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This article participates on the following special index pages:
New Constitution-making process - Index of articles
Principals
approve draft constitution
Tererai Karimakwenda, SW Radio Africa
January 17, 2013
http://www.swradioafrica.com/2013/01/17/principals-approve-draft-constitution/
The principals
in the unity
government have announced they have reached agreement on the
draft
of the constitution presented to them by the cabinet committee on
Thursday, paving the way for some progress towards
a referendum.
Robert Mugabe,
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara
and MDC President Welshman Ncube all addressed journalists after
meeting with the full COPAC management committee.
The cabinet
appointed committee had met twice on Wednesday and ironed out the
remaining contentious issues. The resulting solutions were presented
to the principals in Thursday's meeting and they agreed to
adopt the new version.
"We are
glad to say that we have now come to the conclusion of the exercise
and all parties are agreed. Sure there will be some T's to
cross and I's to dot but we are generally agreed and the finalization
of the draft has now been made," Mugabe told reporters.
He added that
after the finalisation of the actual draft constitution the principals
would announce the way forward, including a date for the referendum
and a roadmap for elections.
Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai said: "We have reached a defining moment
for the country. I am sure that the people's patience has
been tested severely, that they have legitimate expectations out
of this process. I am glad to say this concludes a long journey
that we have travelled to arrive at this national process."
But according
to Constitutional Affairs Minister Eric Matinenga, this draft agreed
to by the principals still has to be presented to the standing committees
of the political parties, ZANU PF's politburo and to the full
COPAC parliamentary committee, before a final draft goes to a referendum.
Matinenga insists
this is just a formality, but there remain concerns that ZANU PF
will once again seize the opportunity and throw a spanners into
the works and demand further changes, as they did last year after
agreement had been reached by the negotiators.
Political commentator
Wilbert Mukori said ZANU PF will most likely cause further delays,
in order to minimize the amount of time left for other more important
reforms that were agreed to in the GPA.
Mukori said
this agreement by the principals weakens SADC's position,
because the regional grouping can now be accused of blocking progress
by the unity government if they interfere with this process and
demand more GPA reforms.
SW Radio
Africa is Zimbabwe's Independent Voice and broadcasts on Short
Wave 4880 KHz in the 60m band.
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