since life expectancy have fallen to 32 and 35yrs i think the retirement age must also be reduced to between 45 and 50

The end to be achieved is very desirable. However, it will serve the public good if the courts were left to decide and appoint traditional chiefs - not the president. The constitution should safeguard and be careful by mixing mutually exclusive roles: judiciary-executive-legislature. Appointing the chiefs by president is tantamount to party politics.

Against zanupf, we want diaspora vote, dual citizenship, and all modern democracy principles. thank you:

Again here i say:

Mr zanupf is now history in the spiritual realm, the physical has started manifesting; and we know it, we see it, we support it...
Mr mugabe is now history, let everyone be ready for the new era, the winds of change will can never be stopped.
Our prayers are that When God has closed zanupf door, surely no devil can open it.
My people, brothers and sisters have suffered, and i see God`s exciting response trickling in most surely...and with greater success propensity.
God bless Zimbabwe and the uprising masses...
Mr chihuri can never stop this...
Mr munangagwa can never stop this...
Cde mudede can never stop this...
Cde shiri can never stop this...
I will not talk of nyikayaramba...for the nation surely has refused, his fathers prophesied into this reality...thank you Jesus.
I almost forgot my other brother, Mr zimondi, will reserve for now to talk about him…
Brother jonathan moyo can never stop this God initiated uprising mass...
A no is a no....zimbabwe cannot perish bse of 6 or 8 individuals.....against millions of able bodied MEN; there is no evil that lasts for ever. The light from God has come!
How can we defend a kingdom made of destroyers?? God forbid.
We love you, and i am among the most powerful and trusted institutions in the leadership....we work from within and not out....when one is inside, you are assured of victory bse any house divided will not stand...falling is inevitable... and what i tell you is the truth, believe you me.
We love you all and we are together spiritually and physically....
My tip to all peace and prosperity loving people (vana vevhu)…don’t publicly denounce zanupf in their presence (you may get into physical harm), we are monitoring closely the cio list and many other names not mentioned which some of us work with everyday…be aware of who surrounds you please! a good number of cios, police and soldiers are supporting the new developments from within, and are doing well.
This is the era of information and technology, a good name is better than tons of silver, lets expose and resist all the evil (the dark side of Mr Mugabe and zanupf), and they will eventually flee to oblivion.
did you know that wisdom is better than gold…. Some of us we fight even without any smallest of guns…we have computers, we have internet, we have newspapers, we have international radios and cable news exposures. No one can stop this movement. In addition, we have strong spiritual weapons, and above all God is on the side of the disadvantaged (the Mugabe regime intimidated generations).
Let’s arise ladies and gentlemen!
God `s time is the best, and the time is now...
Practical love

What is the major reason for denying Zimbabweans dual citizenship? Most countries the world over have dual citizenship and when you look at these countries, they are prospoering well. There are a lot of people (with unlawful dual citizenship) who want to come back home and invest in the betrerment of the country but cannot do so because they will be arrested for not renouncing their Zimbabwean citizenship. Dual citizenship should not be denied on political grounds (that was the case with Zimbabwe).

The provision protecting the right ot life in the Constitution is gravely defective. The limitations on the realisation of the said right are undesirable. It should be highlighted that human rights by their nature are inalienable and indivisible and to allow justifications for killing that would otherwise be unlawful is undesirable.
It is highly disturbing to note that the Constitution allows killing "for the purpose of suppressing a riot, insurrection or mutiny or of dispersing an unlawful gathering". What an unlawful gathering is, especially in the light of the Public Order and Security Act, will almost invariably mean the police can 'justfiably' go on a killing spree whenever there is an 'unlawful gathering'.
Another contentious issue is whether an unlawful gathering, riot or insurrection is an event grave enough to warrant killing of the perpetrators, I don't think so.

I'm sorry, when you say "you must have claim" to the child, what is it that you mean? It is men like you with a mentality as shallow as this that are holding Zimbabwe back. Are you saying a woman should not have a child because you are afraid of paying her labour fees for two months after working for up to seven or eight months in your company? I think you need a reality check because i bet your mother was working be it in the fields or in a professional office job when she had you. This is not the times of the Neanderthals. You need a relity check and maybe shouldn't open a business because you are pretty good at discriminating. It also sounds as though you might have that dangerous mind of someone who wants to own people and if you've looked into history that's how slavery started. Maybe i shouldn't hire a man in my company because they can impregnate women and because men just aren't sensitive enough for my company....

how do i get hold of the publisher of this site

so what about the indians

Health care, food, water and environment

The right to health should be sperate section from food and water and environment

Thank you

believe that you are amending something that will change the future. this statement is stating that the amendement will resemble the present scenerio, because it is saying Zimbabwe is one sovereign and democratic where as there is crisis forcing amendents.

