"We maintain strongly that ZANU cannot unilaterally alter a constitution that was approved by 93% of Zimbabweans in a referendum. Moreso when some of the proposed amendments seek to alter the basic structure of the constitution. The constitution is sacrosanct & should be protected," said Tendai Biti.
He is commenting in the wake of ongoing public hearings on the Constitutional Amendment Bill 2.
One does not have to be a lawyer to dismiss Biti’s comment as yet another example of the MDC silverback gorilla grandstanding and posturing. Of course, there is no such thing a sacrosanct constitution that cannot be amended!
Even the American Constitution, one of the best constitutions in the world and has served the American people well and has stood the test of time was amended.
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” Reads the first amendment to the USA Constitution.
The amendment was passed in 1791, three years after constitution was officially adopted in June 1788 after New Hampshire, the critical ninth state, ratified the Constitution.
There is no doubt that the first USA Constitution and many they have followed has largely enhanced the people’s freedoms and rights and democracy and good governance - that country’s greatest blessing. Sadly the same cannot be said of proposed second amendment to Zimbabwe’s constitution.
“The first amendment (passed September 2017) to the 2013 Zimbabwean Constitution, empowering the President to appoint the Chief Justice, has undermined the compromise central to the consultative drafting process. Considering the Zimbabwean post-colonial tradition of legislative claw back of progressive constitutional provisions and judicial pronouncements, this raises questions on whether the drafters should have recognized unamendable provisions or at least entrenched the judicial appointment process.” Wrote David T Hofisi in Constitution Net.
It should be pointed out that the 2013 Zimbabwe Constitution itself is weak in that it gave the State President excessive powers with none of the usual democratic checks and balances. The first amendment only served to consolidate the excessive Presidential power to the judiciary.
One of the things the second amendment to the Zimbabwe constitution will do is scrap the requirement for an elected Vice President giving the State President the power to appoint and fire the VP just as he/she has power to appoint/fire cabinet members!
Tendai Biti’s objection to the ongoing exercise to pass the second amendment is foolish political grandstanding for two reasons:
1)
Tendai Biti and his fellow MDC colleagues were involved in the
drafting of the feeble 2013 Constitution give the State President excessive
powers and the campaigned for its approval in the March 2013 referendum. It is
therefore rich for Biti to now be posturing defending a feeble constitution.
2)
This Zanu PF government blatantly rigged the July 2018 elections,
it has no mandate to govern the country much less amending the constitution.
And yet there is no denying that the participation of MDC and the whole coterie
of opposition parties and candidate have given some credibility to the otherwise
flawed and illegal election process and hence some modicum of legitimacy to
this illegitimate regime. Again, it is very rich of our MDC Godzilla all teeth
but no bite monster to be questioning the legality of the amendment process
when he and his troop are the ones who gave the Zanu PF regime legitimacy!
In short there is nothing wrong with amending a Constitution per se. A strong Constitution is the foundation on which amendments can be added to enhance and strengthen the freedoms, rights and good governance. Weak and feeble Constitutions, such as the Zimbabwe 2013 Constitution, are nothing but a dictator’s creed and the tyrant will only seek to strengthen his/her dictatorial powers with each constitutional amendment!
Tendai Biti and company let the horse bolt free and he is now making a big song and dance about closing the stable door! Shut up Godzilla! “Chienda undovhiya mbudzi!” as one would say in Shona.
14 comments:
Chamisa has no MPs, I now have 103 MPs says Thokozani Khupe
During the 2008 to 2013 GNU Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends wasted the five years fighting for trivial matters and failed to implement even one democratic reform.
Since the 2018 rigged elections Chamisa has wasted a lot of time challenging the presidential result in the Constitutional Court when MDC should have never participated in the flawed and illegal elections in the first place.
The fight over who should lead the MDC is just the latest time wasting gimmick. The nation is facing the greatest economic and humanitarian challenge of our generation as a result of the corona virus pandemic and MDC leaders have been busy fighting each other over who is leader they have not even noticed we have a crisis!
Zanu PF is blundering from pillar to post making the covid-19 situation worse not better!
What a nightmare!
