We are going to meet the time frames, so far there is nothing which causes me alarm that we will not meet the deadline, said Matinenga who was speaking at a constitutional debate in Harare on Tuesday night. The constitution will be crafted within the framework of the agreement. We feel we need to deliver a people centred constitution and that should be done now.
Under the Southern African Development Community (SADC) brokered agreement, Zanu (PF) and the two MDC parties are supposed to craft a new constitution for the country within 18 months. Zimbabwe is currently governed under the 1979 Constitution agreed at the Lancaster House talks in London. The Constitution has been amended 19 times since the countrys independence in 1980 and critics say the changes have only helped to entrench Mugabe and Zanu (PF)s stranglehold on power.
Some civic groups such as the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) and the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) are opposed to the parliamentary led process and have vowed to oppose whatever outcome of the process. Other civic and church groups from the southern regions of the country want the new constitution to ensure devolution of power to provinces and protection of minority rights.
A special parliamentary committee comprising members from Mugabes Zanu (PF) party and the two former opposition MDC formations will oversee the drafting of the country’s new constitution. The draft constitution shall be put before the electorate in a referendum expected in July next year and if approved by Zimbabweans will then be brought before Parliament for enactment. Once a new constitution is in place, the power-sharing government is expected to then call fresh parliamentary, presidential and local government elections.
Post published in: News