Zimbabwe Civic Action Support Group. Campaigning non-violently for freedom and democracy in Zimbabwe.
Sokwanele - Zvakwana - Enough is Enough
NCA Draft Constitution now included in Sokwanele's online constitution resource
Sokwanele Article: February 2nd, 2010
We have just included content from the National Constitutional Assembly Draft Constitution (2001) in our online constitution resource.
The NCA's Draft constitution emerged from public inputs which the NCA, working through its own structures and those of its member institutions, received between May 1997 and December 2001 (a period of four and a half years). The final draft of the NCA constitution was published in September 2001, and public debate encouraged through October and November 2001. The draft, included here in this constitution resource, was agreed and finalised at an all stakeholders conference held in December 2001.
A full copy of the draft constitution, in PDF format, is available for download from the 'Constitution Documents' tab on our resource page.
The NCA provide the following summary of the key features of its 2001 draft constitution.
Key Features of this Draft
This draft seeks to address the key issues of governance in Zimbabwe and has taken into account the NCA’s major concerns about the Draft of the Constitutional Commission. Its main focus is on having an accountable government through various checks and balances. Here are the main features:
Non Executive President and an Executive Prime Minister
The executive presidency was overwhelmingly rejected. This draft proposes a ceremonial President and an executive Prime Minister. The latter is a member of the National Assembly and is responsible and accountable to it. A unique feature demanded by the people of Zimbabwe is that the Prime Minister be directly elected by voters, not by Parliament.
Parliamentary System of Government
The Prime Minister, as head of government, is required to appoint most of his or her ministers from Parliament. Parliament has been given power to pass a vote of no confidence in the government, in which case, the Prime Minister will be required to resign. Parliament is also empowered to pass a vote of no confidence in a Minister, in which case that Minister must be removed. Although the Prime minister is directly elected by voters, Parliament may, by a 60% majority, remove him or her from office and this emphasises a fundamental departure from the executive President who has powers to dissolve Parliament should it pass a vote of no confidence in him or her.
Two Chamber Parliament
Parliament is composed of two chambers; a National Assembly and a Senate. There are adequate provisions to make Parliament really powerful. For example, most appointments by the executive require the approval of either the National Assembly or the Senate.
Representation of Interest Groups in the Senate
The Draft proposes the representation of interest groups in the Senate. The groups include women, youths, the disabled, trade unions, ex-combatants, farmers and business. These representatives will replace presidential appointees and will be elected by the National Assembly from a shortlist submitted by members of the public.
Mixed Electoral System
It is proposed that for the National Assembly, half the MPs be elected to represent constituencies under the “winner-take-all” system and the other half under a system of proportional representation.
Recall of Members of Parliament
There is a proposed provision for the electorate to be able to recall an incompetent or underperforming Member of Parliament.
Meaningful Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights proposed in this Draft is broad and meaningful. In addition to the well known civil and political rights, some of the rights included are: right to education, right to health, right to a clean environment, right to strike, rights of disabled persons and so on. Minority rights have also been protected.
Death Penalty
As part of the Bill of Rights, this Draft proposes that the death penalty be abolished in Zimbabwe in respect of all other offences except serious cases of murder.
Free and Fair Elections
The Draft guarantees a multi-party system based on regular, free and fair elections. To achieve this ideal, the Bill of Rights provides a set of political rights and the Draft creates a truly Independent Electoral Commission to manage the whole electoral process.
Independent Commissions to enhance democracy
A number of independent bodies are created to enhance democracy. These include a Human Rights Commission, an Anti-Corruption Commission and a strong Auditor-General.
Devolution
The Draft answers the call by many Zimbabweans for the devolution of governmental powers to people in provinces and other levels. To this extent, it provides for a system of provincial governments with a provincial assembly and an executive council headed by an elected Governor.
Land Question
This Draft recognises the critical importance of land. It therefore allows government to compulsorily acquire land for equitable redistribution but requires fair compensation to be paid.
