This week's issues
| Kariba Draft – the facts … As Zanu drags its feet |
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| Written by Staff reporter |
| Thursday, 02 July 2009 13:04 |
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HARARE - Thousands of people are flocking to gatherings around the country in pursuit of a new constitution for a new Zimbabwe. The parliamentary select committee tasked with consulting the nation about the new constitution, is touring the county to identify participants from each region to participate in the all-stakeholder constitutional conference scheduled for July 9-12. But Zanu (PF) has been muddying the waters, causing confusion about the exact terms of the Agreement and dragging its feet over the whole process in what is seen as a desperate attempt to delay free and fair elections - which it can never win. President Robert Mugabe is insisting that the Kariba Draft – a document agreed to in Kariba in 2007 between the three parties to the GNU when they were negotiating under the chairmanship of former South African president, Thabo Mbeki. The Kariba Draft is annexed to the GPA, but nowhere does the Agreement say that this is the draft that will be presented to the people in the referendum. The Agreement clearly says that it is “Determined to create conditions for our people to write a constitution for themselves”, and that the new constitution should “deepen our democratic values and principles and the protection of the equality of all citizens, particularly the enhancement of full citizenship and equality of women”. The Agreement merely acknowledges the draft as a possible starting point. It was drawn up and signed in September 2007, six months before the March 2008 election, on the understanding that all the three parties, in particular Zanu (PF), were genuinely desirous of change and of a truly free and fair election in terms of SADC standards. Subsequent events, in particular those between 27 March and 29 June 2008, showed that this was far from the case. The nature and extent of violence in the "run-off" period March-June were such that there is no possibility of any conclusion other than that the violence was deliberate, planned and intended to ensure that Mugabe remained in power despite the wishes of the majority. |
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