Zim civil groups reject SA’s suggestions on constitutional reform
By Tererai Karimakwenda
15 August, 2007

Zimbabwean civil organisations that met with a South African team of facilitators in Pretoria on Tuesday report that they strongly opposed the idea of using Zimbabwe’s parliament to reform the constitution, ahead of the elections next year. The groups met with President Thabo Mbeki’s chief negotiator Sydney Mufamadi and Mbeki’s advisor on legal matters Advocate Gumbi.

Washington Katema, coordinator of the Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU), participated in this consultative process on behalf of youth groups in Zimbabwe. Katema said Advocate Gumbi raised the constitutional issue, saying the all-stakeholders approach to reform that the groups and Zimbabwe’s opposition are insisting on had failed in 1999 and was a sheer waste of time and resources. Instead, she suggested that Zimbabwe adopt the South African model where parliament is turned into a constitutional assembly with the mandate to make amendments.

Constitutional amendments made by parliament would not be acceptable to most Zimbabweans and both factions of the MDC insist they will not participate in any election unless there is a new people-driven constitution. This has been one of their major demands during the SADC initiated talks mediated by President Mbeki.

Katema said: “We vehemently opposed this and insisted that Zimbabweans want a people-driven constitution. We all know that parliament does not represent the majority of Zimbabweans.” The objections do not guarantee anything because the facilitation team was there in a consultative role only. Zimbabwe’s civil groups have no participatory role in the Mbeki mediated talks but Katema explained that the process in Pretoria Tuesday opened doors and avenues of communication for the civil organisations.