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Response to draft Constitution by GPA political parties
National Constitutional Assembly (NCA)
August 25, 2012

The National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) leadership, composed of National Taskforce members and provincial chairpersons met in Harare at Bumbiro/Isisekelo House, today 25 August to discuss about the COPAC draft constitution and the organization's way forward. After extensive and thorough deliberations, the following resolutions were agreed,

A. PROCESS

• Not people-driven but political party-driven.
• It is not acceptable to have a constitution for our country being imposed by politicians.
• We cannot, through a referendum, create a precedent where we give power to politicians of the day to dictate a constitution for the country. We insist that a constitution must come from the people.
• The debate on "people-driven" does not arise here because all the politicians involved accept that this is a negotiated document.
• The so-called outreach was a ploy to abuse resources because the document we have is largely drawn from the Kariba Draft of 2007.
• Ultimately, 3 people will decide on the content of the constitution.
• We insist on a process led by an independent Constitutional Commission not answering to any political party but answerable to an agreed process which respects the people.
• Given the abuse by COPAC, the issue of a new constitution must be separated from the next elections. The next elections must now be held under a set of reforms which will guarantee a free and fair poll. The GPA must not be extended because the country does not belong to three political parties.
• A NO vote is designed to give people a genuine opportunity to write their own constitution. It is to send a message to current and future politicians that "the people must write their own constitution".
• The issue is neither about ZANU(PF) nor MDC. It is about the country. No political party must be allowed to give the country a constitution of its choice. A constitution must come from the people.

B. CONTENT

• There is no useful difference between this Draft and the current Lancaster House Constitution.
• The social and economic rights in the Bill of Rights are just listed for decoration. The suggested framework for their realization will not help the people. A people-driven constitution will make these rights equal to other rights, thereby contributing to uplifting the life of the people.
• A people-driven constitution will have a minimum percentage of the revenue of the state being allocated to uplift the poor through funding social and economic rights like health, education, food and water.
• A very powerful executive presidency has been retained. The so-called changes to the powers are cosmetic. It is clear each of the parties involved believes it will gain the presidency. There is no change to the status quo.
• The President still appoints everyone with a role in the state.
• It allows a very big government. There is no limit on the number of Cabinet ministers and deputy Ministers. The president is allowed to appoint as many Ministers and Deputy Ministers as he/she wishes. The president can use the unlimited numbers of Cabinet positions for patronage, thereby wasting scarce resources on perks for politicians.
• The 2 Vice-Presidents remain. This was a historical arrangement which has served its purpose and must not find space in a new constitution. This is another evidence of big government.
• The size of Parliament has been increased by 60 MPs. This is scandalous for a small country like ours. A people-driven constitution will certainly reduce the size of Parliament.
• Despite the huge size, Parliament remains very weak. It is just a talk-shop. So why increase the number of people who join a talk shop?
• Parliament is not given power to summon the President and ask him questions on the performance of the government.
• There are no term-limits for Parliament. A people-driven constitution will put term-limits for MPs.
• The number of judges will increase beyond the numbers dictated by our resources. What is required are independent judges not an increased number of judges who, like the politicians, require huge perks at the expense of our scarce resources.
• The electoral system is not conducive to a multi-party democracy reflecting all political opinions in the country. The winner-take-all system has been retained. Many people prefer a mixed system that allows proportional representation for half the MPs.
• There is no right to vote for Zimbabweans in the diaspora.
• The Electoral Commission is not independent enough to run free and fair elections. For example, its chairperson is still appointed by the President.
• There is no devolution to provinces. Devolution allows more focused development.
• The issue of "running-mates" is very dangerous, destabilizing and undemocratic. The President of the country must always be the choice of the people. Why should a presidential candidate anoint a successor? It reduces the country to a personal fiefdom of the President because it is ridiculous to assume that the President will die while the first Vice President remains.

The meeting reaffirmed to campaign for the rejection of the COPAC draft should it be subjected to a referendum on the basis of these issues. The national leadership was also mandated to go around all the country's provinces starting next week to convene meetings with the lower level structures of the movement to explain these resolutions and the way forward.

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