Written by CZ Correspondent
Thursday, 21 January 2010

In what seems like a major setback to the Constitution-making process, the Zanu (PF) co-chairperson of the Parliamentary Select Committee on the Constitution, Paul Mangwana, has announced the suspension of the public outreach programme, citing financial problems and, “differences.”

Update:

Zimbabwean Minister of Constitutional Affairs on Thursday dismissed reports
that the constitutional revision outreach process intended to garner the
views of a broad cross section of the public on the document had been
suspended due to bickering among the governing parties and funding
shortages.

The state-controlled Herald newspaper reported that feuding over the naming
of rapporteurs for the outreach process had led to its suspension.

The government has set October as the deadline for completing the process
before elections which some believe could be organized in 2011.

Constitutional Affairs Minister Eric Matinenga told VOA Studio 7 reporter
Blessing Zulu that the committee managing the process has paused to attend
to administrative and financial issues, but said it is not true that process
has been suspended. He said a meeting has been set for next Tuesday to
resume work.

Co-Chairman Paul Mangwana of the Parliamentary Select Committee for the
Constitution, a lawmaker of the former ruling ZANU-PF party of President
Robert Mugabe, told VOA he was misquoted by the Herald.
This coming hard on the heals of the failure of negotiators from Zanu (PF) and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) to meet earlier in the week, is increasing speculation that Zanu (PF) is not really interested in carrying through with the process.

Zimbabweans and the international community are anxiously awaiting resolution of the constitutional issues will which lead to a resolutiopn of the political problems that are affecting the economy and keeping people poor and investors out of the country.

Does the left know what the right is doing…? Consitutional co-chair Paul Mangwana, now says fund, cars and rapportteurs are not in place, yet all along the committee has been giving timetables.

According to state media, efforts to gather views on a new constitution, have run into funding problems, but there are also disagreements on the composition of the rapporteurs.

Mangwana is quoted saying: “All constitutional programmes have been suspended by the management committee.”

Teams of rapporteurs were meant to travel around the country to collect opinions on the charter.

But there are financial issues, disagreements and also issues of recording equipment which is yet to be bought, cars which haven’t been mobilised and rapporteurs who are yet to be trained.

“Therefore, we cannot give a timetable of when the actual outreach will start because some of the issues are beyond our control as the select committee.”

Mangwana said the committee would approach the UN Development Programme and other financiers who had pledged to sponsor the campaign, according to the AFP.

Under the pact which led to the formation of a power-sharing government in Zimbabwe nearly one year ago, the country’s three main political rivals agreed to launch an 18-month-long effort to gather the views of the people and draft a new constitution which would be put to a referendum.

Adoption of a new charter would pave way for new elections following disputed presidential polls in 2008, when President Robert Mugabe won after his main rival Morgan Tsvangirai pulled out citing violence against his supporters.Tsvangirai became prime minister in a national unity government in February.

But the administration remains beset by disputes over key appointments and the prosecution of Tsvangirai’s top allies.

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