Maravi

(TALKZIMBABWE) Party divisions threaten Copac

Party divisions threaten Copac
By: TH-TZG
Posted: Wednesday, September 15, 2010 2:27 pm

DIVISIONS have emerged in the Constitution Parliamentary Select Committee over outreach meetings in Harare and Bulawayo.

Yesterday, Copac co-chair Mr Douglas Mwonzora (MDC-T) reportedly convened a management committee meeting in which he claimed there was agreement that there should be two meetings per ward in the two cities. All other provinces have had one meeting per ward.

However, his co-chair, Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana (Zanu-PF), revealed the management meeting had been called without his consultation and that no agreement had been reached on holding two meetings per ward.

He said Mr Mwonzora had misrepresented to the management committee, calling him a "fraudster" who wanted more meetings in Harare and Bulawayo than in other provinces because these two were perceived MDC-T strongholds.

"Our work plan says one meeting per ward. Any changes require approval by the Select Committee. He called the management committee and lied to them that he had spoken to me and we had agreed on the changes.

"Fortunately, my principal in the management committee, Cde Nicholas Goche, refused to authorise any changes until he had spoken with me.

"I was at a funeral and Mwonzora claimed I had sent him my apologies for not attending the management committee meeting."

Mangwana said Zanu-PF members of the Select Committee will caucus today to review "if we can go forward with a co-chair who is a fraudster".

Mwonzora, earlier in the day had said the Select Committee would meet today to consider the issue of how many outreach meetings should be held in Harare and Bulawayo.

Mr Mwonzora claimed: "Our original agreement was that we would hold two meetings per ward for Harare and Bulawayo.

"Our experience is that any crowd that exceeds 500 is too big for the purpose of the outreach. There are some who believe we should stick to one meeting per ward and we will meet as co-chairs to discuss the matter.

"We are also in the process of setting up thematic committees and drafting committees for the next phase of the constitution-making process," Mr Mwonzora said.

Special outreach meetings for children and youths, sponsored by Unicef, would be held on September 24 and 25.

The outreach is scheduled to end in October and the Copac teams have so far covered more than 80 percent of the country.

The process has, however, been hampered by a shortage of resources that resulted in intermittent stoppages.

Two days ago an outreach team in Masvingo was locked out of a lodge after delays in payment of bills. Approximately 700 000 people have attended the outreach meetings conducted to date.

Labels: CONSTITUTION, COPAC, DOUGLAS MWONZORA, MASVINGO, MDC CORRUPTION, MUNYARADZI PAUL MANGWANA

posted by MrK @ 5:20 PM