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Residents speak on new constitution
Community Radio Harare (CORAH)
August 03, 2009

Residents in Budiriro and Glen View have said they are ready to contribute their views in the current constitution making exercise in order to ensure that their longtime concerns about service delivery with respect to availability of water, electricity and housing are recognized as basic human rights and be enshrined in the new constitution.

Speaking at a Community Radio Harare (CORAH) roadshow in Glen View on Saturday the 1st of August 2009, participants say that government and local authorities should be compelled by the new constitution to meet all basic human requirements.

"We want leaders to be compelled to make sure that we have got water at any given time because water is a basic need that we cannot do without. The constitution should be made in such a way that all basic necessities are recognized and enshrined as basic human rights issues and if leaders fail to provide these, we should, as residents, have the powers to take action," said Mrs Zhakata of Budiriro.

Tendai Matinha said, "We want the new constitution to protect us from such diseases as cholera. We suffered here in Glen View at the hands of cholera and this was because we were not getting clean water to drink and sewage was literally flowing inside our houses. So what we want is a new constitution that recognizes our right to have access to health, clean water and protection from being exposed to disease."

"This constitution should address the bread and butter issues and these are to do with access to social services. As we can all see, this place is in such a sorry state and we should make sure that those people given responsibilities to deliver do so without fail. We want leaders to be accountable to the people and if they fail to deliver, the people must have the powers to force them out," said Stephen Sawe.

"The other issue is that of education. Our political leaders benefitted from previous governments' commitment to ensuring that people had access to education. As such, they should make current and future generations have access to education as well and I think this new constitution should ensure that all children will have access to education," added Sawe.

The other issues that were raised by the audience include the protection of people from political violence that has become rampant during most election campaigns and also the need to ensure that politicians are not given excessive powers that they may abuse for personal benefits.

The roadshow, which ran under the theme "Speak out! It's your right to participate in the constitution making processes," was held in order to encourage ordinary people to come out and speak about issues that they would want to see in the new constitution.

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