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This article participates on the following special index pages:
Constitutional Amendment 18 of 2007 - Index of articles, opinion and anaylsis
Position
on Constitutional Amendment Number 18
Zapu
FP
October 05, 2007
Visit
the special index of articles, analysis and opinion on Constitutional
Amendment 18
The position
of our party the Zimbabwe African Peoples' Union - Federal Party
on the Zimbabwe
Constitutional amendment number 18 is as follows:
We appreciate the efforts
made by SADC at resolving the problems in the country even though
those efforts may miss the mark by some margin. We appreciate the
African neighbourliness exhibited by SADC's concern for us in Zimbabwe
and their principled stand for Zimbabwe in every fora where Zimbabwe
has been discussed.
We also hope that the
rest of Africa and the international community at large will support
OUR efforts at rebuilding this great nation.
We note however that
the 18th amendment IS NOT a panacea for our crisis which is multifaceted.
We therefore view and hope that this amendment is only a BEGINNING
OF A PROCESS of national healing.
We applaud our competitors
and fellow Zimbabweans in the two formations the MDC and ZANU-PF
for taking a bold stand at beginning this healing process which
has largely been their creation.
We note with concern
the oversight by the civil society organisations that met in Bulawayo
on the 29th and issued a communiqué that 'forgets' that political
parties are part of civil society and represent the concerns of
' ordinary' Zimbabweans as much as any other civil society stakeholder.
Our roles should be complementary and not in competition with each
other. We are concerned that there are some among them who are quick
to condemn the actions of political parties without proposing a
viable and feasible alternative. Such would want a chewing-gum struggle
in Zimbabwe from which they personally benefit.
We also note that a new
constitution while desirable IS NOT and WILL NOT be a FIX-ALL solution
to the Zimbabwean crises; no matter how excellently written that
constitution is. A constitution without a soul is useless. What
good will a good constitution do without the necessary goodwill
by all stakeholders to be bound by it.
A new and relevant constitution
CANNOT be birthed without the goodwill of most stakeholders which
is what ZAPU- FP hopes is the purpose of amendment 18 and hopefully
subsequent actions i.e. the creation of the necessary goodwill among
Zimbabweans.
We note also that the
talks have not been all inclusive and we hope that the mediating
President Mbeki and the three parties sitting at his SADC table
will at some stage soon see the need to engage other political parties
and civil society organisations whose buy-in is needed for the success
of the initiative. For us if the issue of self determination - i.e.
federalism - is not addressed in the new dispensation we shall always
find fault with the institution of government in Zimbabwe.
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