Constitution Outreach: News Round-Up, 19 July – 22 July
The constitution outreach programme resumed this week after a one week break. These are media extracts appearing between 19 July – 22 July. To review previous news items, or follow updates daily, please visit the Constitution Resource page on the Sokwanele website. Please note that links to sources and full articles are also available on the resource page. These extracts are being emailed to our subscribers today – click here to sign up for our newsletter.
19 July 2010
‘War vets’ want members to be apolitical
An organisation representing former freedom fighters says it wants its members to be apolitical and is fighting to have this included in the new constitution. The Zimbabwe Liberation Platform, ZLP, a liberal organisation that claims to be “a progressive section of former independence war fighters championing democracy and social equality” told The Zimbabwean that war veterans needed to regain their independence to avoid being manipulated by selfish politicians. Chairman of ZLP, Maxwell Mkandla said his organisation will demand radical changes to the War Veterans Act and call for the scrapping of all constitutional provisions that give ex-combatants preferential treatment ahead of every other Zimbabwean. The War Veterans Act provides for a monthly pension for life, free education for the former fighters children and for 20 percent of land acquired by the government to be reserved for ex-combatants among other benefits. “We now have a situation where some of those who participated in the armed struggle are holding the nation to ransom with endless financial and other demands as if they are a special breed of Zimbabweans.” Mkandla said. “That has to come to an end if we are to progress as a nation and the new constitution should guarantee that,”. [Via The Zimbabwean]
Association threatens No Vote if disabled needs are left out
Rehabilitation Technicians Association of Zimbabwe has resolved to oppose the constitution draft document during the referendum if the disabled are discriminated from participating in the on- going constitution making process. The Association members who met recently at St Giles Rehabilitation Centre to deliberate issues concerning the plight of the profession and those of the disabled people said they were not happy with the way The Constitution Parliamentary Committee (COPAC) was treating the disabled at the on-going constitution making process. “It has come to our attention that the disabled are being sidelined in the on-going constitution making process, and we want to put the record straight that we are definitely going to advocate for a NO vote to the draft constitution come referendum time if this continues. “We want to urge COPAC to respect the views of these people and recognise the injustices done to them. As rehabilitation technicians we value the rights of the disabled because that’s the people who make us exist. What we are saying is that the rights of these people should be captured in the new constitution,” said the Association’s Bulawayo province representative Hillary Chibaya in an interview. At the start of the outreach, COPAC in Matabeleland discriminated a disabled member of the team against attending the induction programme that was being held on the first floor of Governor Angeline Masuku’s offices [Via The Zimbabwean].
20 July 2010
The MDC’s Constitution principles
The MDC-T publish their constitution principles via their official newsletter. We’ve posted them on our blog here [Via The Real Change Times]
More Logistical Problems Reported in Zimbabwe Constitutional Outreach Process
More problems cropped up this week as Zimbabwe’s constitutional revision outreach process geared up again following a one-week break as more than 40 outreach team members were refused access to hotel rooms in Orange Grove and Chinhoyi Caves in Mashonaland West province because organizers had not pre-paid accommodation. Parliamentary Select Committee Co-Chairman Douglas Mwonzora said the incident resulted from a misunderstanding between the United Nations Development Program, which is funding the exercise, and the hotels concerned. He told VOA Studio 7 reporter Jonga Kandemiiri efforts were being made to settle the dispute [Via VOA News].
Zim parties to talk reconciliation
The top leaders of Zimbabwe’s three ruling parties will tomorrow meet to discuss ways to end political violence and how to quicken national healing and reconciliation, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC party said in a statement Monday. “The three national executive bodies from the three main political parties in the Global Political Agreement (GPA) meet in Harare on Wednesday to map out how best they can deal with the issue of the snail’s pace of national healing and politically motivated intimidation among other critical issues,” the MDC said in a statement. “This is a ground-breaking meeting in the history of Zimbabwe as the three executive bodies of the MDC, ZANU PF and Professor Arthur Mutambara’s party meet to hold a crucial indaba on how to deal with political violence and intimidation affecting the people of Zimbabwe. This historic meeting must deal with the intimidation and violence surrounding the Constitution-making process so that the people will make their contributions in an environment of peace and tolerance,” the party said [Via ZimOnline]
Senior MDC official assaulted during COPAC meeting
A senior MDC official taking part in a constitutional outreach meeting was on Monday severely assaulted in front of the police, who shockingly did nothing to arrest the culprits who are alleged to be ZANU PF officials. The incident took place at Kaziro Business Centre, Madziva in Shamva North, Mashonaland Central province, on the day the consultative meetings resumed after a week long break [...] ‘The attack took place in full view of the police, the COPAC leadership and participants to the outreach program. The reason for the attack is that she submitted a written proposal to the COPAC team. The attackers are well known ZANU PF officials who branded our chairlady a sell-out for freely airing her sentiments during the meeting,’ [Morgan Komichi, the MDC-T’s deputy national organising secretary] said. He added; ‘They brazenly reminded her that in 2008, they burnt down homes belonging to MDC supporters and that this time they would kill people. What pains me is that instead of arresting the attackers, the police simply escorted her to their vehicle and drove her home in order to calm the situation down.’ Komichi said the incident confirmed the lethargic attitude from the police, with regard to the way they deal with ZANU PF individuals who break the law. He said participants to that meeting were seriously let down by the law enforcement officers [Via Sw Radio Africa].
