By A Correspondent-Members of the Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD) are growing increasingly angry and desperate, after nearly a year of being ignored by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who once championed the platform as a symbol of inclusive governance.
POLAD was controversially established in the aftermath of the disputed 2018 presidential election as Mnangagwa’s attempt to sideline the country’s main opposition, then led by Nelson Chamisa. It brought together losing presidential candidates from fringe political parties under the guise of national dialogue and policy consultation.
While initially paraded as a multi-party platform for building consensus, critics quickly saw through the façade. POLAD, they argued, was a state-sponsored charade—a smokescreen for democracy designed to create the illusion of engagement while deflecting genuine calls for electoral reform.
Excluded from the platform were real opposition leaders like Chamisa, who rejected the election results and refused to recognise Mnangagwa’s presidency. In contrast, POLAD members—mostly drawn from little-known parties with minimal electoral support—were rewarded with perks: vehicles, fuel allowances, diplomatic passports, and invitations to official functions.
But five years later, the gravy train appears to have stalled.
Following the similarly disputed 2023 elections, POLAD has all but disappeared from the political radar. Mnangagwa has gone silent—and so has the platform. No meetings have been held in months, and members are growing restless, disillusioned, and visibly hungry for both relevance and recognition.
At a rare meeting recently convened in Harare, disgruntled members vented their frustration.
“It has been quite a long time since we formally met and we are very concerned with the silence and absence of POLAD in the political arena,” said Divine Hove, leader of the obscure Nationalist Alliance Party.
“There is so much happening in our country. We need to reignite dialogue and engagement with the Emmerson Mnangagwa government, which started POLAD in 2018, so we can share ideas.”
Hove insisted that POLAD once played a role in shaping policy, citing committees like the economic committee that were supposedly created to advise government. But those efforts have since vanished without a trace.
Also in attendance was Welcome Shumba, POLAD’s chief of protocol and leader of the 1980 Freedom Movement, who called for a renewed focus on “nation building.”
Another principal, speaking anonymously, claimed the platform contributed to national stability after 2018 and urged its revival.
But political analysts have long dismissed such claims, describing POLAD as a patronage network dressed up as dialogue. Without the participation of robust opposition voices, they argue, the platform was politically compromised from the start.
Presidential spokesperson George Charamba offered little more than vague acknowledgment when contacted for comment.
“Tell them that as the Press Secretary of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, I have heard their concern and I will relay their message,” he said.
For many observers, this lukewarm response signals that Mnangagwa no longer finds POLAD useful after securing a second term through yet another contested election. The political honeymoon is over, and so are the perks.
“What’s clear is that POLAD served its purpose as a tactical distraction,” said one analyst. “Now that it’s no longer needed, the members are left hangry—starved of attention, influence, and the trappings of political proximity.”
With Mnangagwa’s silence growing louder and the political winds shifting, POLAD may soon be remembered not as a dialogue platform, but as a footnote in Zimbabwe’s long saga of democratic deception.