Recent Comments
Sokwanele Article: December 17th, 2009
Article 6 of the Global Political Agreement specifies the following time frame towards Zimbabwe's new constitution. NB: Some deadlines have already been missed - please see 'Amended Timeframe' and 'Public Outreach Timeframe' for further information (via Veritas).
* Diagram adapted from information supplied via Veritas mailing list
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National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) Draft Constitution (2001)
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Comments left on constitution entries will be published in this section after a short delay. Please allow a few hours. Comments left by the public do not necessarily reflect the views of Sokwanele.
Zimbabwe needs to focus on priorities. Spending huge sums on intelligence services simply does not make sense. Yes, Zimbabweans need security but fair and free elections, and independent judiciary and so on must be the priority.
Fully agree. The President's role should not be characterised this way in a democracy. This role should be largely to support the constitution and carry out very specific duties in that respect with appropriate, but limited, powers. The Head of Government should carry out most policy, budget and other affairs with the consent of Parliament.
I beg to differ to this section. While I appreciate the fact that all indigenous langauges are recognised but to make just 3 langauges as official languages does not make an difference from the current situation whre the other indigenosu langauges are almost at the verge of extinction. Why not make all indigenous langauges be official in their own areas. FOR MORE REASONS PLEASE CLICK ON THE NCA DRAFT WEBSITE ON COMMENTS WHERE I ARGUE MY CASE OUT ON WHY ALL LANGUAGEAS SHOULD BE MADE OFFICIAL.
I totally agree with the section on languages as it appears in the NCA draft constitution because it promotes all languages in Zimbabwe alike. The Chidyausiku Draft of 2000 and the Kariba Draft both simply recognise that the indigenous languages(that is, Tonga, Nambya,Kalanga, Sotho, Xangani and Venda) without giving them an official status in their own areas while mantaining the hegemony of Shona and Ndebele languages. This tends to undermine the six afore stated languages. Ideally there is noway a country can be united under the two languages (Shona/Ndebele) while belittling other languages. Everyone would feel part and parcel of Zimbabwe if their langauges are made recognised and used in various facets of life and made official in their own areas. Language and culture are one and the same as language is a vehicle of culture. All Zimababweans must learn their own language and English.If one wants to learn another african langauge whic is not theirs, they do not necessarily need to learn it in a formal environemment (that is at school). Therefore, there is no need to compel all people to learn Shona or ndebele in their schools under the flimsy excuse of building national unity. The real reason is simply the desire to domiante others. Zimbawe belongs to all ethnic groups found in the country and all ethnic groups equally fought to bring independence to this counrty. Therefore they ought to be given the freedom to excercise their language rights. Actually stopping other people from using their languages in their own areas is sowing seeds of disunity and tribalism.
I therefore urge all Zimbabwean in the forthcoming COPAC constitution making process to ensure that all 8 indigenous languages are made official NOT SIMPLY RECOGNISING THEM as what other drafts such as the Chidyausiku and the Kariba documents do. There is no way the Tonga,Nambya, Kalanga, Venda, Sotho and Xangani would be happy if their languages are not used in their own areas. There are is nothing like main languages, MAIN to who?Because every language is MAIN to its speakers. To say another language is main to me is like saying someone's child is main to me. How about my child?
Why can't we emulate the South African scenario where all key languages with a population of at least 1% has its language being official and used in its area. Below are the percentages of the population of various language groups in South Africa as per the 2001 National Population Census. According to the 2001 population census, South Africa has roughly 45 million people. The majority of South Africans are Zulu speakers and constitute(23.82 %), followed by isiXhosa (17.64 %), Afrikaans (13.35 %), Sepedi (9.39 %), English (8.20 %),Setswana (8.20 %), Sesotho (7.93 %), Xitsonga (4.44 %), siSwati (2.66 %), Tshivenda (2.28 %), isiNdebele (1.59 %), and other languages (0.48 %).
