lean government when it attains power, thereby avoiding wasting national resources on a bloated cabinet. Said Timba:
<blockquote>
The core belief of the CCC is that we must have a small government so that resources are channelled where they are required as you are aware the current ZANU PF is made up of 25 ministries and we believe that government is too big. Our alternative government is a reflection of our positions vis a vis the current government.
</blockquote>
Some of the CCC Members of Parliament (MPs) who were appointed to the shadow Cabinet are Shakespear Hamauswa (Defence &amp; Liberation Veterans Affairs), Joanah Mamombe (Environment, Climate, Tourism, Hospitality &amp; Wildlife Management), and Daniel Molokele (Health &amp; Child Care).
The shadow cabinet is a crucial feature of the Westminster system of government and consists of a senior group of opposition spokespeople.
Normally, each member of the shadow cabinet mirrors or “shadows” the positions of individual members in the government’s cabinet.
While shadow ministers have no executive power, they scrutinise the policies and actions of the government, offer alternative policies and act as a counterbalance to the ruling party.
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CCC Names 16-member Shadow Cabinet

Award-winning journalist Hopewell Chin’ono who was arrested three times in six months two years ago for allegedly communicating falsehoods and incitement to public violence charges, has urged CCC leader Nelson Chamisa to appoint a shadow cabinet.
A shadow cabinet is composed of members of the main opposition party and is responsible for holding the Government to account and for developing and disseminating the party’s policy positions.
The members of a shadow cabinet shadow or mirror the positions of each individual member of the Cabinet.
Posting on X, Chin’ono said Chamisa should pick competent people able to articulate issues and show the electorate that the opposition party can provide “a credible alternative driven by competent people”. He wrote:
<blockquote>
t is my considered view that the monumental problems that Zimbabwe faces today now require the main opposition CCC to appoint a shadow cabinet from its parliamentary cohort.
Someone needs to articulate healthcare issues, corruption issues, energy sector issues and so on.
You can’t have anyone and everyone speaking on what they choose to speak on any given day.
Since they are having their parliamentary committees organised, a shadow cabinet is critical because it shows that they are a credible alternative driven by competent people.
In the past the opposition has appointed people who have failed to articulate issues and were just there carrying titles that they don’t know how to use, this must change…
It is important that shadow ministers appointed by CCC are able to articulate such issues with easy clarity.
ZANU PF must be made to account for its actions daily, this hasn’t been happening, slogans are not enough.
What is needed is substance that is explained with clarity and easy to understand for the ordinary citizens…
The opposition must give confidence to business, churches, civil society, students, the international community and the media that it is capable and not another Chakwera if it wants to be taken seriously.
This can only be done through a shadow cabinet, we await and hope that the wait will not be in vain.
Opposing a bad system doesn’t make you a democrat, how you run your affairs is what makes you a democrat or an autocrat!
</blockquote>
Lazarus Chakwera who has been the President of Malawi since 2020. He was elected President amid high expectations that he would put Malawi on a development trajectory but critics say he has failed dismally.
According to a report by <a href="https://www.maravipost.com/reverend-lazarus-chakwera-malawis-worst-president-with-appetite-for-flying/">Maravi Post</a> on 10 September 2023, Chakwera, who was elected President of Malawi in June, has an insatiable appetite for flying and globetrotting while his compatriots wallow in abject poverty.
Chakwera has already spent at least 167 days outside the country out of the total 1095 days he has been in power, according to the report.
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