Of course, the official position is that Zanu (PF) wants a new constitution. President Robert Mugabe has told us as much, on more than one occasion.
Not that he has a choice, because he signed the GPA, a document that obliges him and his party to work with the other political parties to ensure there is a new constitution as part of the democratisation roadmap.
But being seen to be doing something is most of the time different from doing something, and Zanu (PF) seems to be happy with keeping up appearances only.
I was taken aback recently when the party, after a series of marathon meetings, some of them long enough to irritate the owls, announced that it would not be accepting the draft constitution presented by Copac.
That was after the politburo agreed to scrutinize the draft word by word, punctuation mark by punctuation mark, and came to the conclusion that it did not meet Zanu (PF)’s expectations and thus should be referred back for a fresh bout of talks.
About a week before the decision to jettison the draft, Rugare Gumbo, the party’s messenger, told us that Zanu (PF) was happy with about 97 percent of the draft. Naturally, what this meant was that the party would have to contend with only the remaining three percent.
However, along the way, it seems there was numerical inversion and the Shake Shake think tank decided that it had to be worried with 97 percent, instead of the initial three percent.
This conclusion is inevitable, for how on earth can Zanu (PF) justify the rejection of the draft on the basis of a mere three percent?
The question is, It is surprising that the party thought it wise or clever to throw out the draft on the basis of a paltry fraction? This is Zanu (PF), remember; a party that believes in the rule of the minority.
Where a ‘‘Yes’’ is the most obvious route to take, it is more comfortable saying ‘‘No’’. This party’s contradictions are awesome, to say it nicely. It does not make any sense for it to wait for the draft to be completed and then reject it. Right from the time the constitution-making process started, Zanu (PF) was part and parcel of the dynamics.
At every stage, even when there were deadlocks within Copac, the politburo would meet and deliberate on sticky issues. The fact that the draft was concluded in its current form means the party was in the know and was agreeable to the contents. There is no way in which the draft could have been concluded without a nod from Shake Shake house.
So, why then turn around when the document has been presented and declare that you do not want it? This is akin to setting out on a journey only to decide that you don’t want to travel to your destination when you get there. Nothing could be more senseless.
In any case, why should Zanu (PF) arrogate itself the power to talk on behalf of the people? If it is not happy with the draft constitution, why doesn’t it allow the document to go to a referendum and let the people decide?
It still has the chance to reject the constitution by mobilizing its imagined supporters to vote “No”. After all, it already has the likes of Lovemore Madhuku and Munyaradzi Gwisai on its side.
I am forced to try and unpack Zanu (PF)’s contradictory demeanour regarding the process towards a new constitution.
This party, to me, is pushing towards a deadlock that it hopes will extend its tenure in power. In an earlier instalment, I argued that, never mind its grandstanding and avowed disappointment with the current coalition government, Zanu (PF) badly needs another GNU.
The best way for the so-called liberation movement to achieve a deadlock is to throw spanners into the constitution-making endeavours. Remember, the GPA provides that all the three political parties should agree and be involved in the process, otherwise it would become null and void.
The most likely scenario is that Zanu (PF) will keep insisting that negotiations should resume, with the two MDCs resisting that. Voila – the deadlock!
The next thing would be to park the new constitution and persuade Sadc and other stakeholders that the GPA should be revisited and another coalition government set up.
That is what Zanu (PF) is moving towards, never mind the fact that millions of dollars have already been spent to craft a new people’s charter.
Post published in: Opinions & Analysis