Dumisani Muleya
9 July 2009
Johannesburg — ZIMBABWE's constitutional reform committee has postponed a crucial conference that was due to open today to draft a new constitution amid infighting among parties in the fragile power-sharing government.
A new constitution is viewed as fundamental to efforts to remove the political and economic forces responsible for ruining Zimbabwe.
The delay by the select parliamentary committee driving the constitution-making process is likely to intensify the political infighting between the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and President Robert Mugabe's Zanu (PF).
Informed sources said the committee co-chairmen from Zanu (PF) and the two factions of the MDC met yesterday in Harare and agreed to postpone the conference to Monday.
The conference was delayed because of worsening clashes between Zanu (PF) and the main MDC wing over the use of the Kariba draft constitution and logistical issues.
Zanu (PF) wants the Kariba draft, which leaves Mugabe's powers intact, to be the basis of a new constitution, while the MDC rejects this. The Kariba draft was produced and signed by Zanu (PF) and the MDC in 2007 during talks under the auspices of former South African president Thabo Mbeki .
The postponement of the conference comes as it emerged this week that speaker of parliament Lovemore Moyo and his staff are locked in a cold war with MPs in the parliamentary select committee over the constitutional reform process, further jeopardising the exercise.
The fight between parliament's administration and the MPs' committee has exposed the cracks within the constitution- making process, which has been widely condemned by civic groups. Critics say it is not inclusive and participatory, and is undemocratic.
The fight is over control of the process, including the planning of the stakeholders' conference, initially slated to run from today until Sunday; the invitation and accommodation of delegates; tenders for the conference organiser, and the choice of guest speaker.
Parliament wants Moyo to be the guest speaker while MPs are pushing to invite prominent South African politician and business magnate Cyril Ramaphosa.
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The mistake that most fools make is to think that the CIA invented homosexuality. How the hell did Takunya come up with that one? Clearly he is a fool in the strongest sense. The idiot posts lie after lie after lie on this site, and no doubt this post will contain lies too. So I wouldn’t bother reading it if I were you.
Cde Ndebvu - why do you object to the widest possible input to the drafting of a new constitution? The country can still be governed under the existing constitution whilst the new one is being drafted and agreed to. So your argument about the urgency of government business is facile. The question of cost is nothing more than the cost of the early election that Mugabe called in March 2008 and you didn't object to the cost then(although no doubt you regret the result). Furthermore,as you quite correctly point out there is a longevity to a nation's constitution which survives… [Read Full Text]
Its really sad for the people of Zim that their Dictator Mugabe and his PF cronies just cant let go of power - and just look at what they have done to their country and their people while having all that power. As for Mugabe letting the people of Zim have any effective say in the constition making process - well pigs might fly!
Criminal Mugabe just returned from Libya with advice from another mad criminal that he should hold on to power for life. that is why Mugabe is ordering his cronies to push for the postponement!
What a rotten Mugabe!
Takunya you could not have said a truer thing when you stated, "The mistake that most fools make is to think that a constitution is drafted for one person or people." In the 30 years of his presidency, how many times has Mugabe re carved, stretched, shortened, and re painted Zimbabwe's constitution at a whim to suit himself and those of you in Zanu-PF. You could have saved Zimbabwe all this trauma by pointing out to the fool as described in your own words about fools who aspire to that notion. Mugabe said he "owns Zimbabwe" which… [Read Full Text]
Here here Kjrs I totally agree.
I sense that some on this blog think that constitutional talks will or should run smoothly. I beg to differ! In every country where the constitution has been debated for revisions tends to be a battle for different countries. People will fight for constitution changes. Zimbabwe's constitution battles are no different than from other countries.
In the USA, constitutional issues are debated almost everyday!! Depending whether you are a liberal or conservatives, constitution issues form your political basis for your party. The USA constitution is always being re-written whenever the USA Supreme court convenes between June - September. If there… [Read Full Text]
The mistake that most fools make is to think that a constitution is drafted for one person or certain people. Leaders and governments come and go but the constitution has no limited life span. President Mugabe is the President today but tomorrow it will definitely be somebody else who will be captaining the ship called Zimbabwe.
How can a leader navigate without power to make decisions - which decisions will rest on his/her shoulders should anything go wrong? How can a Chief Executive Officer make a crucial decision without the necessary authority and power to do so? Why should we… [Read Full Text]