The Herald
6 February 2009
By Zvamaida Murwira
CONSTITUTION of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 19) Bill that seeks to give legal effect to the framework of the inclusive Government was unanimously passed by both the House of Assembly and Senate yesterday.
The Assembly passed the Bill with a margin of 184-0 with the Senate giving it the thumbs up 72-0, effectively sealing the second step towards the formation of the inclusive Government following the setting up of the tri-partisan Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee last week.
The Bill now awaits presidential assent to become law to pave way for the swearing in of the Prime Minister and his deputies, and the appointment of Cabinet next week.
Among the senators who lent their support to the Bill were Vice President Cde Joseph Msika and Zanu-PF national chairman Cde John Nkomo.
Speaking during its second reading stage in both Houses, the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Senator Patrick Chinamasa, said the presentation of the Bill marked a historic occasion as it sought to usher in an inclusive Government in which all political parties represented in Parlia-ment would participate.
The minister chronicled to both Houses the background to the Bill, which he described as “long and bumpy”.
“It has been a long, frustrating, erratic, bumpy and quarrelsome journey characterised by animosities, disagreements, mutual dislikes, name-calling, demonisations, vilification of each other’s policies and leaderships,” said Sen Chinamasa.
“But notwithstanding these negatives, what is important and significant is that we have managed to reach this far and for that, we forever remain eternally grateful to our people for their resilience, understanding and support.”
He told legislators how engagement of the political parties began after the 2002 presidential elections when Zimbabwe was advised by Sadc and the Commonwealth to begin a process of dialogue to resolve a dispute raised by the MDC against the outcome of the elections.
Negotiations then began under the facilitation of Professor Adebayo Adedeji of Nigeria and Mr Kgalema Motlanthe, current President of South Africa, then secretary-general of the ruling ANC.
During those negotiations, Sen Chinamasa led the Zanu-PF team to the talks while Professor Welshman Ncube was at the helm of the MDC negotiating team before the opposition party split.
Sen Chinamasa said after the passage of the Bill, there would be no governing or opposition party.
The minister outlined the challenges faced during early days and how the present talks got underway in March 2007 after a Sadc Extraordinary Summit in Tanzania mandated the hen South African president Cde Thabo Mbeki to mediate between the Zimbabwean parties.
He said although Zanu-PF unilaterally introduced electoral reforms in Parliament after earlier negotiations failed to secure agreements, it was critical that they were premised on what had been agreed upon by Zanu-PF and the MDC negotiators.
Contributing to the same debate, Harare East Member of the House of Assembly (MDC-T) Mr Tendai Biti said respect, trust, equality and comradeship were the fundamental principles critical for the success of the inclusive Government.
“Each one of us in his conscience and dreams is fully aware of the weight of this occasion. We have travelled this far guided by one thing — faith — and we will have to place faith alone for this experience to succeed.
“Many of us are not sure whether this is right or wrong.
“The question is not whether we are doing the right thing or the wrong thing because that is for history to judge. In my view, the question is do we have any choice, in my respectful view, we do not have,” said Mr Biti.
He said the agreement entered by the three political parties should give people hope.
Khumalo Senator David Coltart (MDC) said the passage of the Bill marked the resolution of the country’s challenges using non-violent means.