NCA Archives: Draft constitution a monumental fraud

Comment Zimbabwe Independent November 1999

 WHEREAS the constitutional commission's spin-doc­tors have been telling the public almost ad nauseam that "the people have spoken" it appears we are about to wit­ness a monumental fraud. The people have been deceived and indeed, robbed if this draft is anything to go by.

This newspaper, the National Constitutional Assem­bly and many others who argued against participating in the fatally-Sawed government-sponsored reform process under the Commissions of Inquiry Act, have been vindi­cated. For the sake of this nation, we kept our fingers crossed that our fears be proven wrong. Unfortunately that has not been the case. Those that jumped into bed with Zanu PF must now realise that they have been used to legitimise a self-serving reform process.

Most of the ruling party's constitutional proposals to the commission have got the nod ahead of submissions made by the general public, opposition political parties and other interest groups. Zanu PF has again triumphed over the will of the people The ruling party, dragged into constitutional reform kicking and screaming by civil so­ciety, has shown beyond any shadow of doubt its contempt for the electorate. The tragedy is that the con­stitutional commission has succumbed to Zanu PFs seduction.

Constitution-making is always a high stakes game as it | is essentially about who holds political power. And Zanu ' PF, aided and abated by the dubious constitutional com­mission, has shown that it is not prepared to listen to deafening pleas for a vibrant democracy from the people.

As Chief Emeka Anyaoku observed last week, a con­stitution is about a'people deciding how they want to be governed. "It is not about the government or anyone else telling the people how they ought to be governed," he said, adding that it was vital that the constitution came from below and not from above.

The people have told the commission in unambiguous terms how they want to be governed. This has largely |been disregarded. The draft constitution is an imposi­tion from above as it does not even begin to approximate the people's written and oral submissions. As we sus­pected, the commission's so-called outreach programme was a monumental fraud. It was an expensive charade and a deceptive exercise intended to give the false im­pression of a participatory democracy.

While all the 10 provinces unanimously agreed that the office of provincial governors should be abolished, the draft has surprisingly retained them. An overwhelm­ing number of provinces, 6 out of 10, said they preferred proportional representation in parliament, a position supported by two political parties and the CZI, among

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other interest groups. The commission has back-handed all this. For a young democracy such as ours proportional representation has clear advantages, such as nurturing smaller political parties, thereby underpinning plural­ism.

The greatest political aberration in the draft is the de­cision to misrepresent the public's opposition to the aU-tcopowerfuI executive presidency. Six out of 10 prov­inces clearly stated they wanted a non-executive president as head of state with an executive prime min­ister. This majority view has been shunted aside for what the ruling party and its mandarins in the commission want The people's attempts to rid themselves of the abuse of political office by a powerful president appear to have been thwarted.

While the thematic committee on separation of pow­ers recommended that there must be no more than 15 cabinet ministers, the commission, in yet another show of arrogance, has insisted on having 20 posts. The pub­lic's concerns about a huge government impacting negatively on the budget deficit have not struck a sin­gle cord in the ruling party which dominates the commission.

To be fair though, there are some positive aspects in the draft. For instance there liave been attempts to put in checks and balances on presidential powers al­though it is difficult to see how this will work with so much power still .vested in one person. As far as eco­nomic management is concerned the limits on public debt, state guarantees and borrowings are welcome. The elimination of non-constituent MPs and the re­form of funding for political parties remove some of the hurdles to a vibrant democracy.

We are opposed to the proposed legislated commis­sion to "promote and enforce good practice and ethics in the media" as there is a danger this could be used to stifle press freedom. It is further evidence of the me­dia-intolerant Zanu PF's fingerprints on this draft constitution. It could have dire consequences for me­dia diversity.

If the ruling party can tamper with people's views in broad daylight then there is little prospect that it will stand by and watch its constitution being rejected by the people In a referendum. Its skills in vote-rigging and intimidation will be put into use to arrive at a pre­ferred verdict This, without doubt is a Zanu PF constitution and the people might yet live to write their own truly democratic basic law.

The people clearly called for a complete overhaul of the current constitution. But all they are likely to get is an amended version retaining most of the negative provisions of the Lancaster House document. There is hope yet If those genuine reformers within the com­mission stand up for their principles and opt for the side of the people. It is that or they could elect to show their disgust over the draft by resigning before the ple­nary. Their collective credibility and the future of this country are In jeopardy.

nb-This article was published by the Zimbabwe Independent in November 1999