…Temba Mliswa
By Desire Tshuma
HARARE — The Zimbabwe Village Heads Association has endorsed CAB3, arguing that longer, uninterrupted leadership terms are essential for building institutions that can manage power transfers without violence and deliver lasting development.
ZIVHA President Sabhuku Temba Mliswa said CAB3 tackles “the harder, more technical, more unglamorous task of building institutions that last; institutions that can manage the transfer of power without violence.”
Mliswa warned that contested leadership transitions hit rural communities first: “Harvests are disrupted. Houses are destroyed, and markets close. Children miss school. The state retreats. CAB3 is, at its core, an answer to that vulnerability.”
The association contrasted Zimbabwe’s current five-year electoral cycle with the benefits it says an extended term would bring. Under the current system, ZIVHA argues, frequent elections trigger repeated campaigns and divide attention, cause policy disruptions and slow progress, and leave too little time to plan, implement and deliver real results.
An extended term, the association contends, would bring continuity of leadership for long-term strategy, policy stability for sustained development, more time to plan and deliver meaningful results, and ultimately a stronger economy, better services and a more prosperous nation.