The military and police in Zimbabwe this week launched a blitz operation to curb potential civil unrest.
Between Monday and Wednesday, Harare, Bulawayo and Kwekwe have been shut down without notice following intelligence that civil society and the opposition were plotting insurgency.
“The state decided on an enhanced lockdown last week, acting on the basis of information and threats which civilians never know beforehand,” said presidential spokesperson George Charamba.
We all know two things:
1) that Zanu PF has no clue how to revive the country's comatose economy and the corona virus outbreak has only make the bad situation a hell lot worse
2) that the economic meltdown is so serious the tragic human suffering has pushed the people beyond their human endurance there is no doubt that this cannot continue for much longer. The people are restless and pressure for change is increasing and the worsening economic mess is the fuel forcing the temperature and pressure to go up. Something has to give to relive the pressure!
The irony is the people of Zimbabwe are not asking SA to take up the banner and call for sanctions against Zimbabwe. We are asking SA just to call a spade a spade! Mnangagwa blatantly rigged the July 2018 elections, the country failed to produce something as basic as a verified voters’ roll for Pete’s sake. Why SA President Cyril Ramaphosa has described the elections as “went well” beggars belief!
President Ramaphosa has taken it upon himself to call for the lifting of the sanctions imposed by the west on the Zanu PF ruling elite under the pretext that the sanctions are the root cause of the country’s economic meltdown. Everyone, including President Ramaphosa himself, known the root cause of Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown are the gross mismanagement and rampant corruption. Again, why he has decided to be the two faced fool (SA has acted decisively in end corruption under President Zuma) doing Zanu PF’s dirty propaganda is yet another mystery!
Pursuant to Government's commitment to continuously review and improve the remuneration framework for Civil Servants, taking into account the transitory economic challenges being currently experienced in the country, which have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, Government makes the following announcement: -
1. With immediate effect, all Civil Servants' Salaries will be adjusted upwards by 50%. This increase also applies to all Government Pensions.
2. In addition, all Civil Servants will be paid a flat, non-taxable, Covid-19 Allowance of USD75.00 per month.
3. Government Pensioners will be paid a flat, non-taxable, Covid-19 Allowance of USD30.00 per month.
4. Government has taken due regard of the fact that addressing the wage challenges faced across the Civil Service, any salary reviews will need to be done within a holistic framework in order to ensure that such a review does not impose a negative shock in the market.
5. This interim arrangement is for period of 3 months, starting from June 2020.
6. All civil Servants and Pensioners are therefore advised to immediately open USD denominated Nostro Bank Accounts with their banks in order to smoothen the process of payment. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is urgently addressing the domestic payments infrastructure in light of the increased need for "transactability".
7. Government would therefore wish to advise members of the Civil Service that the above interim adjustments have been put in place whilst a comprehensive impact assessment and a framework for mitigating against the downside macroeconomic risks of the wage proposals made to the Government on the budget and the economy are being carefully worked out.
8 Government reiterates its commitment to payment of a living wage to its employees, whilst ensuring sustainability of the budget.
9. Government is also widening the remuneration framework for Civil Servants to introduce significant non-monetary benefits and these will be announced in due course.
Let me state it here and now that I believe the Zimbabwe government can afford to make all the above payments and a lot more besides if steps were taken to end the billions of dollars lost every month because of gross mismanagement and rampant corruption. However, after 40 years of looting, I do not see Mnangagwa and his cronies ever agreeing to sharing the nation’s riches with the rest of the population.
Zanu PF has clearly failed to revive the Zimbabwe economy so when is this government getting the money to pay these salary increases and allowances? Without a satisfactory answer then it is almost certain that we are going to see inflation soaring and the prices of goods and services shoot up too.
Zimbabwe has never had freedom of expression and a free and robust media, before and after independence, and as a consequence our people have never had the chance to be well informed as they should be for a healthy and functioning democracy. Their understanding of issues has always been very superficial at best. If it had not been for their very superficial understand of the 2013 Constitution there was no way they would have approved that rubbish.
Tendai Biti and his MDC friends asked the people approve the new constitution. “It is the MDC child!” Tsvangirai boasted. It was the exact opposite. “Mugabe dictated the new constitution,” Paul Mangwana boasted soon after the constitution was approved. And no one can dispute that!
