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MDC leader Professor Welshman Ncube has come under fire from political parties and observers for his statements that the Copac management committee referred contentious issues to party

presidents during the drafting of the envisaged new Constitution.

Observers yesterday said Prof Ncube was speaking on his own behalf as he had participated in the draft as a chief negotiator and principal.

Addressing journalists in Harare on Wednesday, Prof Ncube said whenever the management committee encountered a “logjam” negotiators referred the matter to party leaders.

It has, however, emerged that the drafting process never included President Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

Political analyst Professor Jonathan Moyo, yesterday said Prof Ncube’s utterances were coming from someone who was wearing “two hats at the same time”.

“He (Ncube) needs to speak for himself, not to be a spokesperson for other political parties. What is interesting and revealing is that these words are coming from someone representing himself as a principal at the same time he was one of the chief negotiators in the management committee. 

“The untold story is that Ncube was involved in the final crafting of this controversial document that is why he is defending the line that principals were involved.

“He is misrepresenting the truth and it is scandalous in that when principals received the document, he was part of them and he was just taking something he had participated in crafting,” he said.

Prof Ncube was elected MDC president in February last year and ceased to be a member of the management committee and Jomic when he was replaced by Mr Moses Mzila Ndlovu.

Prof Moyo said Prof Ncube returned to the management committee “unprocedurally”.

“He cannot say the document cannot be re-negotiated because the fact that he went back to join the management committee is enough to discredit the whole constitution-making process. The process was contaminated and corrupted by a party whose leader participated where he should not have participated,” he said.

Another political analyst, Dr Charity Manyeruke said Prof Ncube had exhibited “double standards”. “There should be separation of powers. You cannot be a negotiator and the final authority. This is a demonstration of double standards and evidence that the whole process was flawed.

“People like him (Ncube) were pushing personal interests at the expense of national interests,” she said.

MDC-T spokesperson, Mr Douglas Mwonzora, said they had allowed Prof Ncube to “sneak back” into the management committee because his party had no lawyer to represent them.

“Yes, he sneaked back to the management committee because the position was that their party did not have a lawyer among the negotiators. It was felt they should have a lawyer in their leadership hence his coming back,” he said.

Despite other political parties confirming Prof Ncube’s participation in the final production of the supreme law, his spokesperson Mr Kurauone Chihwayi said his boss never took part in the process.

“Professor Ncube’s hands are clean. He only got the draft constitution from the party’s representatives in the Copac management committee. The malicious allegations are meant to tarnish his good reputation,” he said.

Zanu-PF spokesperson Cde Rugare Gumbo said: “They talk about democracy and are doing things transparently but you see them changing goal posts. This is a cause for concern but what we are interested in is producing what is best for the Zimbabwean people.”

Pro Ncube said the draft constitution was not perfect and did not contain many issues Zimbabweans would have wanted included in the constitution.

He said the document was a negotiated one and they had only accepted it as a “possible compromise”.

The draft constitution has come under criticism from stakeholders with many saying it does not reflect the views of the people 

Stakeholders have questioned how Copac came up with a draft constitution without producing the National Report.

Source: TC