Nominations for Independent Constitutional Commissions
Applications to be Invited this Week
Background
Four Independent Commissions are now provided for in the Constitution
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission
The Zimbabwe Media Commission
The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission
The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission.
Appointments to these commissions are made by the President from nominations put forward by Parliaments Committee on Standing Rules and Orders [CSRO]. [For more details on the commissions and the relevant constitutional provisions, and the number of nominees to go forward to the President, see Bill Watch Specials of 11th April, 20th April and 9th May 2009.]
The CSRO set up a Legal and Procedures sub-committee comprising Paul Mangwana [ZANU-PF], Eric Matinenga [MDC-T], Patrick Chinamasa [ZANU-PF] and Welshman Ncube [MDC-T] and chaired by Tongai Matutu [MDC-T] to recommend how nominees were going to be selected. They put forward their proposed methodology to the CSRO the week before last and the CSRO made a decision yesterday to adopt it.
Time Frame
The committees aim is to submit the nominations to the President by the end of June.
Method of Selection of Nominees
This week advertisements will be placed in the media
Two weeks will be allowed for applications to be submitted [details and deadline will be in the advertisements]
One week will be set aside for the committee to shortlist and hold interviews of shortlisted candidates
Interviews will be carried out by a panel of members of the CSRO but other members would be present
These interviews will be open for the public and the press to attend as observers
Last week in June the lists of nominees will be forwarded to the President. [Note: there was no decision to make public the lists of nominees forwarded to the President, but the chairman Hon Matutu said it was a good idea and would make the process more transparent and he would put it to his committee.]