Financial Gazette (Harare)
Njabulo Ncube
27 June 2009
Harare — PARTIES to the Global Political Agreement (GPA) that gave birth to the inclusive government are heading for collision over plans to have the Kariba Draft used as the working document in crafting a new constitution for Zimbabwe, The Financial Gazette can reveal.
The contentious document was crafted in September 2007 by representatives of the three main political parties in Kariba at the height of the negotiations among the protagonists to the Zimbabwe crisis.
South Africa brokered the negotiations.
ZANU-PF has in recent weeks been trying to worm its way out of a constitutional making template being advocated by the larger faction of the Movement for Demo-cratic Change (MDC) citing all sorts of reasons.
Two weeks ago a ZANU-PF Parliamentary caucus recommended that the process be deferred because of an alleged lack of funds.
ZANU-PF has since galvanised its propaganda machinery to campaign for the use of the Kariba Draft in the constitution making process, courting the ire of the MDC-T.
A stalemate, however, appears inevitable at this very early stage as the MDC-T raised the red flag this week after ZANU-PF and the Arthur Mutambara-led MDC-M endorsed the use of the Kariba Draft as the starting point to the process.
The MDC-T this week said the draft should not be used as the focal point, alleging that using the document could render the process flawed.
Tapiwa Mashakada, the MDC-T acting secretary general, said his party rejected attempts to have the Kariba Draft adopted as the "Alpha and Omega of the constitution making process".
"We believe in a truly people-driven constitution making process where the unfettered will of the people must be reflected," said Mashakada.
Observers said President Robert Mugabe could have influenced ZANU-PF's position when he intimated in February that the Kariba Draft would be a departure point in the constitution making process.
In a televised birthday interview at Zimbabwe House on February 25, the President said:
"There is already a draft that the three parties agreed on; they call it the Kariba Draft because that is where they came up with the document. We shall all look at it and when we are satisfied, it shall be put to the people in a referendum. If the people say yes, then the draft will be allowed to pass through Parliament. The schedule, the time frame that was agreed on by the parties, was within 18 to 24 months, we should have a referendum. We will then have elections thereafter."
John Nkomo, the ZANU-PF national chairman, said the MDC-T was part of the initiative that led to the drafting of the Kariba Draft and therefore cannot all of a sudden abandon the document.
He said: "They (MDC-T) participated in the negotiations at the time of the GPA and all parties agreed that it was a joint effort. We are proceeding on that basis as stipulated by the GPA. The Kariba Draft is a document born out of negotiations among the three political parties."
But Mashakada said the Kariba Draft should not be imposed on the people but used as a reference document along with other drafts such as the one prepared by the Constitutional Commission in 2000 and another one done by the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA).
"The Kariba draft must be one of the many resource documents to lead to a people-driven constitution," said Mashakada.
"This includes the NCA draft, the Constitutional Commission draft, among others. Why should the process be confined to one document, the Kariba Draft?" he asked.
Welshman Ncube, the secretary general of the MDC-M, said there was no way the parties could afford to ignore the Kariba Draft.
"The position is what we agreed in the GPA that we will use the Kariba Draft as the starting point to consult the people," he said. "Remember we spent a year negotiating the Kariba Draft so that at least we have a starting point before consulting the people. It has to be used to see what is accepted or rejected. We are bound to present it to the people to either reject or accept all or certain portions of the draft," said Ncube who also sits on the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Commit-tee.
The constitution making process began in earnest yesterday with the briefing of diplomats accredited to Harare by the Speaker of the House of Assembly Lovemore Moyo and the start of provincial consultative meetings by the Parliamentary Select Committee.
The proposed constitution is intended to replace the compromise Lancaster House Constitution that has been amended 19 times since Independence in 1980.
The crafting of the new constitution is a key component of the power-sharing deal brokered by former South African president, Thabo Mbeki, the Southern African Develop-ment Community appointed facilitator in the country's crisis.
Under the GPA, signed by President Mugabe and the two leaders of the MDC formations in September last year, the rival parties are required to ensure that a new constitution is in place before fresh elections are conducted.
Article 6 of the agreement mandates Parliament to appoint a Select Committee on a new constitution. The Standing Rules and Orders Committee recently appointed 25 lawmakers from the House of Assembly and the Senate to spearhead the process.
