Joseph Madzimure, Zimpapers Politics Hub
ZANU PF may take a leaf from China by establishing ideological schools countrywide to produce competent public servants.
Delivering a lecture at the Chitepo School of Ideology in Harare last week, the Dean of the China Institute at Fudan University and a board member of China's National Think Tanks Council, Professor Zhang Weiwei said the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese government are run on a system of meritocracy, with the most qualified people eligible for public office going through rigorous training and tests of integrity.
"We have several levels; at central level, CPC party school and then each province has a party school and then below that municipalities and cities. So, this is the hierarchy of party schools in terms of organisation. There are also schools for difficult areas, for instance, the Party School for State Owned Enterprises, party schools for certain sectors like AI. We have party schools everywhere," explained Prof Zhang.
Prof Zhang said a comprehensive and well-structured system of ideological and cadre training was in place to equip officials with vital knowledge on issues ranging from history to the latest technology and contemporary global developments.
He said the basic principle of the school was that officials received a certain party education from time to time yearly on a short-term basis from one week, one month to three months or sometimes half a year.
Explaining the importance of continuous learning, Prof Zhang said the CPC's top decision-making body, the Politburo, undergoes a collective study session each month on an extensive range of topics that include archaeology, advanced AI technology, block chain and e-commerce.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Even before someone gets a major job upgrade, Prof Zhang said, he/she is required to go for "very solid" training.
Prof Zhang explained that whenever the Politburo studies a subject, the other schools at levels down the line, also study same subject.
"If you talk to a typical government or provincial (official) or mayor of a city, their knowledge of contemporary issues is as almost as good as scholars. They are very up to date," Prof Zhang said.
He explained the beauty of the Chinese system is that officials continue to study all their lives.
Prof Zhang also outlined the role of think tanks in national development, saying China has 25 such institutions which are consulted by government on a range of issues in order to formulate policy.
The Chitepo School of Ideology is the ruling Zanu PF's training and cadre development institution, which is currently offering orientation courses on the country's history and liberation ethos.
Chitepo started off as a virtual school before a physical institution was built in central Harare, with the help of China.
In Tanzania, the Mwalimu Julius Nyerere Leadership School was completed to the tune of US$40 million, and will train ruling party members from the Former Liberation Movements of Southern Africa (FLMSA) of Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
