Gonese told The Zimbabwean in a telephone interview that he would raise the motion again despite it having been shot down by the Zanu (PF)-dominated Senate after being passed by the lower house.
He wants to see POSA gone before the elections and his spirited fight will bring put the amendment Bill back onto the Order Paper during the next session of Parliament.
“I assure you that definitely I will raise the motion again at the next sitting. Contact me in early April for more light in this regard,” said Gonese. The procedure he plans to take is permitted by the Constitution, Schedule 4, paragraph 3 which sets out what can be done by the House when the Senate either rejects a Bill passed by the lower house, or has not passed it within 90 days of its introduction. If he goes ahead, this would be the first time the special procedure route will have been taken.
When the Bill passed the lower house during the previous sitting, the Senate initially asked for more time to study it. But Minister of Justice Patrick Chinamasa objected to the Bill on the grounds that the POSA issue was under consideration by the GPA negotiators as part of the roadmap to 2013 elections.
Zanu (PF) senators are of the opinion that if the Bill passes and POSA gets amended police would be rendered redundant resulting in anarchy in Zimbabwe. Mugabe and Zanu (PF) are widely believed to be eager to stick to repressive laws such as POSA for political survival.
Observers said Zanu (PF) Senators demonstrated their party’s insincerity about removing repressive laws by voting against Gonese’s Bill.
Removal or amendment of POSA would bring relief to political parties, civic society and the nation at large as people would not be required by law to notify police before convening public meetings attracting attendance of more than six people.
Political parties and civic society have blamed POSA for stalling efforts aimed at democratising Zimbabwe as it allows police to disrupt and ban political and civic society meetings.
Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition bemoaned disruptions by police of meetings meant to publicise the constitution ahead of the recent referendum.
“It could be interpreted that misapplication of police powers granted by POSA resulted in the law enforcing agency disrupting and forbidding the convening of constitutional meetings,” said CIZC.
Among the casualties of POSA were an MDC-T constitution meeting at Highfields Hall to have been addressed by PM Morgan Tsvangirai, a National Constitutional Assembly Copac meeting scheduled for Chipinge in Manicaland on March 8, a Centre for Community Development Zimbabwe Copac meeting in Chegutu and a Media Centre Constitutional Debate scheduled for February 27 in Harare.
The draft constitution endorsed by the majority of Zimbabweans recently and is expected to become the new supreme law soon provides that civil rights such as freedom of assembly may be limited – but only in the interests of public order.
Post published in: News