CHALLENGES FACED BY PARASTATALS IN THE 21 ST CENTURY: AN AFROCENTRIC COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ZIMBABWE AND SOUTH AFRICA

Abstract

Since the attainment of independence in Zimbabwe in 1980, the government has taken the path of promoting the success of state-owned enterprises. This was in line with meeting the basic needs of the general populace through the delivery of the most pressing needs and key area aspects such as transport, electricity, water, food supply, and mining. Nonetheless, the government’s efforts to promote the success of parastatals were compromised by various factors, such as the imposition of sanctions by the West at the beginning of the 21st century, maladministration, militarization of parastatals, corruption, and nepotism. These challenges faced by parastatals in Zimbabwe cannot only be looked at as an isolated case, however, South African parastatals or government entities seem to be following the same path. In recent times, South Africa has been marked by widespread service delivery protests, which have become the most famous form of response to poor service delivery by frustrated citizens. The deterioration of public service entities in these countries results in the diminishing of the standards of living of the general populace. This paper aims to discuss the challenges faced by parastatals in both countries and provide possible solutions and recommendations on how to curb this deterioration. It also advocates for an improvement in this deplorable state since parastatals provide people with affordable, accessible, and quality services in key areas of life. Leaning on Afrocentricity, this desktop qualitative study drew data from secondary and open-access primary sources ranging from books, national surveys, annual reports, annual performance plans, journals, theses, and dissertations. The South African government entities (parastatals) have done far better in terms of performance, management, and corporate governance than their Zimbabwean counterparts. This paper reveals that there are still more challenges facing the parastatals in South Africa. Further, the paper reveals that when left unmonitored, managers and CEOs of parastatals can use the profits for their own enrichment. There is a need to censure the parastatals in both countries from time to time. The governments need to set up parliamentary committees to look into the parastatals and come up with a strategic way forward.