The Select Committee is co-chaired by Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana (ZANU-PF), Doug-las Mwonzora (MDC-T) and David Coltart (MDC-M).
Moyo told diplomats and the consultative meeting at a local hotel yesterday that the Kariba Draft would not be shoved down the throat of the nation.
He said: "Let me assure you that the process will be people-based, people-centred, people led and therefore people driven. It is public knowledge that there are those who wish to prescribe what views Zimbabweans should have but it must be restated that the GPA speaks to the fact that it is the fundamental right and duty of the Zimbabwean people to make a constitution by themselves and for themselves".
Moyo said Parliament was guided by the provisions outlined in the GPA.
"However, it must be noted that any individual or organisation are free to submit their preferred document to the sub-committee during the national outreach after July 13," the Speaker said.
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"The position is what we agreed in the GPA that we will use the Kariba Draft as the starting point to consult the people," Welshman Ncube
For a supposedly smart lawyer, this guy can be pretty dumb. There is no way that the GPA states that the Kariba Draft is the starting point of the constitutional drafting process, let alone something that cannot be deviated from as Mugabe would have us believe.
Here is ths entire section of the GPA as it refers to the new constitution. The crucial point is that it is a people driven exercise and is not simply something agreed between politicians. There is a need for proper checks and balances so that the mistake of having an executive president (be it zanu-pf or MDC or MKD or whoever) who has too much power and is not answerable to the people is not repeated.
"ARTICLE VI CONSTITUTION 6. Constitution Acknowledging that it is the fundamental right and duty of the Zimbabwean people to make a constitution by themselves and for themselves; Aware that the process of making this constitution must be owned and driven by the people and must be inclusive and democratic; Recognising that the current Constitution of Zimbabwe made at the Lancaster House Conference, London (1979) was primarily to transfer power from the colonial authority to the people of Zimbabwe; Acknowledging the draft Constitution that the Parties signed and agreed to in Kariba on the 30th of September 2007, annexed hereto as Annexure "B"; Determined to create conditions for our people to write a constitution for themselves; and Mindful of the need to ensure that the new Constitution deepens our democratic values and principles and the protection of the equality of all citizens, particularly the enhancement of full citizenship and equality of women. 6.1 The Parties hereby agree: (a) that they shall set up a Select Committee of Parliament composed of representatives of the Parties whose terms of reference shall be as follows: (i) to set up such subcommittees chaired by a member of Parliament and composed of members of Parliament and representatives of Civil Society as may be necessary to assist the Select Committee in performing its mandate herein; (ii) to hold such public hearings and such consultations as it may deem necessary in the process of public consultation over the making of a new constitution for Zimbabwe; (iii) to convene an All Stakeholders Conference to consult stakeholders on their representation in the sub-committees referred to above and such related matters as may assist the committee in its work; (iv) to table its draft Constitution to a 2nd All Stakeholders Conference; and (v) to report to Parliament on its recommendations over the content of a New Constitution for Zimbabwe (b) That the draft Constitution recommended by the Select Committee shall be submitted to a referendum; (c) that, in implementing the above, the following time frames shall apply: (i) the Select Committee shall be set up within two months of inception of a new government; (ii) the convening of the first All Stakeholders Conference shall be within 3 months of the date of the appointment of the Select Committee; (iii) the public consultation process shall be completed no later than 4 months of the date of the first All Stakeholders Conference; (iv) the draft Constitution shall be tabled within 3 months of completion of the public consultation process to a second All Stakeholders Conference; (v) the draft Constitution and the accompanying Report shall be tabled before Parliament within 1 month of the second All Stakeholders Conference; (vi) the draft Constitution and the accompanying Report shall be debated in Parliament and the debate concluded within one month; (vii) the draft Constitution emerging from Parliament shall be gazetted before the holding of a referendum; (viii) a referendum on the new draft Constitution shall be held within 3 months of the conclusion of the debate; (ix) in the event of the draft Constitution being approved in the referendum it shall be gazetted within 1 month of the date of the referendum; and (x) the draft Constitution shall be introduced in Parliament no later than 1 month after the expiration of the period of 30 days from the date of its gazetting."