News / National
Zimbabwe's draft constitution overhauled after recent controversies
23 Feb 2012 at 04:42hrs | Views
THE Constitution Select Committee has made a raft of changes to the draft Constitution recently produced by principal drafters as it emerged that 70 percent of the information therein was not solicited from the people.
Some of the information in the draft, which analysts described as "organically flawed", includes contentious clauses on presidential powers and term limits, dual citizenship and homosexuality.
Legal experts contend that the drafters came up with the phrase "natural differences" in a bid to smuggle homosexuality into the country's supreme law.
A clause on land reform that had been left out was finally included.
The three Copac co-chairpersons confirmed the changes yesterday, saying they had reviewed six of the 18 chapters of the first draft.
The team started working on the remaining chapters yesterday and expects to be through in six days.
Copac co-chairperson Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana yesterday said the information put by the drafters was completely divorced from Copac instructions.
"Of the six chapters we have reviewed, we have made a lot of changes because we have discovered that the drafters had ignored what we instructed them to do and 70 percent of their content was of their own invention," he said.
"We have evidence to prove they were careless with their job and we had no option than to make plenty of changes.
"No one is allowed to digress from the views of the people and put what he thinks is right for the people."
Constitutional and legal experts yesterday said in drafting a supreme law, drafters should not add or subtract anything and should stick to Copac guidelines.
Said constitutional lawyer Professor Lovemore Madhuku: "There is no general rule governing the work of the drafters, but drafters should work according to what they would have agreed with those who sent them.
Some of the information in the draft, which analysts described as "organically flawed", includes contentious clauses on presidential powers and term limits, dual citizenship and homosexuality.
Legal experts contend that the drafters came up with the phrase "natural differences" in a bid to smuggle homosexuality into the country's supreme law.
A clause on land reform that had been left out was finally included.
The three Copac co-chairpersons confirmed the changes yesterday, saying they had reviewed six of the 18 chapters of the first draft.
The team started working on the remaining chapters yesterday and expects to be through in six days.
Copac co-chairperson Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana yesterday said the information put by the drafters was completely divorced from Copac instructions.
"Of the six chapters we have reviewed, we have made a lot of changes because we have discovered that the drafters had ignored what we instructed them to do and 70 percent of their content was of their own invention," he said.
"We have evidence to prove they were careless with their job and we had no option than to make plenty of changes.
"No one is allowed to digress from the views of the people and put what he thinks is right for the people."
Constitutional and legal experts yesterday said in drafting a supreme law, drafters should not add or subtract anything and should stick to Copac guidelines.
Said constitutional lawyer Professor Lovemore Madhuku: "There is no general rule governing the work of the drafters, but drafters should work according to what they would have agreed with those who sent them.
Source - ziana
