Zimbabwe exiles demand inclusion in constitution reform process

By Violet Gonda
26 June 2009

A high profile line up of Zimbabwean stakeholders is expected in South Africa this Saturday, to deliberate on the making of a new Zimbabwean Constitution.

The constitutional reform symposium organized by the Zimbabwe Exiles Forum and its partners and dubbed; “Ensuring the inclusion of the Zimbabwean Diaspora in the constitution-making process,” is expected to draw government ministers and legal and human rights experts.

The organisers say the aim of the gathering is to bring together Advocate Eric Matinenga, Dr Lovemore Madhuku from the National Constitutional Assembly, Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions Secretary General Wellington Chibebe, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights and other stakeholders from Zimbabwe, to engage the Diaspora on issues regarding the country’s new constitutional process.

The facilitators noted that there is no agreement regarding the process and content of the envisaged new constitution and are particularly concerned that over 4 million Zimbabweans outside the country have not been asked to contribute to this important process, and are in danger of being left out of the discussion.

Gabriel Shumba, Zimbabwe Exiles Forum Executive Director, says the Diaspora is an indispensable player in the reconstruction of the country and should be involved in the constitutional making process. He said the Diaspora has burning issues that need to be acknowledged, including issues of citizenship and the Diaspora vote.

The symposium will be held on Saturday at Parktonian Hotel, Braamfontein.

Meanwhile a showdown is looming between the partners in the coalition government on the issue of using the controversial Kariba Draft.

The MDC issued another statement on Friday stating its rejection of the imposition of Kariba Draft Constitution and said it remained deeply concerned by attempts by Zanu PF and Robert Mugabe to impose the Kariba draft as the Constitution of Zimbabwe.

The MDC said the Kariba Constitution was a compromise document, drafted by three political parties to minimize the possibility of a contested election result in 2008, in line with a SADC resolution that had given birth to the dialogue.

The MDC statement added: “It was an interim Constitution that was meant to be used only for the 2008 election, but on 4 December 2007, Zanu PF refused to implement the Kariba draft. Its function and intended purpose therefore died on 4 December 2007 because of Zanu PF’s intransigence. Zanu PF cannot resurrect a document meant for the 2008 election which they rejected and turned down in December 2007. They must not be allowed to sneak it through the backdoor when Zimbabweans have ample time to make their own Constitution.”

On Wednesday Mugabe told his party leadership that the unity government should come up with a new constitution, in accordance with the Kariba Draft, and ‘challenged’ his party to educate people on the contents of the draft document.

The MDC however says the Kariba Draft ‘is not a sacred document of higher status than the many drafts that are available nationally’ and under the Global Political Agreement, the Constitution-making process must be owned and driven by the people. The part said Zanu PF must not be allowed to unilaterally renegotiate the GPA by misrepresenting facts and elevating the status of the Kariba draft.