New Zimbabwe Constitution: problems mount
http://www.thezimbabwemail.com
By Staff Reporter 18 hours 42 minutes ago
Harare, – Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change
(MDC-T) last Friday disowned a national report on the constitutional making
process that appeared in the government controlled Herald newspaper and
accused Zanu-PF of trying to derail the charter making process.
MDC-T spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora dismissed the four page report which was
purported to have been written by Constitutional Select Committee (Copac).
He said the document in the Herald was written by hardliners in President
Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF who want to scuttle the constitutional making
process which is now in its drafting stage.
“At no point did the Select Committee submit any report to The Herald. No
member of the authorised Copac staff submitted any report to The Herald. It
there is clear that this report is a Zanu-PF document written and submitted
by the faction of Zanu-PF that is fighting against the drafters in the
constitution making process,” Mwonzora told journalists at Harvest House.
“It appears that this is the work of some individuals who are panicking
about the possible outcome of the drafting process. This report is
calculated to mislead Zimbabweans.”
The document which appeared in the Herald had statistics on what Zimbabweans
said on subjects like if they want an executive President or not or whether
they wanted a Prime Minister.
According to the Herald report 79% of the views gathered said ‘Yes’ to an
executive President while a majority of 28 % said they do not want a post of
Prime minister in the country.
On other issues majority of the people said they want press freedom in the
country. About 97 % said anyone who is born in Zimbabwe must require
citizenship while 57 % said ‘No’ to dual citizenship.
Copac has already appointed three drafters to draft the new constitution
which has been delayed by bickering amongst the three main political parties
which are driving the process.
The MDC-T spokesperson, Mr. Douglas Mwonzora said the COPAC national report
published in the media is fake, while Co-chairperson Munyaradzi Paul
Mangwana of Zanu PF says the document is a true reflection of the people’s
views gathered by COPAC.
“The document you want to call COPAC national report is fake,” said Mr
Mwonzora.
“The document you have seen in the media today (Friday) is indeed a COPAC
national report and it carries the true aspirations and views of the people
of Zimbabwe that were gathered by COPAC during the outreach programme,”
Mangwana said.
Zanu PF loyalists masquerading as political analyst, Goodson Nguni said it
is unfortunate that MDC-T has been caught napping in its fight to smuggle
issues of homosexuality and gay rights much to the disappointment of its
Western sponsors.
“The MDC-T wanted to smuggle rights for homosexuality so as to please their
western masters who everyone is aware they bankroll them,” said Nguni.
Efforts by Zanu PF to delay the constitution-making process were this week
exposed after it emerged that claims of drafters’ incompetence and political
party activism were unfounded.
It emerged yesterday that Zanu PF officials were left with an egg on their
faces after the drafters met the constitution select committee to discuss
the said allegations.
MDC spokesperson and party point man at the Constitution Select Committee,
also known as Copac, Douglas Mwonzora, said the meeting absolved the three
drafters, namely former Zimbabwe High Court judge Justice Moses Chinhengo,
Priscilla Madzonga and Brian Crozier of any wrongdoing leaving the Zanu PF
members in the committee embarrassed.
The former ruling party had claimed earlier during the week that there was
need for new drafters as the current crop of drafters was championing the
MDC agenda.
This emerged after the drafters released drafts of the first four chapters
of the draft constitution which they handed over to Copac recently.
Zanu PF then went into overdrive, vilifying the drafters and claimed it had
lost confidence in the drafting team.
“The Constitution Select Committee (Copac) met yesterday (Thursday) to
discuss a number of issues on the constitution and also to review the drafts
that have been produced by the drafters of the constitution,” Mwonzora
explained.
“Contrary to allegations that the three drafters had acted outside the
mandate given to them by the select committee, it emerged that the drafters
had indeed acted within the mandates given to them by the select committee
and therefore the drafters were cleared of any wrong-doing,” he added.
He said that the drafters had been allowed by the select committee to glean
constitutional provisions from the documents they had been supplied with by
the select committee.
The drafters, Mwonzora said, had also been empowered by the select committee
to read far and wide in search of other constitutional provisions applied by
other countries.
“The drafters were given the leeway to draft the constitution based on
documents we gave them as well as research they would make in terms of other
constitutional jurisdictions.
“Arising from the discussions from the meeting yesterday (Thursday), the
select committee reached an agreement that the drafters were still within
the limits that we set out for them and that the allegations of propagating
an MDC agenda or otherwise, were unfounded,” Mwonzora said.
What has further made the episode dramatic is the fact that a recording of
instructions that were given to the drafters was played at the meeting on
Thursday, further dampening the Zanu PF’s argument of the drafters’ untoward
behaviour.
“We have seen also a video recording of the instructions that were given to
the drafting team when it started working,” explained Mwonzora.
“Zanu PF’s Paul Mangwana himself read out some of the instructions and from
the drafts produced so far from what we have, we all realise that what we
have is a product of largely the instructions we gave to the drafters,” he
added.
Information reported suggests that the drafters have been given the green
light to continue with their work. The drafters would commence work on 3
January next year.
“The drafters are commencing their work on the third of January next year.
We have agreed that they will now relocate to Nyanga where they are going to
do their work. They have been advised to disregard any instruction that is
given to them by any member of the select committee that does not bear the
signature of any other two members of the co-chairpersonship of Copac.”
“This is aimed at minimising confusion and chaos that has been created by
some members of the select committee,” Mwonzora said.
Efforts to seek explanation from party point man, Mangwana, on how the party
had lost confidence in the three hit a brick wall on Monday after the Zanu
PF official denied ever claiming his party’s loss of confidence in the
three.
Instead, Mangwana said there was no basis for him to make such a claim as
his party had been in agreement with the drafters’ results as well as their
appointment.
“We have no qualms about what these people (drafters) are doing and have
done so far,” Mangwana said.
“It is a fact that we agreed on the appointment of the three, their terms of
reference and what they have produced so far is in line with what we had
agreed they should focus on,” Mangwana said.