Against this background one wonders why in Zimbabwe we cling to using only Ndebele and Shona even in places where these language are very alien. Some people argue that we need to have African language(s) to be national language(s) instead of English. Such people forget that nobody feels dominated by using English as a language that unifies us as opposed to using shona and/or ndebele where other people will feel grossly dominated. In any case to the Tonga, Nambya, Venda, Xangani,Sotho and Kalanga speakers, Shona and Ndebele are as much 'foreign' to them as English is. That they are all african langauges does not reduce their element of being 'foreign' languages to others.
The South African example where some languages have very low population percentages and yet their languages are officially recognised and used shows a mature democracy. For example, Xitsonga (4.44 %), siSwati (2.66 %), Tshivenda (2.28 %), and isiNdebele (1.59 %) are typical of popualtions whose languages would not be recognised in Zimbabwe. The problem we have in Zimbabwe is that our national population census reports do not give aggregated data on what percentage of national population are the Shona, Ndebele, Nambya, Tonga,Kalanga, Sotho, Venda, and Xangani. Yet we have some writers who simple jump from the sky and put figures representing the number of speakers of certain langauge groups such as the Tonga, Nambya, Kalanga, Sotho, Venda, and Xangani. One wonders where these writers get that data apart from merely trying to fulfill their own political agenda of undermining the population numbers of the speakers of some languages while inflating data/percentages for their languages.
ANYWAY FOOD FOR THOUGHT ZIMBABWEANS.
I believe dual citizenship is the only way that will bring our professionals back home. maybe only the soldiers and possibly police could be exempted, if there are any concerns about loyalty and allegiance in times of conflict.
What about dual citizenship?
There should be no more than 120 Constituencies -
We believe that the size of the house should revert to NO MORE than 120 Members - the country is small and cannot afford so may MP's sponging off the povo.
In the early stages of the struggle MDC had a policy of a significantly reduced number of Ministers - Now they are part of the Government they ignore this call and are part of a heavily inflated Government -
In Africa, women do not marry. They do not pay lobola, or bring cash and cattle to the parents of the man...therefore, if, through affirmative action, you are going to take away the means of income from the man, it is only fair that the new imbalance be corrected: ban lobola and any form of dowry, to protect men.
We cannot accept a Western norm and force it on a people who have their own norms and force them to live with the consequences....just to please or conform with Western values.
African women will not get into marriage with unemployed African men. Take this example, generalized, and microcosmic, there are 10 jobs...10 boys and 10 girls. in the old sysytem the 10 boys got the jobs, and married the 10 girls....resulting in an even distribution of wealth.
Now, however, due to affirmative action, 5 girls get 5 jobs, and 5 boys get the other 5 jobs. Because no African girl would be seen dead with an jobless man ...so they marry the 5 employed boys. leaving 5 unemployed boys to marry 5 unemployed girls.
Ever wondered why there is an ever widening gap between the poor and the rich? Theres your generalized illustration...
You cannot force western morm on people who still think, live and base their decisions on their own was and expect stability!
"...and working environment that is not harmful to their health or well being and to sufficient ..", UNLESS SUCH WORKING ENVIRONMENT IS IN PROSTITUTION OR OTHER IMMORAL ACTIVITIES SO ELECTED BY THE WORKER OF THEIR OWN ACCORD.
"...For purposes of promoting a multi-party democracy, the state must provide funds to political parties....", we are not mature enough to receive the money as ammunition for political activities...money should not be dished out, but the government must be billed for verifiable activities and services consumed by the parties. Any money given out will be used for personal luxuries...as a reward for victories in elections!
IF I HAVE ONE FEMALE EMPLOYEE IN MY SMALL BUSINESS, AND SHE GOES ON LEAVE...WHY MUST I BE FORCED TO PAY 2 EMPLOYEES (THE PREGNANT AND THE REPLACEMENT/TEMP) FOR THE DECISION OF ONE (WHO IN DEPENDENTLY CHOSE TO HAVE A CHILD).
