News / National
Dual citizenship takes centre stage during Copac campaign programme
27 Feb 2013 at 04:38hrs | Views
THE Copac campaign to raise awareness of provisions of the draft constitution entered its second day yesterday with Bulawayo residents turning out in large numbers.
Copac member Olivia Muchena said the publicity campaigns on the draft constitution are not platforms for political parties to advertise their manifestos but meant to educate Zimbabweans on the provisions of the proposed supreme law.
Muchena, who is part of Copac officials going around the country raising awareness on the draft and canvassing for a "Yes" vote, said this at Dema council offices in Seke where they addressed scores of residents on the draft constitution.
The two meetings in Bulawayo in Barham Green and at Small City Hall saw residents engaging Copac facilitators on contentious provisions within the Draft Constitution.
The residents were interested in the clarification of the provision on dual citizenship, which is enshrined in Chapter Three of the Draft Constitution.
Lupane West Member of Parliament, Martin Khumalo who was heading the Bulawayo team, said it was important for residents to note that the Draft Constitution had more strengths than weaknesses.
"We are here to make you understand the core issues that this draft addresses. I have to mention to you that we can't change anything at this stage, but all your concerns will be noted and recorded," said Mr Khumalo.
He implored the residents to be ambassadors of the Draft Constitution that will go for a referendum on 16 March.
"I ask you to be ambassadors of this constitution and campaign for a Yes vote where ever you share ideas with colleagues.
"This document does not belong to anyone, all parties had to compromise, but the document is a point of departure of taking this country forward," said Cde Khumalo.
His counterpart from MDC, Mr Gifford Sibanda, said it would have been difficult for the country to produce a flawless constitution and the Draft Constitution was the best they could arrive at.
"A good constitution is one document that one can look at and say 'this is a good constitution, but …' and someone else will be saying the same thing somewhere.
"This is because it is hard to balance all the diverse views of the people under one document," said Mr Sibanda.
However, Bulawayo residents requested Copac teams to at least compare the new Draft Constitution with the Lancaster House Constitution.
"We want to have a feel of where we are coming from and where we are heading in terms of a constitution," said a resident.
Another resident called for voting for the draft section by section to ensure that only accepted provisions incorporated the wishes of the people.
However, Cde Khumalo was quick to point out that would consume a lot of resources and time.
"What I think was overlooked is that the draft does not address the issue of language properly in that it assumes Shona as a single language, yet there are a lot of dialects within that umbrella term," said another resident.
He appreciated the positive effort to address the country's languages within the Draft Constitution.
Another resident said she supported the new draft because of its progressive provisions regarding addressing existing social gaps on gender imbalances in the political field.
During the meetings the team of Copac officials distributed the abridged version of the Draft Constitution and pamphlets written in English, Ndebele and Shona.
Copac printed 90 000 copies of the draft with 70 000 being in English and 20 000 in indigenous languages.
Today Bulawayo's meetings will be held at Reigate District offices at 10am and Mahatshula Primary School at 2 pm.
Copac has also roped in civil society to drum up support for the draft.
In Matabeleland South the Copac campaign to raise awareness of provisions of the draft constitution began on Monday in Beitbridge district.
On Monday the Copac team led by Senator Tambudzani Mohadi and Deputy Minister of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development, Jessie Majome visited Zezani Business Centre and met more than 300 villagers including the traditional leadership.
Sen Mohadi said most of the people who attended were of the Yes vote and also distributed the abridged version of the Draft Constitution and pamphlets written in Venda, Shangani and Braille.
Yesterday the teams visited Lutumba Business Centre where the number of people who attended was slightly higher than that of the previous day.
Deputy Minister Majome said most of the people who attended said they wanted clarifications on issues revolving around citizenship, welfare of war veterans and the provisions surrounding the composition and functions of provincial councils.
"I am glad the response was overwhelming, the meetings went on very well," said Deputy Minister Majome.
Today, in Matabeleland South, the outreach meetings will be in Gwanda and Insiza districts.
The Copac campaigns to raise awareness of provisions of the draft constitution began in most parts of the country on Monday with the body's leadership expressing satisfaction with responses of the public.
In Mashonaland East, Muchena told people gathered at Dema council offices that the Copac campaign was not a party sloganeering platform.
"We are here as Copac to advise you on what came out from the views we collected during the outreach programme. I am here as representative of Zanu-PF for Mutoko South and my colleague honourable Ian Kay from Marondera.
"Our purpose in coming to you as Copac is to explain the draft and not to sloganeer or anything to do with our parties."
Mr Kay added that the constitution was a product of the collective efforts of Zimbabweans.
"This constitution was written by us as Zimbabweans which is why you find that its preamble talks about us as Zimbabweans and our aspirations," he said.
Turning to the contents of the draft, Minister Muchena said it was a progressive constitution that now contained a comprehensive Bill of Rights and promoted women's rights.
The team also held another meeting with villagers in Wedza communal lands.
Copac co-chairperson Paul Mangwana said meetings were going on well countrywide ahead of the 16 March referendum.
"I attended meetings in Murombedzi and Mt Hampden in Mashonaland West and from what I observed the people are excited about the draft.
"There has not been any incidents at the various centres from the reports we have received except that we have a challenge in providing enough copies of the draft to the public. We are still running around to see if we can get resources to increase the copies," Mangwana said.
