NCA Protests Government Handling of Constitution Process

By Caiphas Chimhete|The Zimbabwe Standard

THE National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) on Friday boycotted a consultative stakeholders’ forum officially opened by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai in protest against the way government wants to handle the constitution-making process.

The militant civic organisation is demanding a people-driven constitution but its political ally, the MDC, has already embraced the Kariba Document, a draft constitution cobbled by Zanu PF and the two MDC formations in the resort town last year.

NCA chairman, Lovemore Madhuku said they boycotted the forum because they felt “belittled and insulted” by Tsvangirai who invited them through a third party, the National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (Nango).

NCA, a loose coalition of civic organisations and individuals, is not an affiliate of Nango.

“We were making a statement. They do not support a people-driven constitutional making process and we did not see the wisdom of supporting their process,” Madhuku said.

In any case, he said, the NCA had already presented its position to Tsvangirai and Eric Matinenga, the Minister of Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs and they knew the organisation’s position.

The day-long forum attended by over 500 stakeholders from civil society, business community, employers, gender sector and development partners, was meant to gather views on how to resolve the crisis in the country.

But the NCA boss said there was no need to hold the forum, which he described as “waste of resources and bad precedence” by the inclusive government because they had already endorsed the Kariba Document described by Tsholotsho North legislator Jonathan Moyo as a “boat-driven constitution”.

Madhuku, who has on several occasions staged demonstrations against President Robert Mugabe’s administration, warned the new government against forcing the Kariba document on the people.

“If they (the inclusive government) choose that way they must prepare for war not conferences,” Madhuku said.

The NCA has said it would embark on an awareness campaign countrywide to make sure that Zimbabweans knew of their rights to make their own constitution.

The Kariba draft constitution was authored by Zanu PF’s Patrick Chinamasa, Nicholas Goche, Welshman Ncube of the Arthur Mutambara-led MDC and the mainstream MDC’s Tendai Biti.

The antagonism between the NCA and MDC could mark the end of their decade-old marriage, which started on the formation of the political party.

In Bulawayo Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Eric Matinenga Saturday said the government would organise an all-stakeholders’ conference as part of the constitution-making process, allaying fears the three ruling parties will try to impose the draft they crafted in Kariba.

There is already simmering discontent in civil society over indications that the inclusive government made of Zanu PF and the two Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) formations wants the process to be led by Parliament.

But Matinenga said civil society would play a more prominent role compared to the 2000 process where the government was embarrassed at a referendum for a new constitution.

He said the conference would be held in mid-July.

“The conference is an opportunity where Zimbabweans shall come together and spell out what they want to see in the document that they shall call the constitution,” he told a public meeting on the constitution making process organised by Bulawayo Agenda.

“As civic society, your participation in such a conference will give you the opportunity to get the constitution that you want so that tomorrow you blame yourselves if things go wrong and not point a finger at anyone,” Matinenga said.

He said the Kariba draft would be used as a reference in crafting the constitution to replace the much-amended Lancaster House Constitution.

Matinenga also said the government was considering engaging a retired judge to lead the process.
“We want to carry out a process that is as inclusive as possible so as to avoid dissenting voices when the whole document has been completed,” Matinenga said.

“For starters, we have made sure that we commit ourselves to finding the best candidate to fill the post of chairperson of the commission, who will lead the whole process.”

The introduction of a new constitution, which is expected to lead into fresh elections after 18 months, is one of the main targets set in the Global Political Agreement that set up the unity government.

The NCA was instrumental in the formation of the MDC in 1999, two years after its own birth.