Anyone born in Zimbabwe should automatically be accorded citizenship regardless of his/her parents place of origin.The fundamental Human Rights Charter of the United Nations should take precedence over any laws that tremples on this right.

i am not replying because i have knowledge but i am also in the same boat as you and thousands more are suffering with this. A close source working with these issues says it is a way of reducing the number of people who are suspected to vote for MDC. So the only way this crazy law can be addressed to will be the intervention of MDC. These people have been instructed and will continue to send us from post to post for as long as they fear losing an election.

The first thing is, you are not stateless.The second is the British confederate puppets from South Africa are the Stateless who through bullying using the Lancaster House Constitution and now attempting to redress what Dr Eddison Zvobgwo had recommended as regard the Harvard(Harold Wilson)order/prescripts,found out that THE CLIMATE CHANGE summit has brought in the ideal winds of chage.
You are Zimbabwean by virtue of being descendant from the Shona people who are the indigenous people of the United Kingdoms of Mozambique and Zimbabwe.The confederates from South Africa have those malicious intentions of keeping us landlocked and the summit on climate change re-opened the border with mozambique and that is the only implied reservation under United Nation law.So forget about the confederate whose time is just about to lapse anyway.
Do not even think that they are in the process of making a constitution but are in the process of wrecking the one we have in place.They took advantage of that Harold Wilson order as demanded by the Burt Lancasters.Its but,but not burt,but but.The conmen always want us to believe in them that we shun our identity.So they hold those offices according to the will of them that put them there.They are in the Registry Offices but we also have sniffer dogs there that can pick the scent of Zulu one thousand miles away.
Be happy the berlin wall fell with President Obamas visit to Berlin sending the message of Coltrain Chimurenga and Dr Martin Luther King on behalf of the Black Civil Rights Group.a

The citizenship laws of Zimbabwe which are currently being used are very selfish and useless in my own point of veiw. The law states that if a child born in Zimbabwe with either or both parents not citizens of Zimbabwe that child must regularise their citizenship which i do not see the point of this process of regularising because some of us who once had citizenship have now had to be told we are no longer Zimbabweans because my father was intimate with a foreigner and cannot apply for a Zimbabwean passport let alone to vote for constitutional rights or during any elections until i am reinstated to be a citizen again.The application is supposed to take six months just to be a citizen for where you were born and your father originates from.We now have to be aliens with no belonging, i am no longer a citizen until further notice. My brothes, sisters and i have been waiting for two years to get the citizenship which will only last for five years or when the law changes again as they did in 2003. It is not fair to involve the child in matters where i had no control of choosing to be born by parents whom will not cuase me citizenship problems. if they want to continue with this process i ask that they re-look into the process.

I am stateless and living in Europe, Have a lawyer now to fight for my legal rights as a human Being not as an Alien.Was born in Harare to a Zim Mother and Portuguese father and the Zim Authorities say I am not a Zimbabwean. Now going to take this issue up with the European Court In Brussels as I dont know who I am. Through DNA they will be able see where I belong. Thanks to Uncle Bob for trying to make so many lives miserable with this ACT: I had paid for a new Zimbabwe Passport in Germany over 3 years ago and was told they will post it to me after taking fingure prints my photos and my money. To my dismay after one year after several phone calls to the Zim Embassy they told me to fly to Zim to denounce Mozambique, as I am not a Zimbabwean. I was never a Mozambiquean and never ever had a Mozambique passport or citizenship. i was always a Zimbabwean till this new law came out that never was announced to all the people who have some sort of mixed blood. I asked for the money back to my dismay was told it is gone to Zimbabwe Government and I have to fly to Zims and pay again for a new passport, but the Zim authority forgot he sent me a a note from Zimbabwe saying I must reinstate my Zimbabwe Nationalty, which in plain English states that I am stateless.I have been to Amnesty International for advise as well. Can someone who has knowledge of this issue please comment.