The new constitution has failed to deliver free, fair and credible elections together with all the other freedoms and rights. I totally agree the first amendment has only helped to consolidate the State President’s draconian powers already in the constitution.
Zimbabwe was already a dysfunctional one-party dictatorship thanks to its weak and feeble 2013 constitution. The first amendment and the second in the pipeline will consolidate the dictatorial powers of the Zanu PF regime but it is certainly not worth the candle because the cause is already lost.
One of the most important democratic reforms to be implemented a.s.a.p. have to be to free the media and grant the people freedom of expression. We must make sure the people of Zimbabwe are finally freed to participate in the rebuilding of the new democratic Zimbabwe and ready to play their role going forward.
ZIMBABWE has recorded four new cases of Covid-19 bringing the total number of cases countrywide to 391.
According to the Ministry of Health and Child Care, the new cases were recorded from South African returnees who have been put on isolation.
If these government reports are to be believed then the country has covid-19 among returnees but not in the rest of the community. Only a handful of locals have ever tested positive of the virus and most of them got infected by a returnee. The question that must then be asked is why have we failed to reopen the schools?
Schools were initially set to reopen on 29 June 2020 but this was cancelled to give the authorities time “to mobilize resources”. Schools are now set to reopen end of July, a full month away! This nonsense; these buffoons should have been prepared to reopen school as soon as the all-clear was given.
I cannot imagine losing even two weeks of schooling in any given year and yet all students across the board are set to lose four months this year. Education is like building a house lay a solid foundation and the house will stand for decades. Mess up even one layer and you will have endless problems building all the other layers to follow.
So the four-months gap out of their schooling will be felt by all the student from those who were in their first grade to those who were in their final year at University. Like it or not, the upper limit of their achievements have just been lowered for no fault of their own. This is a scar they will carry their rest of their lives!
If the government has not reopened schools because it feared there might be a lot more covid-19 cases among the locals that its figures suggest. Then one has to ask why has the regime refused to carry out more covid-19 tests among the locals?
The laissez faire attitude of this government to the education of our children is simply unacceptable.
@ Mwembe
“Actually, the writer of this story became stupid when he or she brings in American constitution which has been in existence for 200 years. And ruling parties in that country do not abuse it for their personal gains like what Zanu does here. Even if we had the best constitution Zanu would just temper with it. So it's useless to have a good constitution under Zanu because Zanu does not respect or work according to the constitution they just change it.”
Well one of the strengths of a good constitution is that it has checks and balance to stop anyone in the position of power and authority abusing their position for selfish gain. If our constitution allows Zanu PF to rig elections to get into power and once in power to do as its leaders please and temper with the constitution itself then the constitution itself was weak and feeble to start with.
There is the law staying if steal someone else's car you will be punished. If the thieves continue to steal then it is either the law is weak or it is not being enforced. You do not throw your hands in the air and say we have thieves who will not obey the law so let us just give up on the concept of making laws and enforcing them!
We had the chance to rewrite our constitution and Biti and company insisted the new constitution was a good and democratic constitution. But when it failed it first acid test - deliver free, fair and credible elections – they would not admit the constitution was weak and instead started to give all manner of excuses.
It was Mugabe who dictated Zimbabwe’s 2013 Constitution and it is therefore no surprise that it is weak and feeble!
One of the strengths of a good constitution is that it must have checks and balances to stop anyone in the position of power and authority abusing their position for selfish gain. Our constitution has allowed Zanu PF to rig elections to get into power and once in power the party's leaders have looted the nation's wealth, pass laws and amend the constitution to given themselves even more dictatorial powers to do as they please.
If there is a law to stop thieves stealing someone else's car. If people continue to lose their cars to thieves then it is either the law is weak or it is not being enforced. You do not throw your hands in the air or stand at the cross-road shouting that the thieves must stop stealing because the law against stealing is "sacrosanct"! You rewrite the law and make sure it is enforced!
