By Munashe Evans Tembo

Harare — The National Democratic Working Group (NDWG) has rejected the recently announced National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2) and the 2026 National Budget at the press conference they held at Media Centre, today, describing both policy documents as “grand public deceptions” that lack credibility, economic grounding, and political legitimacy. Speaking at a press conference in Harare on Tuesday, Acting Chairman and Chief Facilitator Dr. Wurayayi Zembe said the plans announced by the government on 27 November 2025 are impossible to implement under what he termed Zimbabwe’s “crippled and corrupted” governance system.

NDWG Says Plans Are “Fictional,” Citing 45 Years of Governance Failure
Dr. Zembe accused the government of repeating empty promises similar to those made over the past four decades, arguing that the ruling party’s record of state-sponsored violence, corruption, election manipulation and human rights violations makes it incapable of achieving the goals set out in NDS2 or the 2026 Budget.
He said the economic proposals “will not bring development,” adding that their stated targets contradict the country’s deteriorating governance environment.

NDS2 Criticised as “Dishonest” and Out of Touch With Reality
Central to NDWG’s criticism is the inclusion of “good governance, institution building, peace and security” as a core objective of NDS2. Dr. Zembe argued that this claim directly contradicts real-world developments, which he said include:

• systematic destruction of public institutions,
• political violence and persecution of opponents,
• banning of opposition events,
• bombing of private homes and press venues, and
• widespread looting by ruling-party elites.
  NDS2 & 2026 BUDGET

He asserted that state institutions are now fully captured by President Emmerson Mnangagwa and no longer operate independently, resulting in a constitutional crisis. This institutional collapse, he said, makes NDS2 unworkable from inception.

Concerns Over Growing Authoritarianism and a “Life Presidency”
The NDWG also warned that constitutional provisions such as Section 98(1) on presidential immunity, combined with recent ZANU-PF resolutions on the 2030 constitutional amendment agenda, signal attempts to entrench a “dynastic life-presidency” for President Mnangagwa. Dr. Zembe said such reforms would abolish the 2028 general elections and extinguish multiparty democracy, ushering in “executive monarchy” and deepening national suffering.
NDS2 & 2026 BUDGET

Socio-Economic Crisis Undermines Strategy Goals
The press conference highlighted multiple structural failures that NDWG says make NDS2 unattainable:

• deteriorating public health, education, transport and energy infrastructure,
• worsening urban crises in water, sewage, housing and refuse management,
• unemployment estimated by NDWG at above 95%,
• mass migration of skilled citizens,
• a “dead” industrial manufacturing sector, and
• rising drug abuse among unemployed youth.
  NDS2 & 2026 BUDGET

Rural poverty, caused by a lack of irrigation infrastructure, agricultural inputs and draft power, was also cited as evidence that the strategy’s goals are divorced from ground realities.

Zimbabwe’s Regional Reputation “Tarnished”
The NDWG claimed that Zimbabwe’s international standing continues to decline, alleging that the ruling party now “exports corruption and election-rigging tactics” to neighbouring countries. Dr. Zembe listed several SADC nations — including South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania — as having been affected by such political interference.

2026 Budget Dismissed as “High-Sounding Fiction”
Turning to the 2026 Budget, Dr. Zembe argued that the financial plan lacks legitimacy because it is denominated in the Zig currency, which he said is neither functional nor available in the market.

He described the multi-currency system as a sign of economic collapse and said the absence of a single, stable unit of account makes the budget impossible to implement.
NDWG questioned why Treasury would present figures based on “a non-existent and dysfunctional currency” when the economy runs primarily on the U.S. dollar.

The group further criticised taxation proposals targeting historical assets and bank balances, saying such taxes harm citizens instead of promoting new economic production.

NDWG Labels Both Plans as Tools for Looting
In its closing remarks, NDWG stated that both NDS2 and the 2026 Budget are not development blueprints but “disguised schemes to loot national resources.” Dr. Zembe called on citizens to recognise the plans as political theatre rather than genuine economic policy.