“We have, since 2000, campaigned for a people-driven constitution, in which everyone must be fairly given a chance to say how they want to be governed, but that has not been the case with the current draft document. It was prepared by the politicians,” said Madhuku during a recent briefing here entitled, “Zimbabwe Draft Constitution: Promises, Problems and Prospects”. “We believe that political leaders do not have a God-given right to give us a constitution. Our stance is that, even if we get the best document, as long as it does not represent the views and interests of the people, then we will not accept it. We need to give people what they want, not what politicians believe they want.
“Even in the year 2000, it was our rallying cry that Mugabe could not give us a constitution and the only difference now is that some of the people we had on our side then are singing along with Zanu (PF).”
Madhuku said that if it sailed through the referendum, the current draft – admittedly not the water-tight document most people would want – would be a hampering factor towards having a proper charter in future.
“It will be like passing bad laws and then say ‘let us concentrate on getting justice’, but how can you expect to have justice when you have bad laws? That cannot work. Our major concern is the content of the document, which gives too much power to one person – the President. It is pushing for a very powerful President who is not restrained by the law and that creates problems for the country – as we have seen with the current constitution.”
The new constitution says the President must take some decisions in consultation with cabinet – but still allows him the power to appoint people to the cabinet and other key offices like ambassadors, permanent secretaries and judges.
“The President also has the power to dissolve Parliament for refusal to pass the budget. Why should elected people be treated like that? We are also against the issue of two Vice Presidents being retained and the clause that a two-thirds majority in Parliament can amend the constitution,” added the outspoken professor.
“The other problem is that in the event of death of a President within the next 10 years there will be no by-election, but the party ruling has to forward a name to the Speaker of Parliament for the replacement. We believe that the President must always be voted for.”
Madhuku also said the process of drafting the new charter did not represent the will of the people, because of the violence that followed the outreach process and the process of negotiation, which saw the two MDCs make some concessions to Zanu (PF)’s demands.
Post published in: News