We do not need executive kraalheads. What is it about executive ?excutive authority is evidensed by mini veto powers justice is ursappedthe ordinary man is ignored.We need people who earn respectby delivery.

I think the parliament security services subcommittee should appoint the commissioner of police on advise of the police service commission. The president should have no role in the running of the police, this is why the police has been turned into a partisan police force.

there should be no prme minister's post. we are suffering enough unde the current scenario. they are already gobbling more than the tax payers can bear in terms of allowances and salaries.

presidential election results should be announced first before the mps, council and senatorial elections. this will stop rigging.

violence: anyone caught involved in election violence should be arrested and jailed for not less than 5 years.

the army and police should not aligned to any political party. they should however, be very free to support silently, political parties of their choice.

dual citzenship will help make our country in lihe with other countries. it will help us get the much needed investiments.the country will be more accessible.we need to however to guard against destructive elements

executive authority and or powers should equally be shared between the president and the primeminister

dual citizenship will promote looting of our resources to other outside destinations i think its not adviable to have dual citizenship.

I agree with you that the presidential terms should be rotated rather than one man having a long service term for years.

we need it, 2/3 of the bread winners of zimbabwe are working outside in disporah, we need to come back home, we got now multiplied families we need to be recognisewd by both our states, no zanu rule but zimbawean soveregnity is needed, we need it in plce, we nead it we need it

Allow dual citizenship as there are several Zimbabweans in the diaspora who have adopted citizenship of other countries and will make it easier for them

clearly you have no better use of your time, perharps you are in need of a hobby? well here are a few suggestions of what you could do:
improve on your spelling
differentiate between m-xit and chat rooms(like this one)
familiarise yourself with the concept neo-liberalism, which includes no fair seperation of powers
it has molded no soul nor has it protected anyone, except for those who are in it for themselves(greedy bastards)
the question is do you fall under the same catergory?

I am pleased to know that there are people who have that element of reasonability. We do not need very long serving Presidents. Infact a president should retire early and joing the congress of elders where the elders direct the youngesters on how to run the country. very old people should be given their role of advising the youth. We should by now having more than five retired presidents. After all when and where will you invest your money if you want to remain in a position of authority and means of income. remember we are regarding Presidence as the most paying civil job.Please rid this country of the messy created by the long terms of presidential service.
I would suggest a two terms of 4years presidential service. All retired presidents should permanent members of the advisory board or senate. Do not leave them to enjoy the benefits of the country without being there to help the younger generations.

i support the idea of man not paying labola since the economic climate in Zimbabwe has changed in favour of the woman. in such a climate it will be proper for the woman to marry if she is on the advantage point. Traditionally it was the man who was on the advantage point because hunting was solely for man. Now Zimbabwe should adopt a new stance remove the suppressive traditional law of forcing man to marry. Thats why some man are dying without paying the labola. they do not have the means of getting the money. at the end of the day, because of this suppressive traditional law, one is now being force to marry someone he does not love.

I think that this is a very important provision as it will assist in curbing corruption. There have been too many cases of rich overnight politicians. May we also add provision that will allow public and media access to this information so that these officials are fully transparent to the public they serve

the consititution must be also be kept by all pprovincial premiers who must now form part of the constitution

Add Chindau/Ndau dialect to the list of languages brecognised.

we need democracy in Zimbabwe, people should be allowed to exercise their rights, freedom of expression and privacy. The State agency should not be used against the society and corrupt officials should be sacked. We are here working for other countries because of our rythless grandfathers NO i say NO to victimization and intimidation of ordinary poor Zimbabweans please Leaders hear my plea.

In light of prior abuse of our currency system, and the necessity of restoring confidence in our currency, I believe that this section should be more detailed, and should include necessary restrictions to ensure that our currency remains credible.

1. Change from a fractional reserve banking system to a full reserve banking system.
2. Complete separation of banks of issue (exclusively the Reserve Bank), and banks of deposit and exchange.
3. Quotas authorizing the issue of currency to be made by acts of parliament.
3. Transparency laws detailing exactly when and how much money is being created by the Reserve Bank, in order that the public may determine that quotas set by parliament are observed.