The meetings went on well in Harare at Zimbabwe Hall in Highfield and at Kuwadzana High School.
Copac member Olivia Muchena said the publicity campaigns on the draft constitution are not platforms for political parties to advertise their manifestos but meant to educate Zimbabweans on the provisions of the proposed supreme law.
Muchena, who is part of Copac officials going around the country raising awareness on the draft and canvassing for a "Yes" vote, said this at Dema council offices in Seke where they addressed scores of residents on the draft constitution.
The two meetings in Bulawayo in Barham Green and at Small City Hall saw residents engaging Copac facilitators on contentious provisions within the Draft Constitution.
The residents were interested in the clarification of the provision on dual citizenship, which is enshrined in Chapter Three of the Draft Constitution.
Lupane West Member of Parliament, Martin Khumalo who was heading the Bulawayo team, said it was important for residents to note that the Draft Constitution had more strengths than weaknesses.
"We are here to make you understand the core issues that this draft addresses. I have to mention to you that we can't change anything at this stage, but all your concerns will be noted and recorded," said Mr Khumalo.
He implored the residents to be ambassadors of the Draft Constitution that will go for a referendum on 16 March.
"I ask you to be ambassadors of this constitution and campaign for a Yes vote where ever you share ideas with colleagues.
"This document does not belong to anyone, all parties had to compromise, but the document is a point of departure of taking this country forward," said Cde Khumalo.
His counterpart from MDC, Mr Gifford Sibanda, said it would have been difficult for the country to produce a flawless constitution and the Draft Constitution was the best they could arrive at.
"A good constitution is one document that one can look at and say 'this is a good constitution, but …' and someone else will be saying the same thing somewhere.
"This is because it is hard to balance all the diverse views of the people under one document," said Mr Sibanda.
However, Bulawayo residents requested Copac teams to at least compare the new Draft Constitution with the Lancaster House Constitution.
"We want to have a feel of where we are coming from and where we are heading in terms of a constitution," said a resident.
Another resident called for voting for the draft section by section to ensure that only accepted provisions incorporated the wishes of the people.
However, Cde Khumalo was quick to point out that would consume a lot of resources and time.
"What I think was overlooked is that the draft does not address the issue of language properly in that it assumes Shona as a single language, yet there are a lot of dialects within that umbrella term," said another resident.
He appreciated the positive effort to address the country's languages within the Draft Constitution.
Another resident said she supported the new draft because of its progressive provisions regarding addressing existing social gaps on gender imbalances in the political field.
During the meetings the team of Copac officials distributed the abridged version of the Draft Constitution and pamphlets written in English, Ndebele and Shona.
Copac printed 90 000 copies of the draft with 70 000 being in English and 20 000 in indigenous languages.
Today Bulawayo's meetings will be held at Reigate District offices at 10am and Mahatshula Primary School at 2 pm.
Copac has also roped in civil society to drum up support for the draft.
In Matabeleland South the Copac campaign to raise awareness of provisions of the draft constitution began on Monday in Beitbridge district.
On Monday the Copac team led by Senator Tambudzani Mohadi and Deputy Minister of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development, Jessie Majome visited Zezani Business Centre and met more than 300 villagers including the traditional leadership.
Sen Mohadi said most of the people who attended were of the Yes vote and also distributed the abridged version of the Draft Constitution and pamphlets written in Venda, Shangani and Braille.
Yesterday the teams visited Lutumba Business Centre where the number of people who attended was slightly higher than that of the previous day.
Deputy Minister Majome said most of the people who attended said they wanted clarifications on issues revolving around citizenship, welfare of war veterans and the provisions surrounding the composition and functions of provincial councils.
"I am glad the response was overwhelming, the meetings went on very well," said Deputy Minister Majome.
Today, in Matabeleland South, the outreach meetings will be in Gwanda and Insiza districts.
The Copac campaigns to raise awareness of provisions of the draft constitution began in most parts of the country on Monday with the body's leadership expressing satisfaction with responses of the public.
In Mashonaland East, Muchena told people gathered at Dema council offices that the Copac campaign was not a party sloganeering platform.
"We are here as Copac to advise you on what came out from the views we collected during the outreach programme. I am here as representative of Zanu-PF for Mutoko South and my colleague honourable Ian Kay from Marondera.
"Our purpose in coming to you as Copac is to explain the draft and not to sloganeer or anything to do with our parties."
Mr Kay added that the constitution was a product of the collective efforts of Zimbabweans.
"This constitution was written by us as Zimbabweans which is why you find that its preamble talks about us as Zimbabweans and our aspirations," he said.
Turning to the contents of the draft, Minister Muchena said it was a progressive constitution that now contained a comprehensive Bill of Rights and promoted women's rights.
The team also held another meeting with villagers in Wedza communal lands.
Copac co-chairperson Paul Mangwana said meetings were going on well countrywide ahead of the 16 March referendum.
"I attended meetings in Murombedzi and Mt Hampden in Mashonaland West and from what I observed the people are excited about the draft.
"There has not been any incidents at the various centres from the reports we have received except that we have a challenge in providing enough copies of the draft to the public. We are still running around to see if we can get resources to increase the copies," Mangwana said.
The meetings went on well in Harare at Zimbabwe Hall in Highfield and at Kuwadzana High School.
Source - TC