TWO WAY: EITHER I MUST HAVE CLAIM TO THE CHILD, SINCE I CONTRIBUTED FINANCIALLY, OR
I MUST, AS THE EMPLOYER, HAVE A SAY IN WHEN, THE EMPLOYEE CAN CONCEIVE....OTHERWISE, THIS PROVISION IS UNFAIR TO ME AS AN EMPLOYER...AND MAKE IT MORE SENSIBLE TO JUST AVOID WOMEN IN MY HIRING POLICY.
there is no argument anyone can make to justify paid maternity leave that will be fair to the employer. The employer is a human being too..with his own problems...the employee does not take a pay cut when the employer goes on maternity leave does she?
The state shall not be compelled to protect or cater for, individuals or groups that choose to participate in morally unsound activities, professions or acts...and that such individuals will be punished by the law if their activities should cause the corruption or harm of others.
We cannot abide mahure, mbavha or pfambi. These 'human rights' which seek to turn our societies upside down must be stemmed before it is too late.
"freedom of artistic creativity;" ...as long as it does not allow those so called artist to walk around naked in public and call it art.
"freedom to practise and propagate and give expression to their thought, opinion, religion or belief, whether in public or in private and whether alone or together with others; and". This clause shall not give anyone the right, or freedom to propagate any messages or opinions that conflict with the spirit of Ubuntu and Bantu morality.
Gays, and prostitutes and suck ilk may not be allowed to recruit, have displays meetings or conference within the borders of Zimbabwe....and may be punished by Zimbabwean law if they seek to recruit Zimbabweans from outside the country
UNLESS THE assembly is for the promotion of morally unsound practices or social perversion
unless such association is for the purpose of immoral acts or the perversion of minors, and society be it directly, or indirectly
This clause must make allowance for compulsory labour required as part of our cultural ways of teaching children the importance of self-sustenance...responsibility, and abhorrence of laziness.
"...must be informed promptly of the reason for the arrest or detention".. As we have seen over the last 30 years, promptly, for ZANU-PF, can be anythnig from 1 month, to 1 good full year, please change this line to "must be informed within 12 hours of the reason for the arrest or detention;" or some other such specific period of time. Likewise, the use of terms like " without delay" must be avoided.
"a court as soon as reasonably possible and in any event not later than forty-eight hours after the"...this is perfect! Just what the doctor ordered: specifics!
Judicial officers, police or army personell cannot be protected if they act outside specific, verifiable instructions. And if the said instructions give rise to litigation, the individual who gave such illegal instructions, must pay the compensation from his pocket, or possessions to the extent that the litigation so requires. Taxpayers cannot continue to pay for parties like ZANU_PF to do as it pleases on the understanding that there are no consequences. We must have a constitution that make people think very very carefully, before they give illegal instructions or commands.
"...the rights in the Bill of Rights may be limited only in terms of law of general application to the extent that the limitation is reasonable, is recognised by international human rights standards and is necessary and justifiable in an open and democratic society.".
Africa does not contribute to the definition of 'international human rights'. America and Europe dictate. That said, we all know that the definition of human rights is incorrect, and flawed, and is nothing more than a loophole for chaotic social order...or disorder to take root. Criminals cannot be punished...because they have rights, crimes cannot be prevented, because the crimials have rights...children cannot be raised right...because of incorrectly defined rights...
Binding us, through our constitution to American and European norms, is like tying our legs to a sinking ship. The term "...is recognised by international human rights standards..." must be replaced by " ... is recognized by Bantu philosophy of fairness and justice..." . I know most intellectuals, educated by Europeans and Americans, may find this a tough leap..but it's the only way we can enshrine the propagation of our customs, ways and identity as Bantus..we cannot allow our ways to be swallowed up by the West. Our children deserve more from us that that!
the rights of he individual must be clearly and sufficiently define and explained as pertaining ONLY to his individual space and self..and must not and may not interfere with, or take away from, the rights of the community.
