Story by Mercy Bofu-Matinha
THE Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs says consultations on the Constitutional Amendment Number 3 Bill have so far been successful, with most concerns raised attributed to political differences rather than procedural shortcomings.
Following public hearings conducted earlier this month, the committee is now working towards compiling a comprehensive report that reflects the views and submissions gathered from citizens on the proposed constitutional changes.
This was revealed by Chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Justice, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs Honourable Edson Zvobgo Junior during an engagement with journalists in Masvingo.
“As Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs committee, we will report accurately on what the people said during public consultations on CAB3. The Constitution amendment process, in my view, has been successful so far. What is left is for us to compile the responses. The deadline for the submission of consultations has not yet been met. Once that is done, we must present our report to parliament. Before the Second reading, we must present our findings to Parliament, the reason is that it will present an opportunity for Parliamentarians to debate the issues raised by the Zimbabwean people,” he said.
Honourable Zvobgo took the opportunity to clarify some misconceptions surrounding the exercise.
“People confuse the consultations and referendum; clearly, these are two different processes, and people have raised concerns that they did not get the opportunity to present their views, but that is a misunderstanding of the process. The idea of consultation is not an election or referendum what we were concerned about are the views of people on each and every Clause as this will arm Parliamentarians for debate. The window for written submissions is still open and it continues and these written submissions are equally important as physical submissions.
“While we are engaged in this Constitutional process, it has political implications, and we are aware. A lot of people, because they do not agree with the political implications they do not agree with the process, and they start to attack the process, but we must distinguish between the two. You must be able to say has the process itself been done according to Constitution of Zimbabwe, and I’m here to tell you as the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs that we have tried our best to follow the Constitutional process as required by the Constitution of Zimbabwe,” he said.
For the media, the engagement was necessary for clarification of the consultation process and the next stage.
“Today’s meeting was key for us as journalists because we are the people who break down information to the ordinary people and we must do that from an informed point of view hence be able to report accurately and being truthful,” Media Representative Golden Maunganidze said.
“The media is the bridge between the people and policy makers, and in this case, we had the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Justice, who clarified on a number of issues, including the recently held public consultations on the Constitutional Amendment Number 3 Bill and the way forward. We feel that the conversation was necessary so that in the discharge of our duties, we do so from a factual point of view,” Media Representative George Maponga added.
The Constitutional Amendment Number 3 Bill seeks, among other provisions, to extend the electoral cycle from five to seven years, increase the number of senators from 80 to 90 and allow traditional leaders to engage in politics.
