'Zanu PF factional fights have spilled into the judiciary' - PDP

RESOLUTIONS
We, the People's Democratic Party (PDP) NATIONAL WORKING COMMITTEE meeting in HARARE  on this  17h  day of MARCH 2017:
 
WORRIED  by the deepening suffering of the ordinary Zimbabweans due to the economic collapse, joblessness, illiquidity problem, food shortages, poor service delivery and despair among the citizens,
 
REALISING that the pursuance of the narrowly focussed command agriculture  and command  economic nationalism by the Zanu PF government has benefited a few elite and continue to exclude the majority of the people,
 
DEEPLY AGITATED that Electoral reforms proposed by the 2013 national constitution remain unimplemented and that the electoral environment remains tilted in favour of the ruling party Zanu PF and that the rigging machinery deployed in the 2013 elections remains intact,
 
WORRIED  by the escalating cases of  prosecutions of civic activists and  the conviction of LINDA MASARIRA of having committed public violence by herself .The state coordinated harassment and  institutionalised victimisation  and violence towards democratic actors and innocent citizens,
 
NOTING the increased talk towards a Grand Coalition of Oppossition forces , which has a lot to learn from the victory of coalitions in Nigeria and  recently the Gambia .Urging the opposition to move faster as time is not there anymore for protracted negotiations .
ALARMED by escalating levels of corruption within the public sector and public enterprises, with no action by the government,
 
NOTING government's ill-preparedness to deal with national disasters has resorted to under reporting the damage caused by the recent cyclone .That has led to loss of lives and property .The destruction of infrastructure has been phenominal and the haldly is an public infrstructure to talk about .
 
CELEBRATING THE MONTH OF WOMEN , we acknowledge the women of courage in political parties and social movements and commit to create more space for women in leadership roles as a party .
 
COMMENDING the courage of all actors standing up to ZANU PF at this point
Hereby resolve as follows:
 
The Constitution
 
1 The Constitutional amendment 1, which will effectively amend the appointment of the Chief Justice, and is being pushed by Zanu PF is a blatant undermining of the constitution and democratic principles of separation of powers and the supremacy of the constitution.
 
2 What is evident in the push for the amendment is that Zanu PF factional fights have spilled into the judiciary which further compromises judicial independence as set out in the constitution. It is clear that in the event of Mugabe's untimely demise, Zanu PF succession wrangles will inevitable spill into the courts hence the factional maneuvers to attempt and appoint an incompetent, lazy and partisan judge into the office of the Chief justice.

 2. Electoral Reforms

1. We are concerned by the lack of implementation of electoral reforms as set out in the  Zimbabwe Constitutoon ahead of the 2018 election which is now 18 months away.The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC)is ambivalent with regards to implementing basic reforms such as guaranteeing equal state media access to all political players and implementing the political parties code of conduct.
2. ZEC's complicit with the government to hi-jack the Biometric Voters Roll (BVR) kits procument is a blatant underming of the spirit and letter of the Constitution which provides for the independence and impartiality of ZEC. The interference of the executive in the functions of the commission seriously undermines the supreme law of the land and also pose a threat to the freeness, fairness and credibility of the 2018 elections.
3.  In light of all the shenanigans which are surrounding the operations of the commission which include its militarisation, secrecy of operations around the BVR process and government interference creates a platform for massive rigging of the 2018 election.
4. As party however we are determined and clear that the reforms are necessary but not adequate to bring about the transformation that the country needs. Thus our resolve is to fight and remove the dictaroship of Robert Mugabe by any democratic means possible hence our call for a grand coalition to face off the regime in the 2018 elections.

     
2.Corruption
 

1. We note with concern the ever escalation levels of corruption that continue to rob the public of billions of funds that can go into public works and social service infrastructure. At the centre of this graft is President Mugabe himself who is responsible for both looting the national purse and paying one million for a jet hire while contributing ten cent snacks to Cyclone Dineo victims in Tsholotsho.
2.  2 Ministers continue to be figured in corrupt activities with no action being taken. Police corruption is still rife with those entrusted to uphold the law having turned into pirates terrorising motorists on the roads for bribes.

Cyclone Dineo and Road Infrastructure

1. We not with horror and deep concern the havoc wrouth by cyclone Dineo which left a trail of disaster in its wake when it struck the southern and south western parts of the country i.e. Masvingo province, parts of Midlands province, Matebeleland South and North and Bulawayo.
2. The cyclone left hundreds of families homeless and destroyed property and livestock worth hudreds of thousands of dollars. Road infrastructure has also been washed away rendering most areas inaccesible and denying tens of thousands of people movment to access criticasl social services such as hospitals, education and food relief.
3. This disaster exposes the state of preparedness of the Zanu PF regime which has priorities in looting and corrupt activities. To add insults to injury Mugabe donated jiggies snacks to the homeless and starving victims of his government's lack of preparedness to natural disasters which have long been scientifically predictated to increase in frequency and intensity.
4. As PDP we call on the redirecting of the District Development Fund (DDF) to priotitise infrastructure that has been damaged by the cyclone. We call on priority budgeting of the fund i.e. giving more resources to areas that have been hit hard and not just spend all the money in Zvimba.
5. Further, as a party we call on our leadership, memebrs and Zimbabweans from all walks of life to come together and show solidarity with the hundreds of families that have beeen rendered destitute by the cyclone and negligence by Zanu PF.

3 Party development and Coalitions
 

1. In the furtherance of the congress resolution to enter into coalitions with likeminded parties, the PDP has since joined the Coalition of Democrats (CODE) as a first step towards working out a grand coalition. We are still engaging with other players in the opposition movement with the aim of having a broad coalition to throw out the Mugabe regime.
2. The party continues with elections for shadow members of parliament and councillors as preparation for the upcoming 2018 elections.
3. The Party will hold a local government summit in April 2017 as part of the process to bring to the national debate the deplorable state of social service delivery in local authorities. This would give a voice to lower structures of the party and amplify that of ordinary citizens who bear the cost of poor service delivery which include death from treatable medieval diseases like cholera and typhoid.
4. The Party is committed to offering thought leadership on key national issues affecting ordinary Zimbabweans, seeing that the ZANU PF government is clueless and currently engulfed in succession battles on the back of an ageing Robert Mugabe.