The NCA is not surprised by the
uninspiring, bloated Cabinet announced and sworn into office by President
Mugabe. This lack of surprise comes from the NCA`s long-standing belief that without
a democratic and people-driven constitution guiding the President of the day in
terms of the quality and size of Cabinet,
Zimbabwe will remain under an
incompetent and unaccountable leadership.
President Mugabe’s selection
of cabinet is an insult to the intelligence of the people of Zimbabwe.
We are gravely disappointed by
the recycling of the same old, tried, tested and failed Ministers who have
presided over the collapse of the economy and key state institutions since the
country attained independence. The selection of cabinet Ministers should be
based on merit and not on the basis of ‘close links’ to the President.
It is the NCA`s position that
the occasion of Mugabe`s “new” Cabinet under the auspices of the COPAC
Constitution must be used to demonstrate to all Zimbabweans the serious
shortcomings of the current constitution which were raised by the NCA campaign
for a NO vote. These are:
·
There is no limit in the Constitution on the
number of Ministers. Mugabe has exploited that loophole to appoint over 63
Ministers and Deputy ministers. This is too big and too expensive for our
country.
·
There is no time-limit within which the
President must constitute a Cabinet. Mugabe used that loophole to take over
three weeks to constitute his Cabinet. During that period, he was running the
country alone.
·
There is no meaningful devolution. Mugabe has
exploited the vague provisions to retain Provincial Governors. The COPAC
drivers and the MDCs had told people during their “YES” campaign that the new
Constitution had abolished the post of Provincial Governors.
·
There is no quota on female cabinet Ministers.
Mugabe has exploited the vague provisions on gender to appoint only 8 out of 63
Ministers. The MDCs and some women`s groups had claimed during the “YES”
campaign that the new Constitution guaranteed women equal representation in all
state organs.
·
There is provision for the President to appoint
up to 5 Ministers from outside Parliament. Mugabe has used this provision to
appoint 5 Ministers from outside Parliament.
These illustrations show that
the country still has no democratic and people-driven constitution. The NCA
will continue to work towards a genuinely democratic and people-driven
constitution.
In this regard, Mugabe`s new
Cabinet must expect vigorous scrutiny from the NCA, which is already embarking
on building a movement of the people focussing on ensuring that by 2018
Zimbabwe will have a competent alternative to the recycled Mugabe appointees.
Take charge..NO RETREAT NO SURRENDER!!!
Information Department