Nothing should stop us from writing our own Constitution
Comment by Lawrence Paganga in The Real Change Times, MDC: “The people of Zimbabwe want a Constitution that is progressive, which at the end of the day will be a lasting legacy to future generations. We don’t want a Constitution that turns a blind eye to basic human rights abuses like the current situation in Zimbabwe where even a 15 year-old school kid can claim to be a former freedom fighter [...] We know that the Zanu PF was against the drafting of a new, people driven Constitution in favour of the current one which it could use in manipulating the electoral system in order to fraudulently stay in power [...] What Zanu PF is doing is derailing the whole process so that Zimbabweans will not be able to make a Constitution that makes it difficult to rig polls.However, the people of Zimbabwe are going to shoot dead these Zanu PF positions in a free and fair referendum.As a country, the attitude being portrayed by Zanu PF will not take the country anywhere” [Via the MDC's 'The Real Change Times'].
Zanu PF youth fails to disrupt Kariba meeting
In Kariba, a Zanu PF youth failed to disrupt a constitution meeting after the crowd demanded that the meeting should take place because it was cleared by the police. It was reported that members of the military are allegedly meeting church leaders demanding that they tell their parishioners to adopt Zanu PF’s position on the content of the current constitution or risk facing unspecified action. COPAC is yet to conduct meetings in the report town [Via The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition].
21 July 2010
Zimbabwe Assembles US$8M Supplementary Budget for Constitutional Outreach
Zimbabwean Minister of Constitutional Affairs Eric Matinenga said Wednesday that the government with the help of international donors has put together a supplementary budget of some US$8 million for the often-troubled public outreach phase of the country’s constitutional revision process expected to conclude in September, followed by drafting [...] Co-Chairman Douglas Mwonzora of the parliamentary select committee running the constitutional revision process, said more funds were needed to complete the outreach as it was extended by 23 days on top of 65 days planned. Mwonzora said the outreach process, initially plagued by organizational and technical problems, is now running smoothly despite reports some drivers were threatening a strike because they had not been paid. Some outreach team members received allowances this week, but sources said drivers received no explanation as to why they were left out [Via Voa News].
Diasporans to have say on constitution
The MDC (Mutambara) in South Africa wants to present a united voice over the making of a new constitution on behalf of people living outside Zimbabwe. The administration secretary for Arthur Mutambara’s MDC said they represented Zimbabweans in South Africa in the political field and wanted to send people’s views to COPAC. Ngqabutho Dube said they would be holding a meeting with the MDC (Tsvangirai), Zapu and the Matabeleland Freedom Party at the weekend to talk over the issue. He said: “We have agreed to meet with ten people from each party to deliberate on the final draft to be sent to Zimbabwe.” The purpose of the meeting, he said, was to put differences aside, act in common purpose and submit a strong argument on behalf of Zimbabweans in South Africa. They would decide on the documents needed to qualify to vote in a foreign land [Via The Zimbabwean].
Mugabe embraces polygamy to win elections
Regurgitating what the polygamous apostolic sect members wanted to hear during their annual pilgrimage in eastern Zimbabwe, Mr Mugabe declared: “Our Constitution allows polygamy. We will not force people into monogamous marriages. It’s there in the Bible; Solomon wasn’t only given wealth but many wives too. But we say no to gays! We will not listen to those advocating for inclusion of homosexual rights in the Constitution”. Observed political analyst Mike Mgutshini, “Since Mugabe was already in an election campaign mood, he avoided telling the apostolic pilgrims about all the wrongs they are notorious for. He should have told them that they should avoid multiple sexual partnerships which spread HIV/AIDS rapidly. He should have also discouraged some of their so-called ‘prophets’ from lying to desperate people that AIDS can be cured by water or raping of minors. While we applaud Mr Mugabe for encouraging the sect members to send girls to school, we are dismayed that he forgot to urge them to send their children for immunisation in order to avoid the child mortality rate from soaring. President Mugabe also forgot to discourage the apostolic faithful from illegally dealing in foreign currency at most street corners” [Via Radio Netherlands].