We had the golden opportunity to rewrite our constitution during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. Biti and his MDC friends were tasked to do this and they insisted the new constitution was a good and democratic constitution. But when it failed its first acid test - deliver free, fair and credible elections – they still would not admit the constitution was weak. Instead they started to give all manner of excuses why it failed.
The truth is it was Mugabe who dictated Zimbabwe’s 2013 Constitution and it is therefore no surprise that it is weak and feeble! I totally agree trying to stop Zanu PF amending this constitution is just a futile exercise, it is closing the stable door long after the horse has bolted out.
The Zimbabwe Europe Network (ZEN) is deeply concerned about the closing of democratic space in Zimbabwe, especially against the background of the deteriorating and multi-layered Zimbabwean crisis.
The economic and political situation in Zimbabwe is certainly getting worse by the day and it is heartening to see that many more Zimbabweans are taking an active interest in the search out of the mess!
Today 364 ROT screening tests and 427 PCR diagnostic tests were done The cumulative number of tests done to date is 60 585 (35 294 ROT and 25 291 PCR. 10 new cases are returnees from SA.
Mashonaland Central Province reported 1 recovery.
To date the total number of confirmed cases is 401 recovered 63, active cases 334 and 4 deaths, since the onset of the outbreak on 20 March 2020.
Once again draw the government's attention to the following two key points:
1) The is overwhelming evidence that many of the returnees testing positive now did not have the corona virus when they first arrived in the quarantine centres. The unhygienic conditions in these centres have turned them into covid-19 hotspots. Why is government failing to keep groups of returnees separate? And why is Government failing to ensure there is clean running water?
2) There is overwhelming evidence to show that covid-19 is spreading in the rest of the population and not just among returnees. Why is government not testing all suspected covid-19 cases among the locals?
@ Mwembe
“Wilbert Mukori That will work once Zanu PF is removed. Talking of a constitution under Zanu rule it's total foolish they will use their power in parliament to change it to suit their needs we have seen that why then think a good constitution will stop them.
It's just day dreaming and wishful thinking.
“Even the present constitution does not allowed abductions of people. Abuse of state organs, corruption taking of private property by force .But bcoz Zanu does not respect law all the mentioned above are rampant in this country. So the tumbling block is Zanu first take out this barrier Zanu then have a proper constitution nothing else.”
Yes, the present constitution DOES allow Mnangagwa to abduct people, rig elections, rob the nation blind, amend the constitution to consolidate his dictatorial powers, etc., etc. and he is doing it! A weak and feeble constitution does not create strong, independent and democratic institutions such as the Police, Judiciary, Parliament, ZEC, etc. to provide the checks and balances to stop one individual or a select few to seize power and become a law unto themselves. That is exactly what I have been saying all along.
During the 2008 to 2013 GNU we had the golden opportunity to write a strong and tamper-proof democratic constitution. Tendai Biti and his MDC friends were in the GNU and instead of the democratic constitution they produced this rubbish. Worse still, they lied to the people and told them this was indeed a democratic constitution with all the checks and balances and lots and lots of extras!
I totally agree with you that for us to scrap the feeble 2013 constitution we must first remove Zanu PF from office. We could have done this following the July 2018 elections because Zanu PF blatantly rigged those elections. You know the elections were rigged, I know it, the international community know it and have said it in their reports and Mnangagwa himself knows it!
But by participating in the elections with such enthusiasm and zeal regardless of all the blatant irregularities and illegalities Tendai Biti and his fellow opposition candidates gave the process credibility and the Zanu PF regime some modicum of legitimacy. This is the legitimacy Mnangagwa was flouting and boasting of in his profanity on Monday.
“Dear God, Jehovah and the only true God, Father of our saviour Jesus Christ. I humble myself before you, together with the people of Zimbabwe over whom You made me a servant leader!” prayed Mnangagwa with his hands raised to the heavens and head bowed in feigned humility and innocence.
He rigged the elections and failed to produce a verified voters’ roll because he knew a great number of the 2.4 million winning votes he claimed are fictitious.. Are we to believe that God connived in the blatant denial of millions of Zimbabweans their right to a meaningful say in the governance of the country?
Of course, God DID NOT make Mnangagwa President of Zimbabwe, the tyrant is blaspheming. And all those men and women of cloth who stood there with him must hang their heads in shame!
