A defective constitution

NCA Chairperson, Dr Lovemore Madhuku

The 29 March 2008 Zimbabwe elections proved that if a conducive
environment exists citizens can make informed choices and preferred
choices and not those imposed on them by either lack of information or
abundant biased information.

In this week's publication of the
people's paper I am obliged as a Zimbabwean patriot and leader of the
National Constitutional Assembly to address reported developments on
constitutional amendment 19 of our country's constitution.

Zimbabwe
has never seen a people oriented constitution and is still being
governed by a defective constitution. A constitution authored by few
individuals whose motive was to effect power transfer from white
supremacist regime to a black regime. The constitution of 1979 in
Lancaster England was flawed in its contents as well as in its process.

This
proposed amendment 19, among other flaws, failed to address the issue
of citizenship empowerment in issues such access to information,
freedom of assembly whilst strengthening executive authority with of
course executive powers being shared unevenly between political
protagonists hence keeping Robert Mugabe effectively controlling the
state.

The amendment also fails to clearly state how media will
be liberalized, in other words freed from the current autocratic hand
and also from a de facto Media and Information Commission that has seen
press and media freedom being heavily compromised.

It further
fails to explain or offer remedies on transitional justice issues that
among others crippled the June 27 run-off election that saw leader of
the MDC Morgan Tsvangirai pulling out reducing the election to a mere
mockery, the 2005 operation Murambatsvina and the 1980s Matabeleland
massacres.

As the NCA our obvious biggest concern is the process
leading to the constitutional amendment 19. In 2000 we went to vote
against the referendum and defeated Mugabe, his first defeat in 20
years as we strongly opposed a process led then by the Constitutional
Commission.

The proposed 2000 referendum among others failed in
consultation processes, political party existing at that time ZANU PF
went ahead without popular mandate to author a constitution for the
people.

The NCA with the rest of citizens are convinced that as
long as the process is flawed like the current one that will lead to
the amendment 19, were six people write a constitution without broad
consultation that process will not be accepted by the people of
Zimbabwe.

This amendment also suggests that the Kariba Draft
authored by few individuals be adopted as a base for writing a new
constitution. As the NCA we will not accept such processes, we will
fight to the very end in making sure a process of constitutional making
is started and finished by the people.

As we progress with our
street protests we urge all citizens to join us as we fight for a new
people driven and democratic constitution as well as social and
economic justice.

– NCA Chairperson, Dr Lovemore Madhuku