I suggest it should not have exceptions, but it should just be abolished full stop

Watadza,
I believe that the consumption of alcohol and such places as where alcohol is consumed are immoral and places of immorality. Would you also like to ban these along with a cigarettes? I agree that public display of affection between couples (especially gays) is against our culture but trying to pretend that outlawing homosexuality is going to make it go away is absurd. I believe in standing by the rights of every Zimbabwean to live their lives as they wish as long as they do it as consenting adults and don't impose it on other people.

One of the sad legacies of the Mugabe regime is the abuse of Rule of Law and in the process create a room for disenfranchising sections of the population deemed anti-establishment.

A secondary feature, related to this or arising from the same is the selective application of justice even in civil cases not involving the state. Cases abound, some in the Supreme Court, where justice was seen to be done and was not done, especially when one of the parties was an employer and the other party an employee. Can this be a mainifestation of corruption in the judiciary or an inherent feature of the judiciary, that the monied elite get better treatment than the common majority.

The above flies in the face of equality before the law. I think the problem as things stand is the way in which the judges are appointed. Should we go the way where judges are elected officials, who must serve a term in office and go back to the populace for re-election, thus giving the ordinary man an opportunity of influencing the perfomance of judges, which at present is too elitist and pro establishment, to the detriment of the common man.

i do aggree that the president`s term should be limited to a maximum of only two terms. if we are going to have good governace and accountability then we need to put in place safeguards against misuse of the president`s office.

There is no need to have Constitutional Law studied in schools before A level. This is simply because the nation might not have the capacity to do that (financially, manpower for teaching and capacity to examin among others). However the Min of Education should design an awareness component fused in the curricullum so that any reasonable school graduate (eg O level) should be able to articulate and demonstrate a sound understanding of civic issues.

There is absolutely no need to have elections of office bearers (prefects) at schools being elected along the constitutional lines simply because that practice will politicise the school system. High poliicisation of schools will lead to unnecessary tension at early years of citizens; likely perpetuating their seniors' political ideologies and possibly give them false hope that by having positioned themselves with the party/those in power at that time entails them being future leaders. This will make learners "forget" about learning, their primary objective, engage in labelling of one another and most importantly, remove 'academic freedom' at a time that the nation should have availed it to them.

By the way, having the Constitution contents tought in schools unconsiously can have a far beeter effect in encalcating civic awareness and produce a highly patriotic cadre that cannot be compared to the notorious Green Bombers.

The Presidents term of office must be on top of agenda.The lack of a provision to limit the presidents term of office is why we are in this mess today.lt must be limited to 2 terms whether or not the president is performing well or not is irrelevant.the term must still be limited

This would ensure that no individual, president included, is above the law.

our national anthem should be left like that it is the best in the world

How can someone have an upper hand and at the same time being equal?

Children born in Zimbabwe of parents normally resident in Zimbabwe should be citizens by birth. The provision that children of parents who have other citizenship are not citizens causes generations of people without any citizenship especially when the parents were farm workers or others who are not aware of the need to apply for registration.

women should be given the upper hand in the society for how are we going to remain objects of discrimination in our society we are also equal to men and deserve to be treated like wise. if the aspect of discrimination is to be brought forward then this aspect has to be included

The republic of Zimbabwe was ill served by the Lancaster House document. Surely it was wrong to model a republic on a constitutional monarchy. would it not be better to take the USA as a better model or even France. So start with a clean sheet and produce a constitution that fits the needs of Zimbabwe by taking indigenous traditions and building from there. Then we might indeed see African solutions to African problems

I believe everyone should be treated equal,we are witnessing some verbal and physical attacks on the minority white population and just because they did not treat us right it has been proven that this concept of an eye for an eye will leave everyone blind ,so any kind of inflammatory speech should not be tolerated ,be it against black pple or white people.On the issue of gays,I think they are so many gays in america because many children has been raised by single parents and on many occasions they did not have a father figure and they ended up copying some habits from the streets or from the TV .This distorted their configuration and they ended up thinking that being gay is normal.I have never heard anyone close to me who is said to be gay,I think those africans who are trying to be gay they have seen too much Tv and they are trying to be American.I think gays should not be protected by any legal right ,because if we do we should also consider allowing pple to walk nacked in the street as well just like what they do in the Americas .

