National Constitutional Assembly Draft - 2001

1 | The Republic of Zimbabwe

National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) Draft Constitution (2001)

The Republic of Zimbabwe is one sovereign and democratic state founded on the following principles and values:

Supremacy of the constitution and rule of law;
The inherent dignity and worth of each human being;
The derivation of all legal and political authority of the state from the people, universal adult suffrage, a multi-party system of democratic government and regular, free and fair elections;
Equal status of all persons;
Respect for fundamental human rights and freedoms;
National unity, peace and stability;
Devolution of governmental functions and powers to the people in the provinces and other appropriate levels;

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18 March 2010 - 4:42pm — Anonymous (not verified)

the Republic

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

3 February 2010 - 1:03am — James Watadza (not verified)

Fundamental freedoms

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!

3 February 2010 - 12:57am — James Watadza (not verified)

Allow me to tell a quick

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.

2 March 2010 - 10:43pm — David Gondokondo (not verified)

Bantu Law and custom

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.

4 March 2010 - 10:01am — Anonymous (not verified)

Presidential elections - the second, third choice system.

The first thing that we have to put in our constitution so that we do not see a repeat of what happened in the last election is to ensure that the election process is designed in such a way that there has to be a clear winner. What this means is that, for Presidential elections, there has to be a "One Man, two or three votes." You vote for your first choice, and it must mandatory that you have a second and third choice too. You vote once but you make 3 choices. If there is no clear majority winner for the First choices then a count of the second choices is considered. Further to that, If there is still no clear winner after the second choice count (which is highly unlikely, probability plays the game here !! the third choice settles it). This system does away with election re-runs. The system is used in Sri Lanka and some other Asian countries !! The problem of no-clear winner is a growing cancer: Kenya, Zimbabwe and Afghanistan and Iran are just but a few examples where no clear winners emerged....so we need a very SMART system that produces a clear winner. We do not this Government of National Unity Arrangement at all in future. We do not need electoral re-runs for Presidential elections (we are a poor country, election re-runs are a waste of resources). Our Constitution must not have ambigous terms, the Constitution must state that there has to be a clear winner after each Presidential election, and not littered by "ifs and buts." That leaves room for cheating !!

2 March 2010 - 8:26pm — David Gondokondo (not verified)

Bantu Law and custom

2 | Supremacy of the Constitution

National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) Draft Constitution (2001)

This Constitution is the supreme and fundamental law of Zimbabwe, and if any other law, custom, conduct, practice or measure is inconsistent with this Constitution, that other law, custom, conducts, practice or measure will be void.
The obligations imposed by this Constitution must be fulfilled.
This Constitution binds all executive, legislative and judicial organs of the state at all levels of government and all other persons.

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3 | National Flag, National Anthem, Public Seal and Coat of Arms

National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) Draft Constitution (2001)

Zimbabwe will have a National Flag, a National Anthem, a Coat of Arms and a Public Seal, details of which will be prescribed in an Act of Parliament.

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4 | Languages

National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) Draft Constitution (2001)

The official languages of Zimbabwe are English, Shona, Ndebele, Venda, Nambya, Shangaan, Kalanga, Suthu and Tonga.
English is the language of record.
Institutions and agencies of government at every level must-
1. ensure that all the official languages are respected and treated equitably; and
2. take into account the language preferences of people affected by any governmental measure or communication.
The State must take positive measures to promote and advance the use of all languages spoken in Zimbabwe, including sign language and must create conditions for the development of these languages.

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4 February 2010 - 10:34am — Buleya Mumpande (not verified)

Languages

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.

18 March 2010 - 12:36pm — nqobani dube (not verified)

languages

in the NCA draft, sign language is not an official language, which is one of the clear sign that people with disabilities where not involved in coming up with the draft and this is against the democratic principle of equal participation. people with hearing impairments are human beings and have the right to participate on an equal basis with others in society and if sign language is not used in the public sector this just amounts to human rights violations of the people with hearing impairments

5 | Continuation of Citizenship

National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) Draft Constitution (2001)

Every person who, immediately before the appointed day, was a citizen of Zimbabwe under any existing law will continue to be a citizen of Zimbabwe after the appointed day.

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6 | Citizenship by birth

National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) Draft Constitution (2001)

Everyone born in or outside Zimbabwe is a Zimbabwean citizen by birth if either of his or her parents is a Zimbabwean citizen at the time of his or her birth.

