The MDC and Zanu (PF) agreed in a power-sharing deal signed in Harare Monday to set up a parliamentary select committee to convene an all stakeholders conference to help with the drafting of a new constitution.
The National Constitutional Assembly, NCA, which spearheaded the successful campaign against a new constitution in February 2000 which gave President Robert Mugabe his first ever electoral defeat, says they will oppose attempts by MDC and Zanu (PF) politicians to spearhead the constitution making process.
We want a people-driven process not this parliamentary-driven process, said Dr Lovemore Madhuku, National Constitutional Assembly chairperson and constitutional law expert.
Madhuku warned that the NCA could even encourage mass protests against the new government for attempting to exclude key stakeholders from the process.
He said the parliamentary select committee had no mandate from the people to handpick a constitutional commission that will hold countrywide public hearings and consultations.
He said the best practice was to have a constitutional commission comprising 70 percent of representatives of various sectors of society to spearhead the truly people-driven process, with politicians constituting 30 percent of the commission.
What we have here is the opposite of best practice, Madhuku said.
He said the people-driven commission would conduct nationwide consultations and then present their findings to a stakeholders’ conference which would approve the draft and then take it to a referendum.
Madhuku took great exception to item 6(i) (a) of the agreement which relegates civil society to sub committees and prevents it from operating independently of the politicians – who will chair the sub committee.
The clause states that the new government shall set up a select committee of Parliament composed of representatives of the parties whose terms of reference shall include setting 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.
This is totally unacceptable, Madhuku said. It is shocking that the deal wants to impose the constitution onto the people of Zimbabwe by putting in place the so called Kariba document which was penned by four people. We are not going to accept that and we will fight against it.
Madhuku said the 18 months set aside for this process was too long and said Zimbabwe wanted a new constitution yesterday.