It is unfortunate that when we were colonised we had no written laws though our traditions and customs were well known. We should therefore preserve the good things and abolish bad ones. Culture is dynamic. We should add better things according to this developed world. We should also endeavour to develop. We must also be able to distinguish between a traditional chief and president/prime minister of a country. When making a constitution we must not try to please an individual for the constitution is paramount for future generations. Everyone including leaders must abide by the constitution.

It is unfortunate that when we were colonised we had no written laws though our traditions and customs were well known. We should therefore preserve the good things and abolish bad ones. Culture is dynamic. We should add better things according to this developed world. We should also endeavour to develop. We must also be able to distinguish between a traditional chief and president/prime minister of a country. When making a constitution we must not try to please an individual for the constitution is paramount for future generations. Everyone including leaders must abide by the constitution.

This is a waste of time. Every commonwealth country except for the white commonwealth countries has changed its constitution or has bashed it beyonmd reconition. There is nothing wrong with the original constitution given to you by the British. Any system that does not have the mechanism to remove the crooks out of the system is doomed to repeat its mistakes and untimately fail.Abuse of power by the incumbent is what should be uppermost in your minds. Not changing your constitution.

The developed world has constitutions that have remained the same. What they have done is to strengthen istitutions and not individuals as we do.The self interest of the individual cannot be satisfied in the short run. And the interest of the nation cannot be achieved even in a 100 years.

Zimbabwe is one of the few countires in the world where women are still marginalised. I believe the constitution needs to be changed to give women rights over their children, make them equal partners in marriage and in rights over their children.

In Zimbabwe, the child still belongs to the father! Looking at the abundance of irresponsible fathers out there, no wonder we have Zimbabwean men as some of the few men who are just difficult to deal with, complacency and pride based on very few concrete evidence. Its a wonder that Zimbabwean men have been made to believe that the ability to father children and pay lobola is the highest test of manhood. Most of our men graduate to manhood but very few are responsible fathers, just look at all the children being raised by single mothers and still the man is given all the legal rights over the child. Most countries have changed this law to allow the woman of an unmarried couple to have legal rights over the child, very few women would keep their kids away from their fathers anyway.

It amazes me that for a woman to have legal rights over the child, she has to declare the child fatherless. Its pathetic that we have a law that we know doesnt work and is against women's global rights, yet we keep it and encourage anyone who feels the law is unfair to have kids and not tell the fathers. It is also infringement of international children's rights, a child has the right to have both a father and mother, and it shouldnt be a disadvantage to have both parents registered on their documents.

Why a married woman cant have legal rights over the child escapes me. If parents are married, they should have equal rights over the kid, if they are not, the parent with custody should have legal rights. I have seen women who have single handedly raised their children but cant get passports for their children, because the father's name appears on the birth certificate so it means the two parents are married, what skewed reasoning, so divorced from reality in Zimbabwe.

I think as a nation, we should come to a stage where we encourage our men to find their manhood in something of substance other than having kids and getting married/paying lobola and having dominion over, and taking ownership of their kids and wives. I believe in life, there are better levels of achievement. I lament as I watch our men get tortured by the realisation that women cant really be bought, yet they still hang on to that sinking ship. Paying lobola (which is negligible really compared to anyone's income) and believing that will give them powers over their wives was never proven true even in those olden days. No wonder men now feel so confused by the reality around them, they are failing to cope and most end up on self-destruction paths.

Social workers need to educate society and men and make them realise that times have since changed and they have to realise what is really going on, accept it and look for ways to cope with the change.

Executive authority should be divided between the people of Zimbabwe and the President and cabinet. There should be a representation from the ordinary people picked at random for any executive decisions by the president and cabinet. The president should just chair the decision making process and endorse whatever the ordinary people would have agreed on. Executive authority simply must be an echo of the people's decisions; that is, the president only moderates and sanctions what the people say. Nothing must come from the president and his cabinet without a decision by the people. That way, we will respect the president as being ours and not theirs.Power sharing between the president and his cabinet, and the people should be 2:3. He must consult more, his people, for any executive decision to be made. That will nip run-away presidents we are accustomed to. The president cannot just pardon known criminals for the purpose of releasing his boys, at the expense of wrongfully imprisoned people, without consulting the people he represents. The president cannot have the law of equity in his hands, alone, and yet the courts do not have it; the people must decide whether to award a poor woman a house she has stayed in for all her life, which the husband sold after a quarrel. The president should not have the authority, alone, to send our children to die in other countries under the guise of executive powers. The people must decide. Even if we have representatives in the form of MP's, they may have been lobbied to agree with him as they, sometimes, must to tow the line; the people must decide at every stage which requires executive decision. The president must work for his authority.

