Party spokesperson, Rugare Gumbo, told The Zimbabwean that Zimbabwe was a sovereign state capable of deciding its own destiny, thus Sadc facilitation was not necessary.
“Sadc intervention is just unnecessary and I don’t know what they want here. We don’t need any intervention on the issue of the constitution and our position will not change,” said Gumbo. He insisted the constitution must be concluded by Zimbabweans alone.
“This is our constitution and we don’t need a third party to conclude it. We know what we want and that is what we will endorse at the end of the day,” said Gumbo.
Zanu (PF) rejected the final draft constitution that was produced by the Parliamentary Select Committee tasked with writing a new people’s charter.
The party has since produced its own draft which it wants the other parties—Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC-T and Welshman Ncube’s MDC—to endorse. The Sadc team was supposed to break the deadlock after the two MDC formations dug in, saying they would not renegotiate the draft.
Zanu (PF) was mostly riled by clauses that whittled down the powers of the President and made it mandatory for a presidential candidate to choose two running mates.
The MDCs are insisting that the draft should be taken to the Second All Stakeholders Conference in its original form, after which a referendum must be held.
MDC-T spokesperson, Douglas Mwonzora, said the Sadc team was very relevant and critical in issues involving Zimbabwe.
“What Zanu (PF) thinks doesn’t matter because the voices of the people should be heard in that constitution. We are faced with a crisis here and Sadc’s intervention is still relevant,” said Mwonzora.
He said the amendments proposed by Zanu (PF) were unreasonable and selfish.
Sadc-appointed South African President, Jacob Zuma is the point in the facilitation process and is working with a team comprising Lindiwe Zulu, Mac Maharaj and Charles Nqakula.
This is not the first time Zanu (PF) has rubbished the team.
Post published in: News