Draft constitution: what’s happening?

When the conference ended, there was every reason to be optimistic. It took place with a welcome lack of disruption, there was a demonstration of a common purpose and participants showed zeal to move to the next stage.

The participants indicated where they wanted the draft to be improved, and there was no problem with their input. Naturally, we expected that the Parliamentary Select Committee would proceed with speed to include the suggestions and present the revised draft.

But this has not happened. With the exception of an announcement that a new cabinet committee was formed to help in assessing and processing the draft, hardly anything positive has come out.

This makes us wonder whether Copac and the three principals in the Government of National Unity are serious about establishing a new constitution as the foundation of a new democratic era in Zimbabwe.

By now, we should have been told what developments have taken place as far as finalising the draft is concerned. Time is running out fast. Obviously, even when the draft is completed, there are several other processes to go through before it can be adopted as the substantive supreme law, among them mobilising the nation for a referendum.

Assuming people okay the draft through a referendum, new laws would have to be made to dovetail with the constitution, and that would take a while. It might also necessitate the establishment of new national institutions.

In addition, there will always be the issue of outstanding reforms relating to the media, elections, etc, before polls can be conducted. That, too, is bound to take some time.

Of immediate concern is the need to finalise the draft. Copac needs to assume a greater sense of urgency and the principals need to abandon their tendency to throw spanners in the works.

It was never clear right from the start why MDC-T would agree with Zanu (PF) on the need to form a cabinet committee to work with Copac, which to all intents and purposes sounds like a proxy of the Executive. If Copac did its work before without the committee, what is so important about this new animal now?

We have come a long way regarding a new constitution, and this is not the time to flounder. Let us demonstrate the will to move Zimbabwe forwarded by lending maximum support to the constitution-making process.