Where am I coming from? In Ubuntu, Hunhu, it is inappropriate for anyone to behave inappropriately, or be anti-social, in public because 'he has the right to'. Not clearly defining the scope of 'human rights' with respect to 'community rights' (the rights of the surrounding society with respect to the individual)...we will run into problems America and UK and South Africa, are now grappling with..social chaos.
GRANTED that no law shall supercede, or ignore, Bantu tradition and laws...
"When interpreting a written law, and when developing the common law or traditional customary law, every court, tribunal and forum must be guided by the spirit and objects of this Chapter"...Somehow this implies Western law as supreme and our Bantu customs and laws as subordinate.
The new constitution must do away with the term 'customary law' or 'common law'. Our laws and customs must be identified as THE LAW. Why must our marriage systems be treated by our own constitution as worthless? Same with our own methods of justice delivery.
Our ways were always superior in maintaining social order...why must they be subordinate?
We need to reawaken our Bantu consciousnesses and take back our colonized minds.
Marriages are being abused by Nigerians in South Africa in order to come int the country and bring their illegal activities.
There must be a minimum period of marriage specified before citizenship is granted.
Granted that no such convention, treaty or law goes against the spirit of Ubuntu, and the cultural norms of the Bantu people of Zimbabwe...
We cannot continue deciding our fates through the eyes and opinions, rules and laws of Westerners. We have our own identity, our own common sense, our own sensitivities.
Freedoms must not mean freedom to corrupt by public display. Anything so called freedom not in keeping with Ubuntu (socially vulgarity, homosexuality etc) cannot be permitted as 'freedoms'. Ubuntu and the Bantu must be protected, just as the European protected his ways in the old constitutions.
we cannot lay down laws that oppress our own ways and pass the same on to our children!
Equality before the law, within the confines of that which is natural. We do not want to turn Zimbabwe into a playground for [offensive language deleted], like South Africa.
Give them one loophole and before you know it they are holding gay parades in 1st street because they 'have a right'
Allow me to tell a quick story: When a parent is at home with the kids, they do things according to the parent's wishes and instructions. When the parent goes to work, he/she leaves instructions...guidelines for what must be done, when and how.
When the white man was here, he set his laws upon our backs, wiped away our ways, and customs and social structures. When he left, we stayed behind with his laws...that continue to this day, to weigh down on us. We live in Africa ruled by foreign laws and reasonings, contrary to our own common sense. We are effectively, as far as legality goes, visitors in our own land.
The new constitution must unequivocally state that no law, shall supercede Bantu law and custom. In years to come Ubuntu/Bantuism will be taught as the panacea for the world's social ills...our constitution must take the first giant step in reclaiming and enshrining African pride and dignity in a document that will chart the path back to our cultural heritage.
That said, the comnstitution must clearly identify Zimbabwe as a part of the Bantu nation that spans right across Africa, and is home to many varieties of Bantus and that it's founding principles recognise the laws and customs thereof, as the foundations of the constitution...not Roman, or Dutch, or british, or America,...but Bantu.
WE FIND IT ANNOYING THAT WHITE FOLK OR WESTERNERS IN GENERAL KEEP YAPPING ON ABOUT 'MODERN WORLD', HUMAN RIGHTS' AND EQUALITY...to try and corrupt us and our morals.
If John sleeping with Adam is your piece of cake, then by all means, carry on...but not in Zimbabwe, not in Uganda, not in Malawi...by God...not in Africa!
just as Africans settling in Europe must learn to conduct themselves in ways acceptable to Europeans..guess what Europeans settling in Africa must do!
Ther eis a misconception around the globe...being born in Africa doesnt make you one with the Africans... Africans, Bantus, have a far higher level of moral consciousness...one wherein the question you ask is actually considered stupid. Stupid in that its like asking 'is the sun hot?'.
