Tuesday 3 May 2016

MP Cross calls for alignment of 400 Acts to new constitution but to what end and purpose. By Wilbert Mukori


MDC MP,Eddie Cross call on the Zanu PF government to complete the task of aligning 400 existing laws with the new 2013 constitution.

 

“The new Constitution was adopted by a massive majority of the people of Zimbabwe and signed into law in March 2013. Three years on it would be reasonable to expect that the Government of Zimbabwe would be completing the alignment of the 400 Acts of Parliament that need adjustments to bring them into line with the Constitution,” wrote the MP.

 

MP Cross please explain why MDC failed to draft the new constitution and align all the necessary existing laws with the new constitution so that by the time held the 2013 elections all these things would have been done and dusted. MDC had the majority in parliament and in cabinet during the GNU and five - FIVE - years to complete the task and yet failed. 




Zimbabwe is not the only nation that has needed a new constitution and other nations too have had to draft a new constitution notably SA and they have never even 1% of as many problems as we have had and they drafted their new constitution is one year! 




The people of Zimbabwe approved the new constitution on strength of MDC's recommendation that it would deliver all their basic freedoms and rights including the right to free and fair elections. It failed it very first acid test as it certainly failed to deliver free and fair elections in 2013. 

 

The truth is, even if the alignment of all 400 Acts were carried out tomorrow, the people of Zimbabwe will still be denied their freedoms and rights between the new constitution is too weak and feeble to guarantee these freedoms and rights.


“Zimbabwe also needs a new constitution. It must be the genuine product of a national dialogue that embodies our hopes and aspirations, unconstrained by our fears; it must be founded on a strong Bill of Rights, and elicit the best in us,” wrote Mr Trevor Ncube,  Executive Chairman of Alpha Media Holdings - publishers of the NewsDay, Zimbabwe Independent and the Standard - and deputy executive chair of M&G Media in South Africa..

 

“The current document is the outcome of horse-trading between Zanu-PF and the two MDC factions. It fails to lay a strong foundation of the rule of law, strong national institutions, transparency and accountability. And, of course, the sanctity of life and respect for private property must find full expression.”

 

It is deeply upsetting that MDC leaders have now taken to how the new constitution “was adopted by a massive majority of the people of Zimbabwe” as if they had absolutely nothing to do with it; the truth is the people approved this weak and feeble constitution because MDC leaders recommended it to them. At least 80% of the electorate had not even read the new constitution and digested it when they were asked to vote in the March 2013 referendum.

 

MDC leaders like MP Cross betrayed the people of Zimbabwe by failing to implement even one democratic reform during the GNU and then rubbed the chilli into the people’s eyes by recommended a weak and feeble constitution.

 

It is unacceptable that these MDC leaders have yet to apologize to the good people of Zimbabwe for selling-out during the GNU. But if these sell-outs think they can now shift the blame for the weak and feeble constitution to the electorate, they better think again because it will never happen!

 

It is a historic fact that MDC wasted the nation’s time and treasure, five years and nearly US$100 million respectively, writing a weak and feeble new constitution. And as if that was not bad enough, MDC leaders are now wasting the nation time fiddling with aligning existing laws to the feeble constitution when they should be using their presence in parliament to demand the implementation of the democratic reforms, they failed to implement during the GNU!

 

People get the government they deserve and I would readily admit the nation has been naïve and gullible to deserves the corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF regime. What have we done to deserve this corrupt and incompetent MDC opposition? They sold-out during the GNU and got the ministerial cars, generous salaries and allowances and even a $4 million mansion for Tsvangirai and yet they are still queuing for another chance to get back on the gravy train and sell-out the nation yet again!


1 comment:

  1. “The agonising and costly writing of a new Zimbabwe constitution, accepted overwhelmingly in a 2013 referendum, seems to have been yet another waste of time and money; much of the reformed constitution still has to be adopted into hard and fast law,” wrote Shaw Augus, a Zimbabwean correspondent.

    “The General Laws Amendment Bill seeks to amend 126 Acts of parliament to bring them into line with the constitution but most of the adjustments are woefully inadequate in meeting the new requirements, law experts say (Veritas, a Zimbabwean think tank on legal matters).”

    So the amendments Zanu PF has lined up are woefully inadequate to meet the requirements of the new constitution which we already know is itself a weak and feeble constitution.

    There is reason to think that Veritas would have an axe to grind with anyone on the political drive. There is also reason to believe MDC leaders like MP Eddie Cross will not have heard or read Veritas comments on this matter. The question then is why are people like MP Cross doggedly demanding the realignment of these laws when they will accomplish nothing of substance?

    During the GNU MDC leaders doggedly refused to implement the democratic reforms against repeated pleas from SADC leaders and other interested parties. MDC leaders again doggedly endorsed the new constitution and would not listen to anyone warning them about it being weak and feeble. History is just repeating itself; MDC leaders are doggedly pushing for the alignment of the existing laws to the new constitution and ignoring the warning that this will accomplish nothing.

    MDC leaders now constitute a serious hindrance to the nation’s endeavours to bring about meaningful democratic change!

    MDC leaders are corrupt and incompetent but having tasted the sweetness of power and gra-vy train lifestyle they are more determined than ever to hang on. They are like ticks a simple brush off, with proof of their pathetic record of failures, will never get them off; we need to anoint them with a generous blob of Vaseline!

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