Zimbabwe's problems are rooted in the defective and undemocratic constitution that was bequeathed to us by our former colonial masters at Lancaster House in 1979.The deficiencies of the Lancaster House Constitution, which has been amended a record 19 times in less than 30 years, clearly gave rise to a serious democratic deficit. A constitution is the country’s supreme law and must be crafted with the best interests of the country at heart. A constitution is a solemn document that binds a nation together. Weak constitutions invariably give rise to dysfunctional nations.
The on-going constitution-making process should mark a defining moment in the history of Zimbabwe. We should seize this opportunity to exhibit our maturity as a nation state and also to prove to the entire universe that Zimbabweans are able to craft a new democratic constitution for themselves and by themselves.
The bigger picture
We should always look at the bigger picture. We are crafting the supreme law of Zimbabwe for ourselves, our children, our grandchildren and for posterity. History will judge us very harshly if we miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take part in the drafting of our own home-grown constitution.
I was dumb-founded by the furore caused by a certain group of legislators when the Parliamentary Select Committee on the Constitution indicated that they had intended to invite Cyril Ramaphosa and a certain Rwandese legislator to be guest speakers at the first all-stakeholders conference on July 13.
This group of legislators went mad at the joint Parliamentary caucus. They huffed and puffed that no foreigners should be involved in our constitution-making process. Their boisterous opposition clearly betrayed their lack of knowledge of the crucial need to draw on the wisdom of our brothers and sisters within Africa. Cyril Ramaphosa is an accomplished lawyer, politician, negotiator and businessman. The role that he played in the moulding of the 1996 Constitution of South Africa is well-documented. To invite such a celebrated individual to be one of the guest speakers at the first all-stakeholders conference is certainly not to reduce our constitution-making process into a ” foreign” dominated exercise.
Misleading constitution speak
In certain political circles, there has also been a concerted effort to mislead the people regarding the Kariba Draft of September 2007. The Kariba Draft was not people-driven. It was the culmination of negotiations amongst three political parties.
It is true that Tendai Biti, Patrick Chinamasa and Welshman Ncube appended their signatures on every page of the Kariba Draft. But this does not mean that the Kariba Draft is acceptable simply because the representatives of three political parties signed it.
Zimbabwe is indeed bigger than the MDC and Zanu (PF). The Kariba Draft was exclusively authored by politicians and to that extent; it is anything but people-driven.
People have been fed lies about the true input of the Kariba Draft. A myopic attempt has been desperately made to state that the Global Political Agreement (GPA) that was solemnised in Harare on September 15, 2008 makes the Kariba Draft the ” reference” document for the new constitution. This is a lie.
Nowhere in Article 6 of the GPA is it unequivocally stated that the Kariba Draft should be the ONLY reference document for the constitution-making process. Some politicians, in a desperate attempt to serve their own selfish and parochial interests, have sought to impose the Kariba Draft on the people. This will not work.
Every Zimbabwean should be given an opportunity to give his/her input regarding what they want to see included in a new constitution. Without a new democratic and people-driven constitution, Zimbabwe is doomed.
Post published in: Uncategorized