Constitution won’t be ready end of year – Matinenga
By Helen Kadirire, Staff Writer
Friday, 03 June 2011 17:31
HARARE – A new constitution that coalition partners agree is key to fresh
polls will not be ready before the end of the year, dealing a blow to
President Robert Mugabe’s furious calls for an election this year, a cabinet
minister has said.
Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs minister Eric Matinenga told Daily
News in an interview that incessant delays dogging the constitution-making
process made it impossible to beat a self-imposed September deadline.
“It is realistic to note that we may not have it by September 30. But it is
my belief that it may happen at the end of the year,” said Matinenga, whose
ministry is in charge of the process.
Funding and political feuding have been the biggest reasons for the failure
by the Constitution Parliamentary Committee (Copac) to delay the completion
of new governance charter, a critical part of the coalition government’s
power-sharing agreement.
“For a process like the constitution writing, it is more events driven
rather than time driven. We should not put a time frame as the two are not
mutually exclusive,” said Matinenga, dismissing Mugabe’s insistence on
elections this year.
“During the outreach process there were scattered instances of violence
which were out of control and the programme had to be stopped,” he said.
Bitter rivals and now uncomfortable coalition partners have all agreed that
a fresh election can only proceed after the completion of the constitution.
But Mugabe’s camp insists the constitution should be done by September to
ensure elections immediately after.
Zanu PF spokesman, Rugare Gumbo, rubbished Matinenga’s projection saying
Mugabe still expected the September deadline to be met.
“The process shall proceed as anticipated and elections will follow suit,”
Gumbo said.
Paul Mangwana, the Zanu PF Copac co-chair echoed Gumbo’s statements.
“That is his (Matinenga’s) opinion. We are very determined and will strive
to achieve the target of September 30,” Mangwana said.
But his co-chairs from the MDC formations, Douglas Mwonzora and Edward
Mkhosi said the process could be further drawn out because of funding and
political complications.