Mnangagwa should thank Tendai Biti and the coterie of sell-out opposition parties and candidates who keep participating in these flawed and illegal elections; for the sake of a few gravy-train seats, Biti is MP and now he is fishing for cabinet post in the new power sharing arrangement; and cleanse the process.
We will never get the vote rigging Zanu PF to step down as long as the opposition gives the regime some legitimacy! To remove Zanu PF we must first stop these sell-outs, double crossing hypocrites, Tendai Biti et al, participating in these rigged elections. As you can see that is easier said than done; they have tasted the gravy-train good-life and not even a team of wild horses can stop them participating in these elections!
Tendai Biti and his MDC cahoots want to have the cake and eat it too!
They were warned even before this 2013 constitution was presented to the nation in the March 2013 referendum that it is a weak and feeble constitution that will never deliver the basic freedoms and rights including the right to free, fair and credible elections. But after spending five years in the GNU with little of substance to show for it MDC leaders were desperate to present to the nation one achievement – so desperate Tsvangirai even insisted in calling the new constitution an “MDC child!”
As we know the new constitution failed to deliver free, fair and credible elections in 2013 or thereafter. Instead of admitting the new constitution was weak MDC leaders have offered one feeble excuse after another.
“Zanu PF has failed to align existing laws to the new constitution,” they have often said. Ask them to pick just one existing law that needs aligning and let them realign it. They have never taken up that challenge because they know you cannot make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear!
“Zanu PF lack commitment to constitutionalism,” Tendai Biti once argued. A foolish argument. If a thief continues to steal you do not complain of his lawlessness because what is the purpose of the law if not to contain the lawless!
A good constitution should have the necessary checks and balances to stop lawless Zanu PF tyrants doing as they please.
MDC leaders want to be given the accolades for drafting the 2013 constitution but will not knowledge the constitution is weak, much less take the blame for it! The people of Zimbabwe must dismiss the MDC’s foolishness, accept the reality that the 2013 constitution is weak and feeble and concentrate on how to get Zanu PF to step down so the nation can implement the democratic reforms and write a new constitution!
In oral submissions, there was a resonating message in most submissions made by residents, who demanded that government should make tangible steps to align laws to the Constitution and fully implement it before effecting retrogressive amendments.
Residents also questioned the prudence of amending the Constitution through a Bill of parliament, when it was a by-product of an extensive outreach program (COPAC) and voted for by the people through a referendum.
Centre for Research and Development, James Mupfumi said the amendments should not see the light of day as they are a drawback on the principles of good governance and violate founding principles of the constitution.
Mupfumi said the amendments would allow the executive unfettered powers to borrow, enter into agreements that place financial obligations on the fiscus without being accountable to the Parliament.
If Mnangagwa able to blatantly rig the elections to secure a very comfortable 2/3 majority in parliament and in the senate, we can be sure that he will have no problem in getting these amendments passed if he really wanted! We all know how Zanu PF turned the outreach programmes during the drafting of the new constitution into a charade, the party can do the same again.
Besides, what does my aunt and uncle in the rural backwaters care about “align laws to the constitution”, the amendment “allowing the executive unfettered powers”, etc. Only first-class village idiots like Professor Lovemore Madhuku would go to town about these public consultation as an effective tool to stop tampering with the constitution!
ARMED soldiers and police officers in the early hours of Wednesday placed Kwekwe central business district under virtual lockdown as commuters were not allowed to enter the city centre.
Thousands of residents who work in the CBD and others seeking various services in the city centre were left stranded after being turned away at security checkpoints leading into the central business district.
On Tuesday, thousands of workers and shoppers in Bulawayo were also chased away and assaulted by the security agents in the city centre.
Well, well, well! Someone is getting jumpy! The truth is as long as the Zimbabwe economic meltdown continues it is clear the people will revolt if only to vent their anger and frustration!
Zimbabwe’s economic mess was already well defined before the corona virus, the outbreak has dragged it to new depths. Very soon many people will start to die of covid-19 and/or hunger. Human beings are not sheep, they will never submit to dying in silence forever!
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