it is also vital for the government to monitor how the tax income is is spend. tax income should be spend in a way that benefits and is agreed upon by the taxpayers. thus tax income should have a stipulated way of how it is spent, and parliament aught to approve every spending

no to dual citizenship be zimbabwean and carry zimbabwean documents, people please dont come to zimbabwe because its peaceful and when things are not okay you look for your british passport to runaway

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.

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 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.

There should be no more than 120 Constituencies -

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!

"...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!

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 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 such association is for the purpose of immoral acts or the perversion of minors, and society be it directly, or indirectly

"...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 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.

"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.

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.

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.

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 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

Parliament should approve senior officers and the candidacy process should be removed as far as possible from political influence

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.

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.

First responsibility of the Police Service should be to protect life.

Instead of referring to the people of Zimbabwe, why not refer to the "Citizens of Zimbabwe"

two maximum, no compromise.

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.

We need to guard against perversions, from the word go, including all forms of immorality. Marriage as the basis for society needs to be closely protected.

We should also include the fact that they should not have committed a crime, served a gaol term or have a pending trial.

I am sure people understand that Biblically speaking a woman is never equal to a man. The fact that the man is the head of the house, NOT the woman. Equally the Man should be the Head of the Country, not a Woman.

The reference to the opposite sex is not in keeping with the modern world. Why can't people marry who they want! It was frowned upon for whites to marry blacks not so long ago. What's the difference between racial discrimination and sexual orientation discrimination?

This is so specific as to include almost every means of discrimination except that based on sexual orientation. It needs to be specifically mentioned.

Also, the part which deems these to be true "unless it is established that the discrimination is reasonable and justifiable in an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom." leaves it a bit wide open. When is discrimination reasonable? This is exactly the kind of loophole that Mugabe would love.

I don't know enough about finance to know if this goes far enough to protect us from the stuff Gideon Gono did and destroyed our country. Where are the checks and balances? If Gono was allowed to act independently of anypone persons control without fear or favour we'd all be goners... or should I say gonors.

Contribution to New Zimbabwe Constitution - Demilitarization

I want to make the bold proposal that Zimbabwe completely demilitarizes and redeploys or reassigns all armed forces personnel in productive public service jobs. My reasons are as follows.

Firstly, we can do without the armies as we are surrounded by friendly countries and there is no discernible military threat against Zimbabwe. In any case, if we demilitarize, like Costa Rica which dissolved its military in 1949 we will be under the protection of the UN and any country which will dare attack us will face the full might of the UN armed forces.

But more importantly, Africa’s disproportionately high military spending has been more crippling on African economies than all its other problems, ‘brain drain’ included. The costs of maintaining armed forces runs into billions of dollars and in the case of Zimbabwe we have since independence coughed out US$6 billion on military spending which would have offset the national debt which currently stands at just over US$4 billion and still left us with a cash surplus. That money can be put to good use in Education, Health, Social Services and many rural development projects.

Thirdly, the dependence on the military for political power in Africa has worked against the establishment of genuine democracy and responsible governance on the continent. When the military becomes the anchor for political power in stead of the people (ordinary citizens) democracy goes out of the window and citizens live in fear of the military instead of feeling protected by it.

In addition, the need by the head of state and his ruling clique to secure the support and loyalty of the army to themselves opens the door to cronyism and patronage which both have serious ethnic and sometimes regional ramifications in the whole architecture of political power. This stifles political freedom and undermines social and economic progress.

We can learn from northern countries where real democracy took shape at the same time that armed forces withdrew from active involvement in the political process and allowed citizens the freedom to do politics in a free, fair and civic environment.

And for Zimbabwe which has seen brutality committed against innocent citizens by both proxy forces and commissioned armed forces the option of demilitarization offers enormous social and economic benefits as the major role of our armed forces has become support of political leaders rather than defence of the people. Our politicians no longer care what the people think because their power base is now the military, not the electorate and that means the death of freedom and democracy.

