by Simplicious Chirinda Saturday 16 January 2010
HARARE - A Zimbabwean civic society group on Friday warned that the country's constitutional reform process might suffer from apathy as many Zimbabweans do not feel the proposed changes will be adequate to guarantee basic freedoms and democracy.
The Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZIMRIGHTS) in its report gathering the views of the people on the ongoing constitution making process warned that were reluctant to participate in the reform process.
"Countrywide people are afraid to embrace their right to express themselves freely on issues pertaining to their governance," read the ZIMRIGHTS report titled "Grassroots Views on the Constitution" launched in Harare yesterday.
"In light of the impending consultative meetings by the parliamentary select committee, this compromises the quality of data to be gathered by this committee.
"A sneak preview of the people's participation in governance issues has shown rampant apathy, an unwillingness to participate in processes they think will not do anything to change their situation. Some of the people expressed concern over whether or not their contributions to the final constitution document will be taken into cognisance."
The rights watchdog consulted more than 65 000 people mostly in rural areas of the country's 10 provinces in coming up with the report.
Among some of the issues raised by the participants were the presidential tenure in which most people said the country's president under a new constitution should not be lees than 40 years old or rule over the age of 60. They also wanted the presidential term to be limited to two five-year terms and that any presidential hopefuls declare their assets before they take office.
"The findings were that the president should not entrench him or herself in the presidency and refuse to relinquish power through constitutional amendment when the time for elections comes," read the report.
ZIMRIGHTS chairman Kucaca Phulu told ZimOnline that there was a deep-seated scepticism among the people on whether their views on the constitution making process would be respected.
"People expressed scepticism on whether their views would be considered important hence the reluctance to participate," said Phulu.
Speaking at the same occasion Deputy Prime Minister Thokozani Khupe said Zimbabweans have a right to determine how they want to be governed.
"People have a right to tell us the leaders how they want to be governed. For the past 30 years, it has been the leaders who have been telling the people how they are going to govern them, that must come to an end. People must break the silence and speak out and we will make sure that their views are not doctored like what has happened in the past," said Khupe.
The Constitutional Parliamentary Committee (COPAC) driving the reforms, on Thursday said that it would request that President Robert Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his deputy Arthur Mutambara make a joint public statement denouncing political violence in order to reassure citizens they will not be victimised for expressing their views about the way they want to be governed.
The proposed new constitution is part of the requirements of a September 2008 power-sharing deal between Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Mutambara that gave birth to the Harare coalition government last February. - ZimOnline