Question Time: A Bonus or Pain in the Quest for Political Accountability in the Zimbabwean Parliament

This chapter examines ‘Question Time’ (Nguva yeMibvunzo) as a tool for political accountability (tsananguro yekutarira yezvematongerwo enyika) in Zimbabwean Parliament in the nascent stage of the Second Republic (2018–2019). The 2018 harmonised elections produced a contested presidential election result. The Movement for Democratic Change—Alliance presidential candidate, Nelson Chamisa, took the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to court challenging the ‘fudged’ election results. Even if the court case was dismissed on technicalities, the ensuing Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front government, led by Emmerson Mnangagwa, suffered a crisis of legitimacy which soon degenerated into a full-scale political crisis. The legitimacy crisis happened due to accusations of electoral fraud aided by the elections body. The subsequent political crisis manifested itself in several stalemates in parliament between the government and the opposition. The Second Republic cabinet ministers used a host of image restoration strategies to avoid being accountable for government actions or inactions. Mnangagwa’s government claimed to be a New Dispensation that would allow democracy, respect of human rights and good governance to prevail in the country. One of the key tenets of good governance is political accountability. Using the principal-agent theoretical framework, the chapter defines political accountability first, and then characterises and evaluates ‘Question Time’ in Zimbabwean Parliament as a political accountability tool. Vertical and horizontal accountability mechanisms, and situations of accountability overload and accountability deficit are reviewed. The chapter ultimately offers suggestions for the improvement of the effectiveness of Question Time. This qualitative case study research uses data from Hansard extracts, observation reports and structured interviews to see how the political crisis of non-accountability can best be corrected. Accepting that politicians naturally engage in personal and party image management, it is recommended that institutional and mindset changes are required for effective political accountability to take place in the Zimbabwean Parliament.