News / National
Zanu-PF forcing Copac to release constitution making report
12 Sep 2012 at 05:55hrs | Views
The MDC-T has shot down calls by Zanu-PF hardliners to force Copac to release the national report to enable them to verify if the draft constitution was a correct summation of public views as captured during the outreach exercise.
Party spokesperson and Copac co-chairperson Douglas Mwonzora last Friday told journalists in Mutare the national report was a summary of all stages involved in the constitution-making process and it could only be released after completion of the exercise.
"Zanu-PF is misinformed by its representatives. The national report should be the last thing to be published in the process because it reports everything that happens in the constitution-making process," Mwonzora said.
"This is what happens in every constitution-making process and in year 2000 the report was only released a week after the referendum. Those who are demanding the national report are just trying to find reasons to reject the constitution. I am refusing to sign the national report because I know it is incomplete. I insist ZBC (the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation) should serialise the videos of those outreach programmes for the nation to see what was happening. This can be the best way for the nation to see whether Copac deviated from the people's views or not," he said.
His response followed calls by elements in Zanu-PF demanding the release of the report to verify some of the issues contained in the draft constitution. The party hardliners who include Zanu-PF sympathiser Goodson Nguni and war veterans' leader Jabulani Sibanda are on record demanding access to the national report after they accused the Copac-led draft of subverting public views as captured during the outreach. The constitution-making process has been deadlocked after the MDC formations in the inclusive government refused to accept the 266 amendments made by Zanu-PF to the draft constitution.
Among some of its fresh amendments, Zanu-PF deleted clauses on devolution of power, dual citizenship and presidential running mates, arguing the provisions had not been sourced from the outreach programme.
But Mwonzora defended the clauses and accused Zanu-PF of seeking to hijack and stall the process to justify its push for early polls under the current constitution.
"Zanu-PF is not our headmaster and it cannot unilaterally draft a constitution on its own," he said.
Party spokesperson and Copac co-chairperson Douglas Mwonzora last Friday told journalists in Mutare the national report was a summary of all stages involved in the constitution-making process and it could only be released after completion of the exercise.
"Zanu-PF is misinformed by its representatives. The national report should be the last thing to be published in the process because it reports everything that happens in the constitution-making process," Mwonzora said.
"This is what happens in every constitution-making process and in year 2000 the report was only released a week after the referendum. Those who are demanding the national report are just trying to find reasons to reject the constitution. I am refusing to sign the national report because I know it is incomplete. I insist ZBC (the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation) should serialise the videos of those outreach programmes for the nation to see what was happening. This can be the best way for the nation to see whether Copac deviated from the people's views or not," he said.
Among some of its fresh amendments, Zanu-PF deleted clauses on devolution of power, dual citizenship and presidential running mates, arguing the provisions had not been sourced from the outreach programme.
But Mwonzora defended the clauses and accused Zanu-PF of seeking to hijack and stall the process to justify its push for early polls under the current constitution.
"Zanu-PF is not our headmaster and it cannot unilaterally draft a constitution on its own," he said.
Source - newsday