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7 | Powers of Parliament regarding citizenship

National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) Draft Constitution (2001)

An Act of Parliament must make provision for the acquisition or loss of citizenship by registration, provided any person who marries a Zimbabwean citizen will be entitled to become a Zimbabwean citizen by registration.

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8 | Application of Chapter 3 (Bill of Rights)

National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) Draft Constitution (2001)

1. This Chapter binds the Executive, Parliament, the Judiciary and all institutions and agencies of government at every level.
2. This Chapter binds not only human beings but also juristic persons to the extent that it is applicable to them, taking into account the right or freedom concerned and any duty imposed by it.
3. Juristic persons as well as human beings are entitled to the rights and freedoms set out in this Chapter, to the extent that those rights and freedoms can appropriately be extended to juristic persons.

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9 | Interpretation of Chapter 3 (Bill of Rights)

National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) Draft Constitution (2001)

When interpreting this Chapter, a court, tribunal, forum or body must-
1. give full effect to the rights and freedoms set out in this Chapter;
2. promote the values that underlie an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom and in particular, the values set out in Section 1.
3. take into account international law, treaties and conventions;
4. consider relevant foreign law interpreting international law, treaties and conventions; in addition to considering all other relevant factors that are to be taken into account in the interpretation of an enactment such as a Constitution.
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.

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3 February 2010 - 1:12am — James Watadza (not verified)

Marriages are being abused by

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.

3 February 2010 - 1:17am — James Watadza (not verified)

WHO'S LAW IS IT?

"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.

10 | Chapter 3 (Bill of Rights) does not preclude existence of other rights

National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) Draft Constitution (2001)

This Chapter does not preclude the existence of other rights or freedoms that may be recognised or conferred by law, to the extent that they are consistent with this Chapter.

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11 | Protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms and application of Chapter 3 (Bill of Rights)

National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) Draft Constitution (2001)

The fundamental human rights and freedoms enshrined in this Chapter must be respected and upheld by the executive, legislature and judiciary and all organs of the government and its agencies, including local government.
Where applicable, the fundamental human rights and freedoms enshrined in this Chapter must be respected and upheld by all natural and juristic persons.
Enforcement of the fundamental rights and freedoms enshrined in this Chapter will be in the manner prescribed in this Constitution.

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3 February 2010 - 1:23am — James Watadza (not verified)

DEFINE: HUMAN RIGHTS

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.

12 | Enforcement of rights

National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) Draft Constitution (2001)

Anyone listed in subsection (2) is entitled to approach a competent court, alleging that a right in the Bill of Rights has been infringed or threatened, and the court may grant appropriate relief, including a declaration of rights and award of compensation.
The persons who may approach a court are:-
1. anyone acting in their own interest;
2. anyone acting on behalf of another person who cannot act in their own name;
3. anyone acting as a member, or in the interests, of a group or class of persons;
4. anyone acting in the public interest;
5. an association acting in the interest of its members.
The persons referred to in subsection (1) and (2) of this section are also entitled to make an application to the Human Rights Commission for an appropriate redress for violations of the rights and freedoms contained in the Bill of Rights.

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Sokwanele Sokwanele - Zvakwana - Enough is Enough

National Constitutional Assembly Draft - 2001

1 | The Republic of Zimbabwe

the Republic

Fundamental freedoms

Allow me to tell a quick

Bantu Law and custom

Presidential elections - the second, third choice system.

Bantu Law and custom

2 | Supremacy of the Constitution

3 | National Flag, National Anthem, Public Seal and Coat of Arms

4 | Languages

Languages

languages

5 | Continuation of Citizenship

6 | Citizenship by birth

7 | Powers of Parliament regarding citizenship

What about dual citizenship?

"take into account international law, treaties and conventions;"

8 | Application of Chapter 3 (Bill of Rights)

9 | Interpretation of Chapter 3 (Bill of Rights)

Marriages are being abused by

WHO'S LAW IS IT?

10 | Chapter 3 (Bill of Rights) does not preclude existence of other rights

GRANTED..

11 | Protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms and application of Chapter 3 (Bill of Rights)

DEFINE: HUMAN RIGHTS

12 | Enforcement of rights

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