Online Reporter
Martin Kadzere
Momentum is building for the Tripartite Negotiating Forum to resume active engagements with key platform partners following the strengthening of its secretariat’s capacity, executive director Mr Albert Nyakadzumbu has said.
The secretariat has already begun developing the National Social Contract framework, designed to articulate shared commitments among Government, business, and labour regarding economic stabilisation, wages, prices, productivity, investment and social protection.
The social contract will also serve as the guiding document for national social dialogue over the medium term.
“We are currently working on a social contract, which is a binding obligation, which obligates the three parties to behave in certain ways in terms of how we want to take the nation forward,” said Mr Nyakadzumbu.
“So, we believe that in the first quarter of 2026, we may be able to have the three parties sign a social contract.
“And we want to put in place robust implementation and monitoring systems to ensure that whatever we have agreed is followed up.
“We have also deliberately, as a tripartite, tried to put in place programmes, team-building programmes, that enhance consensus among the parties.
“You will notice that in the past, we have never heard about organised labour, organised business, and attending national events. But now, because we are talking to each other, we are building consensus.”
The strengthening of the TNF comes at a critical time, as analysts have long raised concerns over the lack of cohesion among the country’s critical economic actors regarding national dialogue on economic matters.
The widening gap of mistrust has been persistently cited as a significant contributor to several key economic problems, including price runaways and allegations of economic sabotage.
Analysts therefore view the improved capacity of the TNF secretariat as a positive step towards bridging the divide and fostering a unified approach to developing the economy.
Mr Nyakadzumbu said the development of the national social contract would be structured around three fundamental pillars: the economic, labour, and social aspects.
The approach is designed to ensure the contract’s comprehensive alignment with national development goals. The economic pillar comprises several identified sub-fields that the forum will work on to actively enhance national economic development.
The labour focuses on the workforce for a more productive workforce.
Recognising the widespread impact of policy, the social pillar addresses the social development issues stemming from the actions of both business and government.
It includes numerous sub-fields agreed upon by the partners, aimed at achieving significant results through a unified approach.
Mr Nyakadzumbu emphasised the alignment with the Government’s long-term plans, resulting in a social contract that would complement the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2), ensuring all tripartite efforts support the broader national vision.
“Our thinking is that the social contract should work hand in hand and complement NDS2,” he said.
The social contract will be complemented by TNF’s active participation in the National Formalisation Strategy, to address challenges of the country’s informal economy, which official statistics place at about 85,5 percent.
Another crucial deliverable is the new Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) policy, intended to safeguard working conditions across all workplaces.
Furthermore, the TNF will craft an Economic and Labour Reform Agenda for the period 2025–2030.
The agenda aims to consolidate priority reforms spanning labour markets, competitiveness, industrial recovery, and macroeconomic stability.
Additional immediate deliverables include significant operational improvements, reactivation of all TNF structures, digitalisation of TNF internal processes and regular production of policy briefs for Cabinet, Parliament, and social partners.
Mr Nyakadzumbu affirmed their work would be fully aligned with the NDS 2, supporting the overarching objectives of Vision 2030.
“The establishment of a permanent TNF secretariat marks a critical turning point in strengthening Zimbabwe’s social dialogue architecture,” said Mr Nyakadvumbu.
“For years, the absence of a dedicated administrative and technical arm limited the forum’s ability to function consistently and effectively. Now, with a fully constituted secretariat, the TNF benefits from institutional continuity, professional coordination and enhanced technical capacity.”
The TNF is the country’s apex institution for structured social dialogue, established to bring together Government, Business, and Labour to collectively address social, economic, and labour market issues.
Established through the TNF Act of 2019, the forum is legally mandated to negotiate and forge consensus with partners on matters such as wages, prices, labour reform, productivity, competitiveness, and social protection, among others.
While the Government took the first step to establish the TNF secretariat in May 2023 with the appointment of the executive director, the process of building the organisation was slow. The director was initially tasked with putting the necessary systems in place for a full-time secretariat.
Between May 2023 and October 2025, Mr Nyakadzumbu was operating largely as a “one-man band,” assisted by only a few staff members seconded from the Government.
This limited capacity constrained the secretariat’s activities. With recent improvements in capacity, the forum’s activities and its ability to fulfil its mandate are expected to greatly improve.
“As I have mentioned earlier, it was difficult to work in that kind of environment where we didn’t have the technical expertise,” he said.
“With the establishment of a fully-fledged Secretariat, now we have staff who are able to drive the mandate of the forum in various areas.
“You will notice that our mandate requires us to coordinate the activities of the Tripartite in terms of social dialogue processes. We require technical expertise in various domains.
“We carry research, so we have recruited researchers. We need administrative staff in various areas of finance, administration, and human resources to support the activities of the technical staff.”