Copac sued over Press statement
Three men who last month lost a case against the Constitutional Parliamentary Select Committee (Copac) have once again dragged the body to the courts seeking an interdict from publishing any Press statement regarding them. Mr Qhubekani Dube, Mr Mqondisi Moyo and Mr Phathisani Nondo want Copac to prepare a public apology and retraction on all eight newspapers [...] with a minimum of two advertisements or publication of such an apology within seven days of granting of the order. [...] In his founding affidavit, Mr Dube states that they are members of a civic society organisation known as Ibhetshu likaZulu, which is a pressure group advocating for equitable development of all parts of the country. They say they were shocked after being initially selected to be part of the outreach teams when they read a notice published by Copac in Chronicle on 11 June 2010 listing the names of individuals who are part of the outreach teams set to commence the process of gathering people’s views on 19 June. “As it can be gleamed from advertisements, the obvious insinuation is that I and the other applicants are criminals and members of the public should be wary of us. A stigma is attached to us that we are undesirable elements and have or are about to interfere with the constitution-making process,” said Mr Dube [Via The Chronicle - state-controlled media].
Constitution: A nation divided against itself
Comment by Psychology Maziwisa, Union for Sustainable Democracy: The point is that, while the involvement of civil society in a democracy is fundamental, the fact that it is not at the forefront of the drafting process does not render the resultant constitution any less people-driven [...] If there are reservations about the content of the new Zimbabwean constitution, it should not be because the ZCTU or, worse still, the NCA and ZINASU, elected not to be part of that process or merely because their ‘important’ input was disregarded. It will be because the people’s views were not sought or that their ability to express them was curtailed [Via Sw Radio Africa].
ZANU PF goes on a crowd shopping spree…
ZANU PF has gone desperate to the levels of busing party sympathizers to come and sail its party agenda through. This has been exposed during COPAC meetings that were convened in the CBD of Bindura. Most of the participants were offloaded by a green identified Nissan Van which was full of dust justifying the fact that it was coming from the rural areas. Most of the participants were seen holding mini-scripts, with some of the ZANU PF supporter’s failing to decode the information written on the uniform piece of papers [Via CHRA Constitution Watch - 21 July].
Mwonzora “cry baby” statement Sparks Outrage
Legislators and members of the constitutional outreach teams have expressed dismay in a recent statement (interpreted as an insult) by one of the Constitution Select Committee (COPAC) co-chairpersons who said they had become cry babies demanding for luxuries [...] Following COPAC’s one week break last week, teams staying in Chinhoyi for Mashonaland West’s outreach meetings have gone for two days without food at their respective hotels who are demanding settlement of bills which accrued in the first phase of the views gathering process ending last week and which neither government nor the Mwonzora-led organisation has managed to pay for. On Tuesday, 21 team members were evicted from Chinhoyi caves hotel owing to an estimated US$21 500 in arrears. The team members have since been booked at St Peters Catholic boarding house in the town. Team members staying at Orange Groove Motel and Chinhoyi University of Technology hotel are not getting food with the hotels demanding a settlement of their dues: “Mwonzora’s utterances are an insult to us. It is disappointing to hear him claim that we have become cry babies when they (COPAC) are failing to provide basic food allowances let alone payment to hotels where we are housed. Mwonzora should just shut up and sort the rot at COPAC where there is a lot of bureaucracy and lack of respect for the people who are working in the field. We have not demanded any luxury but is it a crime to express ourselves when we are disgruntled,” said one member who refused to be named [Via ZimEye].
‘Allocate more days to outreach programme’
The proposal by the Constitution Parliamentary Committee (Copac) to hold its outreach exercise in Bulawayo for a day has sparked a war of words with residents saying the move was a deliberate move to deny them a chance to air their views. [Copac co-chairperson, Mr Edward Mkhosi] said the outreach teams would take one day to round up the whole of Bulawayo while Harare would take two days [...] The Bulawayo United Residents Association (Bura) chairman, Mr Winos Dube, said it was impossible for the people’s views to be collected in one day. “It is a non-starter. We are saying what makes us different from other provinces. I do not see any system Copac can come up with to capture in one day all the views the people want considered in the constitution,” said Mr Dube. Mr Dube said if Copac went ahead and held the exercise in one day, a lot of people would not have a chance to take part in the important process of drafting the country’s new constitution. Mr Gerald Matiba from the Matabeleland Constitutional Consortium [...] said holding the exercise for one day during the week would be “atrocious” as most people would not be able to attend. Mr Owen Siziba from Emganwini said holding the exercise in one day would not capture the wishes of the people. “That would definitely not be enough unless they are telling us that they will hold the exercise in every suburb in the city. They said they would hold three meetings per ward and they have to stick to that. Maybe they want to write their own constitution and our views do not matter,” said Mr Siziba [Via The Chronicle - state-controlled media]
Zanu-PF denies Chivi outreach programmes’ disruption reports
Zanu-PF has denied reports that some party members were disrupting constitution-making outreach programmes in Chivi. Private media reports have claimed that some Zanu-PF officials had been fingered in disrupting activities of Copac outreach teams in Chivi. Chivi-Mwenezi Senator (Zanu-PF) Cde Josaya Hungwe charged that there was no grain of truth in those reports. Cde Hungwe said reports of alleged disruption of Copac meetings were unfounded and baseless. “Those reports are an act of mischief by those who peddle them and as a party we believe that those behind such allegations have a hidden agenda because there has never been any form of disturbances during the outreach programmes. We want to make it clear that those who have been making those allegations want to create unnecessary panic because they are not happy with what has been taking place on the ground,” said Cde Hungwe. Zanu-PF district co-ordinating committee chairman for Chivi, Cde Sanders Magwizi, was accused by some sections of the media of scaring away people he suspected of having MDC-T sympathies from outreach meetings [Via The Herald - state-controlled media].