Until our political system is freed from military interference political freedom and social and ethnic cohesion cannot be achieved in the country and there can never be a feeling of security for the ordinary citizen who has to live in mistrust and fear of his or her neighbour. We can never achieve democracy when citizens cast their vote surrounded by armed loyalists of the party in government whether that party is Zanu-PF or the MDC.

The above arguments make a compelling case for our country to seriously consider demilitarising. Our people will benefit hugely from reassigning all resources currently being committed to the military to give our hugely deprived people better social services, more schools, more clinics, better roads and more rural development - because more guns and bullets only mean more division, more trouble, more death and more suffering for them. This is not just about cutting budget deficits but about using the money we are already spending more effectively.

For example, it is a sobering thought that the price paid for just a single modern fighter jet which in most African countries is very unlikely to ever be deployed in any war action is enough to fund the following projects: (a) build and fully equip 1,000 schools for 800,000 children, or (b) buy 4,000 fully operational ambulances; or (c) train 2,700 fully qualified medical doctors.

But having said that, it is acknowledged that talking about doing away with the military can be risky business, especially as the military and other vested interests (both domestic and foreign) will want to resist due to the lucrative arms purchase deals which make this institution a vital gravy train for those at the top.

Outside the above factors, a major concern at the domestic level is the potential loss of jobs and means of livelihood for military personnel. Fortunately that problem does not have to arise. Demilitarization as proposed here is not about demobilising and releasing onto the streets the many thousands of soldiers who make up our armed forces. The objective is not to save money per se by demobilizing military personnel, but to redeploy both the human and financial resources that are being consumed by militarism to areas of development that will make a positive impact on the welfare and lives of Zimbabwean people.

There is an awful lot to be done in many other areas of our social economy and so all the human resources in the military can in a phased reassignment (without being laid off) simply be retrained in new skills and then reassigned to new areas such as education (teaching), police, health (for personnel in the medical corps), national parks and wildlife protection wardens and security patrol), the prison service, municipal security, fire services, marine services, civil defence and special disaster relief services, serious crimes units (including anti-terrorism), veterinary services and others.

Some soldiers can also join private sector organizations as well as state owned enterprises in the energy, transport and agricultural sectors as permanent employees. Those placed in permanent jobs in the private sector can be completely discharged from the civil service and have their pensions placed in a special fund pending maturity. Another potential benefit of demilitarization would be that existing military barracks and institutions can gradually be turned over to other uses such as police posts, vocational training colleges, civil defence posts, prisons and so on.

Accordingly, I would strongly recommend this proposal to be included in the Draft Constitution for approval or rejection by our people.

Chuck Daru, U.K

Hear, hear, James.

If you do not have the "right" to defend your life, then your life is not yours to defend; you are, in fact, a slave--not a free man.

Ini ndinobvumirana neDual citAizenship yakanakira nyika chaizvo kunyanya panyaya dzeruziwo kuitira investment muZimbabwe-fungai kuti about 4 million varimudiaspora wese ava vari munyika dzineeconomies dzakasimba -mabusiness ideas zve.munhu anoda kuinvest anovanatime to impliment these ideas pasinavisarestrictions.also there is going to be alot of travelling -nekuti tinenge tichida a bit of both tikamboti 8 months kuZim 4months kuUK. AirZimbabwe inowanawo business ka.

This is true and we are expecting every citizen who claims to be working for the public to at least be proficient in all languages used. it is really disheartening to find that some citizens of Zimbabwe openly say that they do not have a zeal to learn let alone speaking any other language except Shona to make a reference.

Such attitudes are barbaric and people who find themselves doing this they should know that they do not deserve to live in this world. Surprisingly some of the people who say such statements claim to be christians and I wonder how they will interact with other people in heaven whom they despised while they were still on earth. Thank God we will be using a uniform language but muchanyara vanhu vamwari kutitarisa isu kana takudenga

I agree with you, office bearers must represent everybody and to to do so must be in a position to communicate with at least 90% of the people in their own language. But this must not be the basis for one to be in high office. If one really wants to be in politics he/she should learn to speak the mostly spoken languages to be able to hear peoples' views not through an interpreter who may be not also be conversant with that tribe.

the president of the country should be profecient in all three official languages

Can we really afford two Vice Presidents? The need for two presidents was meant to accomodate the late Joshua Nkomo without displacing Simon Muzenda. This has otlived it's usefulness and purpose. The president should nominate on Vice who should be an elected memeber of the national assembly

