editorial comment
The Zanu PF government has shown its determination to push through a litany of amendments to the constitution despite strong opposition from Zimbabweans, who don’t consider the review of the supreme law a priority.
Only seven years ago, citizens voted overwhelmingly for a new constitution after several years of campaigning for the repeal of the governance charter that was adopted at independence.
In the year 2000, Zanu PF tried to impose a constitution on the people, but the ruling party under the leadership of the late Robert Mugabe suffered an embarrassing defeat in a historic referendum.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa, a Mugabe protégé, was in government at that time and it is intriguing that he is acting as if he did not learn anything from that referendum reversal.
Parliament last week went ahead with public hearings into the 28 proposed amendments to the constitution despite concerns that the majority of Zimbabwans would not be able to take part due to the ongoing lockdown to stop the spread of coronavirus.
There is no doubt that the majority of people that would have participated in the hearings stayed away because they feared contracting the virus.
The government’s own lockdown regulations restrict gatherings to 50 people or below.
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In view of the regulations, Parliament had to limit the hearings in Harare to virtual platforms and this excluded many people because of the high cost of data.
The public hearings on the Constitution Amendment Bill No.2 were initially set for March 29 to April 3, but were suspended because of the lockdown.
It came as a surprise to many when Parliament insisted on rolling them out last week at a time when Zimbabwe actually recorded more Covid-19 cases.
The few people that managed to take part in the hearings, however, were clear in their rejection of the amendments and the authorities will be best advised to respect their views.
Zanu PF is obviously looking at capitalising on its two-thirds majority in Parliament and taking advantage of the confusion to force through the amendments, but citizens have a way of punishing errant parties.
The ruling party is not doing Zimbabweans any favours by mutilating the constitution and it needs to retrospect before it’s too late.
Zimbabweans want the government to first ensure the full alignment of laws to the new constitution before the ruling party starts tinkering with the supreme law.
The country has many pressing issues to deal with and reversing gains from the 2013 constitutional reform process is certainly not one of them.
