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This article participates on the following special index pages:
New Constitution-making process - Index of articles
NCA's
response to MDC-T
National Constitutional Assembly (NCA)
November
22, 2012
The National
Constitutional Assembly (NCA) dismisses with the utmost contempt
a press statement
from the MDC-T's Information Department attacking the NCA
Chairperson Professor Lovemore Madhuku over comments attributed
to him in the state controlled Sunday Mail newspaper dated 18 November
2012. It is unfortunate that there are some in the MDC T who appear
to be paid to get emotional and angry on behalf of their party president
much to the detriment of their own misplaced political reason.
The statements attributed to Professor Madhuku are in no way a deviation
from the values and principles of the NCA as they relate to the
continuing struggle for a people driven constitution as opposed
to the fallacy and national disaster that has been the political
principals' undemocratic
COPAC process. For the MDC-T to want to lecture the NCA and
its leadership on constitutionalism is the height of political hypocrisy
and a deliberate continual misleading of its supporters in order
for its leaders to continue feeding at the ill-gotten trough of
personalized political opportunism and naivety.
It is no longer a secret that the MDC-T deviated and compromised
from the principles which laid the base of their formation as far
as constitution making is concerned by shamelessly embracing Article
6 of the GPA. The
MDC founding manifesto in 1999, which was subsequently adopted by
its inaugural congress on February 28 2000, states.. ''that
the party rejects the current appointed constitutional commission
under the Commission of Inquiry Act, and will facilitate the writing
of a peoples constitution through a constitutional commission defined
by and accountable to a conference of representatives of elected,
civil and other social groups, after mass education on the constitution.
For the record we wish to ask the MDC on what exactly they are calling
'positive' developments in the draft
when:-
- The COPAC
Draft 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.
- There are
2 Vice-Presidents
- The size
of Parliament has been increased by 60 MPs from the current 210
to 260.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 of state power to provinces.
Categorically,
we wish to tell the MDC-T to stop fooling Zimbabweans to support
this scandalous draft which they crafted together with ZANU PF so
that they enjoy the same powers. Instead, their focus should be
in dealing with their internal problems which range from corruption,
factionalism, waning popularity and not spending time attacking
the NCA and its leadership for its principled stance on the drafting
of a new charter for Zimbabwe.
The NCA re-affirms its position on the principle of a genuine people
driven democratic constitution in our country.
We understand that the struggle for democracy is far from being
completed and its intention to resolve the national, class and gender
contradictions through social and economic emancipation of all Zimbabweans.
In all our actions, we are guided by the need to achieve a genuine
democratic constitution and the Peoples
Charter objectives, and will never compromise, nor over-exaggerate
any component of the democratic struggle. There is therefore nothing
retrogressive in the observations of the NCA as this is located
within the context of National Working Peoples Convention, the Peoples
Charter and aimed at building a truly democratic Zimbabwe.
We have no business with the MDC whatsoever, as they are not part
of NCA because of their chameleonic tendencies of being part of
a bogus and illegitimate money spinning constitution making process.
The MDC-T must embrace the basic tenets of democracy and criticism
is part of universally agreed principles of democracy. Those who
fight to silence citizens voices like MDC-T must not worry themselves
because their struggle was won long back by the dictatorship we
are fighting. We urge MDC-T to pay focus on critical governance
issues that improves the life of ordinary Zimbabweans.
Visit the NCA
fact sheet
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