Maravi

(TALKZIMBABWE) Constitution process should be funded by govt not donors

Constitution process should be funded by govt not donors
Senator Aguy Clement Georgias - Opinion
Thu, 30 Jul 2009 03:28:00 +0000

DEAR EDITOR — The Government of Zimbabwe indeed needs a new constitution, which is home-grown and meets the expectations of our people. It should be a constitution of the people of Zimbabwe, initiated by them and for a very good reason, funded by the Government and spearheaded by the Ministry of Justice.

The current campaign for a new constitution does not reflect that it originates from the people, but from a few political leaders whose motive is political and should culminate in the holding of the general elections guided by the new constitution. The questions, therefore, arising from this constitution-making process are:

-Who is funding the process and is the budget adequate to meet the costs and all the aspects of educating the electorate?

-Why has it become an emergency programme, instead of the national economic recovery project taking precedence?

-Is it a Zanu PF or MDC-driven process and have these parties both consulted enough in their respective constituencies?

-Is the constitution-making process not being imposed on the people, who we all know, are living in an economic environment not conducive to even hold an election?

-Do the people know and appreciate the defects of the current revised constitution of 1996?

-Is it correct to have the whole constitution-making process funded by donors who prefer to prioritise this project and not the revival of the economy?

-What is the role of civic groups in the constitution-making process and who funds them?

-Is it not true that all civic groups constitute the pressure groups for the "democratic change" and are not a representative of all political parties?

-Can there be transparency in the constitution-making process if donors and civic groups hijack the wishes of the majority?

-Is it not the wish of the majority to have the inclusive Government resolve economic problems first, thereby creating a conducive environment enabling them to participate in the constitution-making process without hindrance and dependency on the NGOs biased in favour of their own covert agenda?

The House of Parliament should be called upon to scrutinise the motive behind a new constitution and whether it is mandated by the majority of our people or a majority of the civic groups.

Those of us who believed that economic sanctions would be lifted upon signing the Global Political Agreement are yet to meet another surprise when they discover why the donors prefer to fund theconstitution-making process as opposed to economic recovery?

In conclusion, I urge the House to reject aid money targeted at political agendas such as the donor-driven, ill-timed constitution-making process in the same way Western governments have rejected to lift sanctions or give economic aid to the inclusive Government.

_______________
*Senator Aguy Clement Georgias writes from Harare. This article first appeared in The Herald.

Labels: CONSTITUTION, DONORS, MDC, ZANU-PF

posted by MrK @ 3:02 PM