The Standard
By Patrice Makova
4 December 2011
The leader of the smaller faction of the MDC, Professor Welshman Ncube has cast doubt on the prospects of the early completion of the constitution-making process to pave way for elections, saying political parties were still quarreling over several issues.
This is compounded by the fact that a national report compiled by the 17 thematic committees has been rejected for lack of depth and clarity, he said.
But Constitutional Select Committee (Copac) co-chairperson, Douglas Mwonzora dismissed Ncube’s assertion accusing him of attempting to discredit the current process in order to “sneak in†the controversial and much discredited Kariba draft constitution.
Speaking at a Southern Africa Political Economy Series (SAPES) Trust Policy dialogue in Harare last week, Ncube said the constitution-making process has been thrown into a shambles after Copac rejected the national report which drafters were supposed to use for crafting the new supreme law of the country.
He said political parties had to recall their representatives to rewrite the national report as the current one was badly written and lacked thoroughness.
“The process of writing a new constitution is far from over, but we do not want to admit this openly,†said Ncube.
“Zimbabweans have been given a false impression that the country is ready to draft a new constitution. You can bring in the drafting people, but what can they do if there is nothing to draft?†he asked.
“There is so much that has not been done. I always say this; the likelihood of holding a constitutional referendum and election in the same year is highly improbable — that it can be safely dismissed,†said Ncube.
“Up to now, not even a single line or paragraph of the constitution has been written. It is unlikely that the text would be ready by August next year. We will be lucky to hold a referendum by October next year.â€
Ncube said even when the referendum is held and a constitution agreed upon, up to three additional months would be required to negotiate and amend the electoral act to make provision for issues such as proportional representation, which were likely to be included in the new supreme law.
Mwonzora however said the work produced by the select committee was of high standard, contrary to Ncube’s claims. He said talks of a national report were premature, as such a document would only be ready when everything else has been put in place, up to the production of the draft constitution.
“It appears Professor Ncube badly misses being part of Copac,†said Mwonzora.
“We get a little bit worried when some people who wrote the Kariba draft start criticising the process. They are trying to rubbish the current process as a way of trying to sneak in the Kariba draft as a substitute draft constitution.â€
He said Copac concluded compiling the constitution principles at a meeting attended by David Coltart and Edward Mkhosi from Professor Ncube’s MDC.
Zanu PF secretary for information and publicity Rugare Gumbo also insisted that the constitution-making process was going on well, with the three parties to the GPA agreeable on 95% of the issues.
“Our (Zanu PF) position and that of President Mugabe is clear that elections will be held early next year, meaning that the constitution has to be completed now,†said Gumbo.
“The likes of Professor Ncube want to delay the process in order to remain in power. He is coming up with excuses in order to make hay while the sun still shines.â€
Gumbo said it was not necessary to do a land audit before the next elections, as any party which comes into power could do that at a later stage.
Problems have been dogging Zimbabwe’s constitution-making process, which was supposed to have been completed within 18 months after the formation of the coalition government.
This was however delayed due to disruptions and disagreements by the coalition partners.
Constitution-making process done secretly: Ncube
Ncube said the constitution-making process was fraught with secrecy and as a result people were not aware of what came out during the public outreaches.
He said the Constitutional Commission which drafted the rejected constitutional draft in 2000 was more open in its work as it managed to publicise provincial reports, unlike the current process which is shrouded in secrecy.
The MDC leader said political parties were still quarrelling over what to include on the pre-amble of the new constitution, while fundamental differences still existed on several issues such as devolution of power and dual citizenship.