To us, sodomy is not even debatable...it just does not have a place here.
I think there comes a time when we all have to ask ourselves the serious questions. Are we blabbering on about dual-citizenship for the good of the country...or are we thinking about our own personal, individualistic, selfish selves.
Saying "... if we couldn't get out if it all went wrong..." shows clearly, that you are not willing to contribute to developing Zimbabwe...you just want to jump in when the going is good, make your quick buck and at all times keep your ticket to the UK close by.
When things go wrong....when you are desperately needed...you'd rather jump on BA and be blogging and tweeting about how things are in Zim while you sit comfortably in London.
Removal of dual-citizenship is a call for dedicated Zimbabweans who will stick with the country through thick and thin...to choose their side... You know where u stand. Come on over to the Zim side.
We, the Bantu people of Zimbabwe...have no place for homosexuality. Gay paraders, gay actors, gay performers, gays...in general..are not welcome in Africa.
Uganda should be lesson enough. The stupid blacks recruited into gay organisations..who let themselves be drawn in with illusions of better lives...need to decide where they stand...but the bottomline is: in the coming constitution, we are going to be making sure that document clearly states, what is natural and moral...
We won't let your ilk corrupt any more of our African minds. Matter of fact, keeping going on about this and see how fast were escalate what is just a call for gay ban into a call to kill gays!
I would also like to advocate for the inclusion of discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation as we all have an orientation whether Hetersoxual or Homosexual.
Although this issue has been politicised by Zanu PF mainly to divert peoples attention from the real issues affecting Zimbabwe,
I believe it is important to provide for constitutional protection as in so many cases, a violation of this fundamental right often leads to a violation of almost all the other rights of individuals who fall into this category. Like the President put it, all have rights except for gays and Lesbians
Land reform and redisitribution is a necessity for Zimbabwe. However, the process used thus far has simply not worked and served to both imperil productivity and destroy Zimbabwe's reputation in Africa and the rest of the world. Consultation and fairness is the hallmark of responsibility, civil society and democracies. The constitution must protect land rights, even restoring ownership with proper requirements to effect orderly change so the productivity and employment may be restored.
Parliament should approve senior officers and the candidacy process should be removed as far as possible from political influence
the president should be voted by member of paliment weshould not go for rounds ofvoting as before
The executive must not be comprised of MPs.
A person should cease to be an MP when appointed as a minister or deputy.
The President must nominate a minister and a parliamentary select committee must interview the candidate, followed by a vote to approve the appointment by parliament
This introduces good checks and balances in our governance.
Comment removed - offensive language.
Comment removed - offensive language.
Ngochani kwete moda kurovesa nyika naMwari. Zimbabwe should not be Sodom
It is still appropriate for the parliament to elect police commissioner and not the president.The candidate should have 80% approval in parliament.It is high time people start working together for the common good so somehow the candidate should have votes fromdifferent political parties so by enforcing 80%, this will be achieved.
Appointment of Police Commissioner should not be presidential or by parliament. Otherwise the Commissioner is liable to be appointed based on political sentiment rather than merit. Appointment should be made by a Police board comprising of retired judiciary, retired senior police and other appropriate senior members of the community.
First responsibility of the Police Service should be to protect life.
THE PRESIDENT SHOULD APPOINT THE ABOVE BUT IT SHOULD BE APPROVED BY PARLIAMENT.THE APPOINTED MEMBERS SHOULD NOT BE PARTY MEMBERS
Instead of referring to the people of Zimbabwe, why not refer to the "Citizens of Zimbabwe"
Two terms of 5 years each.
The President must be 45 Years and above and not more than 70 Years at the time of going to the polls.
two maximum, no compromise.
Long outstanding, a must for a peaceful zimbabwe.
First and foremost, we are africans - the question is what are our values as africans. viva zuma. all african man engage in extra marital affairs so lets preserve our tradition.
People should be allowed to hold dual citizenship if they so wish.