This week, John comments on the ongoing constitution-making process in Zimbabwe. We also hear the views of George Mkhwananzi, a Zimbabwean political commentator, on the same subject on the VOP programme "The People are talking".

“People-driven” or “boat-driven” constitution?

Harare, Zimbabwe

It gratifies to note that Monday’s chaos and pandemonium caused by war veterans and ZANU(PF) supporters, leading to the postponement of the much-awaited  two-day all stakeholders conference on drafting a new Zimbabwean constitution is now history.

Most of the 4 000 participants arrived at the Rainbow Towers venue on Sunday, to be greeted by a slow accreditation process, hunger, poor accommodation and logistical arrangements, amid suspected clandestine advance registration of the former ruling party’s delegates!

“Hot issue”
Constitution-making is a hot issue in Zimbabwe today. As citizens seek to draft a robust governance document that garantuees the democratic principles of openess, diversity and prevent autocratic rule. To re-establish the rule of law, uphold human rights and facilitate the conducting of free, fair and peacefull election, all missing in Zimbabwe’s political culture. This process started in 2000, when a formidable opposition party, lead by Morgan Tvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) was voted into parliament as a challenge to ZANU (PF’s) one party rule ambitions.

“The new constitution should ensure  a maximum of two five-year presidential terms of office since anything beyond leads to autocracy and monopolistic plundering of national resources by a few elites as witnessed under President Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU (PF)-led government” explains Sabelo Mashoko, a political science student.

Landscaper Thomas Kororo complains: “We always have no electricity and water, so we are not getting all the news about the constitution-making”

Civic society sidelined
Political commentators are concerned that the present process is only led by a Parliamentary select committee appointed by principal political parties, ZANU (PF), MDC-T and its smaller breakaway formation led by deputy prime minister Arthur Mutambara, currently constituting a fragile inclusive government, established on February 15 2009.Tsvangirai’s popular MDC wants a new beginning, while ZANU (PF) is pushing for “The Kariba Draft”, crafted at the Lake Kariba resort, in north-western Zimbabwe.

MDC-T and civil society dismiss the Kariba document as irrelevant and not to be sneaked through the back door, to produce an unworkable system of government with an unchecked executive, weak parliament, and inadequate protections from fundamental rights and freedoms. Jonathan Moyo, former controversial information minister, fears “the boat-driven Kariba draft” could mean an extra ten years in power for 86-year old Robert Mugabe!

NCA’s view
“We want nothing less than a people-driven constitution and the Kariba draft should be thrown out since its basic principles were rejected by the people” explains Lovemore Madhuku of the National Constitutional Assembly, a former MDC ally, which in February 2000, successfully led Zimbabweans in rejecting a government -sponsored draft constitution, largely condemned for sidelining grassroots viewpoints.

Objective reporting
“Hopefully, with media reforms still pending, the ZANU (PF)-controlled  ZBC, Herald  and the like-minded propaganda media can now be trusted to report the constitution-drafting process accurately and objectively”, pleads Naume Muza, an undercover journalist with exiled Radio VOP.

Below you can listen to George Mkhwananzi, a Zimbabwean political commentator, reacting on the same subject on the VOP programme "The People are talking".