Wow Wow!Ministers and Presidents are voted into power by the people and so it can only be them to have these powers Of'VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE' Remember one thing, our very endeared MDC will be our oppressors tomomorow. Dont give anybody this kind of pressure. Nobody is above the law including the President, there are many pepole capable of running the country. Zimbabwe would not be in this predicament had the perpetrators of GUKURAHUNDI, MURAMBATSWINA, MAVHOTEPHI to mention only a few, if only the voices of People had been listened to. Leaders want to be elected but want to select on what they want us to do! No! WE have the power especially in countries such as ours where democracy exists on PAPER. We are still far from the democracy demostrated in civilized Countries, of course excludind China and Iran where Dictatorship rules.Whats the point of allowing Genocide like atrocities to continues in the name of 'Executive IMMUNITY'

The problem with this entry is the words "of the opposite sex" effectively legislates for homophobia. Why have a law that enshrines DISCRIMINATION in such an important document of human rights? If South Africans can recognise the rights of all human beings to marry the person they love then why can't Zimbabweans? The new consitution offers us the chance to truely respect ALL human rights of EVERYONE.

Provincial governors should be elected by the people of the province not the president based on the principle that the appointee ALWAYS serves the appointer. Hence and elected governor would serve the electorate while a presidential appointee would serve the president (as done currently).

Along with balanced representation based on gender, age and physical ability, ethnicity and race should also be a factor in balancing the institutions. We have Whites, Asians, Coloureds, Ndebeles and SHonas who should all be represented in national institutions.

There should be five provinces in Zimbabwe: Mashonaland, Masvingo, Mandebeleland, Midlands and Manyikaland. These should have elected provincial premiers who by default become senators. Along with traditional chiefs (not appointed by the president by elected by their own headsmen), these are the people who should form the senate with veto powers on the National Assembly legislation.

Any national office bearer should speak all the three national languages based on the principle that you can not serve a people whose language, hence culture, you do not understand nor wish to understand. If you only speak SiNdebele, then you can only serve the SiNdebele speaking region and likewise if you only speak Shona.

After peruzing the Kariba constitutional proposals I fail to find the inclussion of the fact Zimbabwe needs to entrench 'dual citizenship' like most other civilized nations. What is so wrong in a Ghanaian doctor who has settled in Zimbabwe since independence to continue holding his Ghanian citizenship in courtship with the Zimbabwean? What is the harm there? Do you want him to pay visa fees when he visits his parents and relatives back in Ghana. Why do i have to pay visa fees to visit my own country and in many instances to conduct business which is benificiary to my dear country?

We should try and get out of bringing in too many positions. The Position of Prime Minister should be abolished. The President's postion and that of his two Executive Vice Presidents should be sufficient to govern the country. When the President is outside the country, the 1st Vice President should become the Acting President during the duration.

Our constitution should have a provision for the position of Prime Minister so that the person elected/appointed to this position becomes the Head Of Government whilst the President is the Head of State. The issue of vesting all powers in one person will continue to create problems for us even in future.

"for the defence of any person from violence or for the defence of property;"...am I correct in assuming this subsection item allows me to defend myself against abduction wherein the purported agents of the state fail to produce valid documentation, warrants or other legal proof for their actions? That should I act in self-defence (from kidnapping and or suspected robbery), I shall not be held culpable?

If I am correct, then let's educate the peasants on this point.

Seeing the so many things that have been going wrong with our judiciary, how about including a provision for conviction by a Jury.

Rather than looking for ammendments in future, we could make sure certain aspects are enshrined in the law and can be used when and if necessary. So let the constituion include provision of a Jury system, including the selection process for jurors, composition and number of jurors, the right for legal representation to veto off a certain/limited number of jurors as they consider approppriate.Jurors would come from within a certain geographical area, and be registered voters, among other qualities as determined by the law.

No president should take precedence over all other persons. This is how we get dictators who think they are above the law. This section should read "The President will be subject to, and entitled to all the protections of, the laws applicable to all Zimbabweans."

We NEED rights to dual citizenship. Nothing in Kariba draft and whatever was said before in current law has been repealed?! Not good. With so many Zimbos living in corners of the world ... surely if we want them to come back we need dual citizenship...?!?!