A directive from the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works instructing councils to purchase President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s biography that has surfaced in the public domain has incited public dismay.
Dated 31 March 2026, the letter “implores” town clerks and chief executive officers to procure A Life of Sacrifice, priced at up to US$17 per copy, and facilitate its distribution, including to schools. While framed in courteous administrative language, the letter signals command rather than discretion.
Several Zimbabweans on social media and in the streets have labelled this directive as extortion saying that local authorities should concentrate on their mandate.
No official response has been made refuting the letter's authenticity.
Councils are mandated to deliver services such as water, waste management and road maintenance, and all of them have been failing, with financial constraints cited as the biggest roadblock.
Many cases of financial abuse and mismanagement have made it into the public domain with some ending up in the justice system.
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There is no indication of a standard procurement process underpinning the instruction. No needs assessment, no competitive selection and no demonstrable value-for-money framework are evident. Instead, the purchase is presented as directive.
Educational materials are typically subject to review and approval by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education to ensure alignment with curriculum standards. The absence of any reference to such a process raises questions about how and why local authorities are being positioned as conduits for introducing this material into educational spaces.
The directive comes at a moment when national attention is focused on Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 3, a proposal that has generated significant debate around tenure and executive authority. In that context, a state-driven effort to circulate a presidential biography reads like part of a broader narrative positioning.
The implications extend beyond this specific case. If local authorities can be directed to procure and distribute politically aligned material, it sets a precedent for further blurring of institutional boundaries.
At the same time, the leak demonstrates that there are those within the system who do not agree with the way things are being done and are hoping that exposure can embarrass figures in authority into doing the right thing.
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