HARARE – A special parliamentary committee leading Zimbabwe's constitutional reform process has named a 425-member team drawn from lawmakers, politicians and civic society members that will make up thematic committees to lead drafting of the country's new governance charter.

One of the committee’s co-chairpersons, Douglas Mwonzora from Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC party, said the team whose consultation process is going to take two months will start work on January 12.

"The consultation process is going to take 65 days," Mwonzora said at press conference in Parliament.

"Some people think that represents a reduction of days for the process, that's not. A certain quarter of people who applied to take part are drawn from political parties and civil society. For example, ZCTU has said it's not going to take part in the problems, but you have its affiliates who are taking part in the process. Just as NCA, some people are taking part in the process in their individual capacity."

According to Paul Mangwana, the other co-chairperson from President Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF party, the select committee will have 30 percent representation from Members of Parliament, and 70 percent will be drawn from the civil society.

Mangwana said they had taken time to announce the composition of the team which will eventually have 560 people because they wanted to get assurance of funding from Finance Minister Tendai Biti.

"We wanted assurance that resources will be there, but now we have been told that the resources are available," Mangwana said.

He said the thematic committees will have 17 themes that will be used during the outreach programme. Some of the committees that have been put in place will deal with issues related to religion, war veterans, elections, bill of rights and founding principles of the constitution.

Some of the people drawn from the civil society that have been chosen to take part in the process are Stanford Moyo (lawyer), Geoff Feltoe (University of Zimbabwe –UZ – lecturer), Foster Dongozi (journalist and secretary general of the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists), Joseph Chinotimba, Kucaca Phulu (Bulawayo-based lawyer), Amy Tsanga (UZ law lecturer), Tsitsi Dangarembwa (film director) and Takavafira Zhou (political analyst).

In addition to funding shortages stalling the parliamentary committee’s work, sharp differences have also emerged between the political parties over the writing of the new constitution that threaten to derail the reform process.

ZANU PF has said any new constitution should be based on a draft constitution secretly authored by the main political parties on Lake Kariba and known as the Kariba Draft.

However, civic organisations and Tsvangirai’s MDC are opposed to it, saying the document leaves largely untouched the wide-sweeping powers that Mugabe continues to enjoy even after formation of a power-sharing government with Tsvangirai and Deputy Premier Arthur Mutambara.

Under last year's power-sharing deal the country is supposed to have a new constitution in the next two years to pave way for new elections.

The draft constitution will be put before the electorate in a referendum expected in July next year and if approved by Zimbabweans will then be brought before Parliament for enactment.

Once a new constitution is in place, the power-sharing government is expected to call fresh parliamentary, presidential and local government elections.

Zimbabweans hope a new constitution will guarantee basic freedoms, strengthen Parliament and limit the President’s immense powers. 

By Zimonline