[1] In 1983, Makoni was elected as the Executive Secretary of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), serving in that post for ten years.
[7] As Finance Minister, he supported the devaluation of the Zimbabwean dollar, a policy that was not favoured by Mugabe, and he was replaced by Herbert Murerwa in the cabinet named on 25 August 2002.
[8] From as early as 2003, was reported that Makoni was favoured by some in ZANU-PF and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, as well as African mediators, as a potential replacement for Mugabe.
[10] Makoni attempted to run in the concurrent 2008 parliamentary election as ZANU-PF's candidate for the House of Assembly from the constituency of Makoni Central, but he was barred from standing in the party primary (in which he would have faced then Justice Minister and current Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa); it was judged that he had submitted his curriculum vitae too late to qualify.
[11] On 5 February 2008, Simba Makoni held a press conference in Harare where he stated that he was challenging Robert Mugabe to become the next President of Zimbabwe.
[12] He told reporters, flanked by Ibo Mandaza and Retired Major Kudzai Mbudzi:[13] "Following very extensive and intensive consultations with party members and activists countrywide, and also with others outside the party, I have accepted the call and hereby advise the people of Zimbabwe that I offer myself as candidate for the office of president...I share the agony and anguish of all citizens over the extreme hardships that we all have endured for nearly 10 years now...I also share the widely held view that these hardships are a result of failure of national leadership and that change at that level is a pre-requisite for change at other levels of national endeavour.
"[15] Joseph Chinotimba, a war veteran who led the violent invasions of white owned farms in 2000, threatened Makoni with violence following the announcement of his candidature.
The Herald newspaper denounced Makoni as being a pawn of the United Kingdom whose candidacy was being used in hopes of splitting the ZANU-PF vote so that Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) could win the election.