44 constitution
outreach meetings to replace those meetings that were disputed
or not completed during the original Harare outreach over the
period 18th to 20th September will now be held next weekend, 30th
and 31st October. Details of venues and times for the meetings
will be circulated as soon as they are made available by COPAC.
COPAC’s
Preconditions for the Harare Meetings
After the
disruption of so many of the original Harare outreach meetings
by violence and intimidation, coaching of participants and bussing
in of outsiders, the COPAC management committee agreed that the
coming Harare meetings would be subject to the following preconditions,
which were announced in a COPAC press statement of 6th October:
1. That parties
take responsibility for the behaviour of their supporters during
the outreach programme. In this regard, the political parties
will publicly and in writing contained in a document signed by
their Secretaries General denounce violence, intimidation, racism
and other malpractices during the outreach programme and implore
their supporters to desist from these activities. [This document
has not yet been finalised.]
2. That the
political parties have a prime responsibility to prevent the bussing
of people from outside Harare or from areas in Harare in respect
of which outreach was properly done. The law enforcement agents
are hereby implored to put measures to ensure that the bussing
is prevented during the ensuing outreach programme. [They have
not said how they are going to do this]
3. That the
outreach meetings will be broken down into smaller manageable
groups. The meetings should be held in securable places like schools
etc. [This is being arranged.]
4. That the
Zimbabwe Republic Police, through the Co-Ministers of Home Affairs
and the Commissioner General of Police, is hereby called upon
to ensure that mechanisms are put in place for the effective maintenance
of law and order during the outreach programme. In this regard
sufficient guarantees will be given regarding the security of
members of the public during this programme. [Police have said
this will be done.]
5. That the
Political Party Liaison Committee for Harare will be made up of
senior national leaders from Political Parties. Equally the District
Liaison Committees will be made up of senior political party leaders.
[The parties have not yet submitted the names of their representatives
on these committees.]
6. That the
public print and electronic media, and in particular the Zimbabwe
Broadcasting Corporation, publishes the dates and venues of the
outreach meetings as well as the COPAC Code of Conduct in such
a way as to sufficiently inform members of the public on same.
[It is too early to comment on compliance or otherwise with this
condition. Veritas will circulate the dates and venues and the
COPAC Code of Conduct as soon as possible.]
7. The Management
Committee hereby calls upon the ZRP to immediately take action
designed to bring all those responsible for all crimes committed
during the entire outreach programme including specifically the
crimes committed during the disturbances in Harare between the
18th and 20th of September 2010, to book. [ZRP have provided COPAC
with some documentary evidence of investigations commenced and
dockets opened.]
Outreach
Attendance Figures as at 6th October
At the COPAC
press conference of 6th October it was announced that, excluding
Harare, over 4 600 meetings had been conducted, with a total participation
of 963 000 people. [Veritas will circulate detailed statistics
when they are available.]
Youth
and the Outreach
From the outset
attendance by young people at outreach meetings was low, particularly
in the Matabeleland Provinces and Midlands. An effort to remedy
this defect was the holding of a two-day meeting between COPAC
and 200 representatives of children and youth on the 22nd and
23rd September at Parliament Buildings in Harare. The event was
organised by UNICEF, COPAC and the Ministry of Constitutional
and Parliamentary Affairs. All 10 provinces in the country were
represented.
This interaction
between COPAC and a mere 200 young people was condemned as wholly
inadequate when youth organisations held a discussion forum in
Harare on 12th October to assess youth participation in the constitution-making
process. The overwhelming verdict from speakers and participants
from the floor was that youth had not been adequately catered
for in the process. There should have been more awareness-raising
among youth before the outreach commenced. As it was, young people
had felt unwelcome at outreach meetings, even when held at schools.
In many places they had been subjected to pressure and told they
could not attend or could attend but as observers only.
COPAC
Meeting with Diaspora in Johannesburg
On 2nd October
the three COPAC co-chairpersons met representatives of Zimbabweans
resident in South Africa. Views expressed included the right to
cast absentee ballots in elections and the right to dual citizenship.
The organisations represented at the meeting were assured that
the views of Zimbabweans in the Diaspora would be taken into account
in the making of the new Constitution. Diaspora organisations
have since announced that they will soon – probably this
week – be submitting a draft constitution setting out their
position.
Making
Submissions to COPAC Online: COPAC Website
The COPAC
website – www.copac.org.zw
– is operational. [Do not be put off by the fact that some
aspects of the website – such as latest news – have
not been updated since July.]
All Zimbabweans,
whether in the Diaspora or resident in the country, are welcome
to make use of the website to tell COPAC what they want to see
in the new constitution.
This can be
done by answering the website’s talking points questionnaire
online. Contributions made via the website will be collated along
with the information collected by the outreach teams during the
countrywide outreach exercise and the collated information will
be provided to the thematic committees for use in preparing their
reports.
Instructions
for accessing the talking points questionnaire
Go to the
website homepage at www.copac.org.zw
