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(NEWZIMBABWE) No compromise on constitution: Mugabe

No compromise on constitution: Mugabe
by Staff Reporter
10/07/2010 00:00:00

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe says foreign interference in the constitutional reform exercise will not be tolerated and urged Zanu PF members to ensure the draft charter consolidates the party’s “nationalist revolutionary” ideals.

Addressing the party’s central committee meeting in Harare Mugabe said donors funding the constitutional reform programme should not be allowed to influence the content of the charter.

“Foreigners must back off. We had nothing to do with their constitutions, in fact we were not even there as a free people when they wrote them.

“The draft constitution must come from the hands of Zimbabweans, not from those countries who think the fact of making financial inputs to our processes entitles them to interfere with the outcome. We cannot swop our birthright for the donor's dollar,” he said.

Writing a new constitution was one of the key provisions of the political deal agreed by Mugabe and long time rival Morgan Tsvangirai, now prime minister in the country’s coalition government.

However the process is nearly a year behind schedule bogged down by inadequate funding and unending squabbles between the political parties.

Meanwhile Mugabe also urged Zanu PF to ensure the “gains of the liberation struggle” are not compromised during the exercise.

“We have positions to defend, principles and policies and on these there shall be no compromise. We must ensure the product carries and consolidates our ideals as a nationalist revolutionary party.

“We fought for the Independence and untrammeled sovereignty of this nation. That coveted status must remain solid, secure and unshaken for all time,” he declared.

And in apparent reference to the existing and much-amended Lancaster House charter, Mugabe claimed foreigners had imposed constitutions on Zimbabwe in the past adding the country bore “everlasting scars from harsh laws written for us”.

However, despite slating donors, Mugabe conceded that the constitutional reform exercise was woefully resourced.

“It is clear this crucial exercise has been made more challenging by the sheer sparseness of resources. The whole process is severely under-resourced, creating situations that are near impossible for all those involved,” he said.

Once completed, the draft charter will be put to a national referendum possibly leading to elections for a substantive government sometime next year.

Labels: CONSTITUTION, DONORS, MUGABE

posted by MrK @ 4:36 AM