22 July 2010
Copac teams resume outreach programme
The constitution outreach programme resumed yesterday with officials saying the response in most parts of the country had been good. Parliament Select Committee co-chair Cde Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana, however, said the turnout in Matabeleland North and South was low. Copac chairpersons will today visit the two provinces to ascertain causes of the low turnout [...] Addressing members of civic society yesterday; Cde Mangwana said the issue of allowances for outreach teams needed redress. He said all the teams had returned to duty “with a few dropouts” who did not agree with the allowances they have been getting. “There are still complaints with regards to the issue of allowances. The disparity between the allowances is a cause for concern,” he said. Rapporteurs are receiving US$100 per day while other outreach team members are getting US$25 [Via The Herald - state-controlled media]
Constitutional Outreach on Verge of Collapse
Constitutional outreach members from all the ten provinces, with drivers and technicians included, are threatening to down their tools due to poor working conditions and a breach of agreements by COPAC. Barely a month after the launch of the Constitutional Outreach, aimed at coming up with a new constitution under the auspices of the Constitutional Parliamentary Committee, threats of its cessation are growing everyday as problems mount. Most hotels have either thrown outreach members onto the streets or have withdrawn meals, leaving outreach members with no choice but to go for weeks buying their own meals. COPAC has failed to come up with a reimbursement scheme or any form of allowance to cover up for their failure to provide full board services, leading to almost everyone affected to complain. There was pandemonium on Wednesday this week in all provinces when finance officers decided to pay team leaders and rapporteurs, leaving out drivers and technicians [Via SW Radio Africa].
Zim Constitutional Team Heads To Get CIO Security
Zimbabwe’s dreaded Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) has been assigned to provide security to the three co-chairpersons of the constitutional parliamentary select committee (COPAC) after one of them was threatened by Zanu (PF) thugs recently. The armed officers have already been deployed with reports that Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) co-chairperson Douglas Mwonzora had refused to take the CIO on board claiming that he had his own aides. The MDC is generally uncomfortable with CIO officers who harassed them while they were still in the opposition. But another co-chairperson Paul Mangwana of Zanu (PF) has reportedly already accepted to move around with the CIO operative while the third co-chairman Edward Mkhosi is also expected to take on board his new bodyguard. The President’s office decided to employ the dreaded CIO on the co-chairmen after Mwonzora was nearly manhandled by overzealous Zanu (PF) supporters in Mashonaland central recently [Via RadioVop].
Two-term presidency ideal — villagers
Villagers in Insiza District, Matabeleland South, have called for a two-term presidency and the devolution of power in the new constitution. In separate interviews with Chronicle yesterday villagers said the two-term presidency was ideal in the running of the country as it allowed for smooth handover of power that did away with conflict. “The constitution that we have so far is not explicit on the actual term that the presidency should have. “The inclusion of this guarantee in the constitution will help limit conflict when someone’s term has expired,” said Mr Mandlenkosi Moyo of Ward 12. He said the two-term presidency would allow for newer approaches of leadership. “Most countries in Africa are starting to adopt the two-term presidency and it will be wise for us to adopt it as well,” said Mr Moyo [Via The Chronicle - state-controlled media]
‘Use constitutional process to achieve gender balance’
Zimbabweans should use the ongoing constitutional reform process to ensure 50-50 gender participation in politics and the national economy, Vice President John Nkomo has said. Addressing delegates at the launch of Miss Lozikeyi beauty pageant in Victoria Falls on Saturday, VP Nkomo said Government was committed to promoting women’s interests. “During the Second Chimurenga, women fought alongside their male counterparts until the shackles of colonialism were completely removed,” said VP Nkomo in a speech read on his behalf by the Minister of State in his Office Flora Bhuka. “Clearly, the spirit of Queen Lozikeyi and other female luminaries like Mbuya Nehanda was their enduring inspiration.” [Via The Herald - state-controlled media]
