ZIMBABWE: Reform groups reject government consitutional proposals

Zimbabwean civic groups met on Tuesday to thrash out a new strategy following their rejection of the government's constitutional reform proposals which they alleged were an attempt by the ruling ZANU-PF party to entrench itself in power. National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) spokesman Welshman Ncube told IRIN the pro-reform groups would boycott the government's constitutional review structure and pursue a parallel process based on popular participation. Last week, President Robert Mugabe said consitutional reform would proceed on the basis of a commission of inquiry. Its members would include the 150 deputies in the ZANU-PF dominated parliament, and a further 150 commissioners chosen by the government. Mugabe accused groups like the NCA - a coalition of churches, human rights activists, trade unions and professional associations - of "viewing the constitutional review exercise as an opportunity to seek immediate political and legal empowerment," the state-owned Ziana news agency reported. He said the current constitution, which vests enormous power in the hands of the presidency, is a legal document "perfectly in order and therefore can remain like that." "It is not just the appointment of commissioners by the government we oppose," Ncube said. "It is essentially the statutes under which the government proposes to proceed." Under existing law, a commission of inquiry can merely recommend, while Mugabe has the power to ignore its proposals, remove commissioners, or redefine its terms of reference. The NCA instead wants an independent commission to draft a constitution which would then be put to a referendum and enacted by parliament without amendment. "We are not prepared to run the risk of proceeding under a law which allows the president to do as he likes," Ncube said. "The people of Zimbabwe should be telling the government 'this is our constitution'." Opposition groups view the current constitution as highly partisan, saying it negates fundamental human rights. They claim that parliament, in which 30 of the 150 members are appointed by Mugabe, merely acts as a rubber stamp for the executive, which also controls the conduct of national elections.