The Zimbabwe Peace and Security Programme (ZPSP) was designed and implemented on behalf of the Zimbabwe Peace and Security Trust (ZPST), a legally constituted and Zimbabwean owned and driven organisation registered as a Trust in Zimbabwe. It aimed to contribute, through impartial and professional technical assistance, to the effective and sustainable modernisation and transformation of the security sector in Zimbabwe. The fragile political environment in Zimbabwe led the ZPSP to engage in a dialogue with a wide variety of SSR stakeholders, in order to build their knowledge and information on SSR, demystify the notion of SSR as regime change (as it has been patent in the internal political discourse), and foster consensus on the way forward in terms of security reforms’ thinking in the country. Its ability to engage such broad range of stakeholders, as well as the thus far political sustainability of the programme in an SSR-adverse environment, deserve to be understood.
The innovative dimension of the process led the EU and the Government of Switzerland to request ISSAT to undertake a review to document the trajectory of the ZPSP, with a view to identifying lessons and mapping potential good practice, which is still greatly absent from the growing academic and policy production on SSR experiences in Africa. The results of that review can be seen in http://issat.dcaf.ch/Learn/SSR-in-Practice/Case-Studies/Zimbabwe-Peace-and-Security-Programme
Following from that, the purpose of this mandate was to present the findings of the report to the international community in Harare, as a means of facilitating discussion and garnering support for the SST process going forward, and to help facilitate coordination amongst the international community. In addition the mandators also requested that ISSAT provideed some advice and support to ZPSP in planning the design of the next phase of their programme.
Mandating organisation / agency / department / ministry
Related activities
Mandate outputs / products
1) A detailed presentation of the ZPSP report was delivered to different international community groups including:
a. presentation to EU and Member State Ambassadors;
b. presentation to non-EU Ambassadors; and
c. presentation to development aid programme managers.
The purpose was to build their SSR knowledge and understanding, and to highlight the good practice that has been identified from the review of the ZPSP process, as well as to increase awareness and support efforts towards greater donor coordination in this area.
2) Advice and guidance to ZPSP Trustees and Management team meeting on the design and development of their phase 3 programme, plus their strategy for engaging with the international community.
Outcome objectives of mandate
- Built awareness of the donor community to the ZPSP process of preparing the ground for SSR through dialogue, consultations and training on SST;
- Enhanced knowledge of the SSR state of the art by the donor community;
- Higher visibility of the work that the ZPSP carried out and its needs for support going forward
- Improved thinking and planning for the third phase of programming of the ZPSP, including on transforming its advisory and consultative bodies, performance management, fundraising, and operations, as well as with regards to the process of phasing out the programme into becoming a state-driven unit.