Zanu-PF insists on opposition to devolution

Zanu-PF has said it will not change its stance on devolution as the  parties in the inclusive government agreed before the 2008 elections that the governance system was divisive.

President Robert Mugabe has recently said Zanu-PF would not allow the system to be enshrined in the new constitution.

Speaking at a public meeting in Bulawayo, Zanu-PF central committee member Godfrey Malaba said his party was sticking to an agreement reached in the Kariba draft constitution.

"This is the position that my party came up with together with the parties it is in bed with. The position is articulated like this: Zimbabwe is a unitary State with provincial councils with some form of devolution of power.

"The provincial councils will be headed by governors appointed by the President. It is in the Kariba draft and we stand by that. Our colleagues listened to the people and then changed positions."

In the constitution-making process spearheaded by the Parliamentary Constitutional Select Committee (Copac), Zanu-PF had stuck to its position that giving too much power to the provinces might divide the country.

However, there have been reports that an agreement has been reached between the parties with the completed draft expected this week.