During the month of April, Kubatana opened up the phone lines, SMS receivers and email addresses to solicit questions about the Constitution making process from across Zimbabwe. Throughout May, Advocate Eric T. Matinenga, Minister of Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs, answers these questions.

Every weekday, we will be posting a new question for people to listen to – phone 0914 186 280 up to 7 to listen to the answers now, in English, Shona and Ndebele.

Each week, we will also be posting the answers on www.kubatana.net

1. What is the purpose of the Constitution of Zimbabwe? How does the Constitution of Zimbabwe differ from an organisational Constitution – e.g. a youth group

Now, when we are talking about a Constitution, we are talking about a law which overrides any other law in the country. In legal parlance, it is called the Supreme Law of the Land. Because it is the supreme law of the land, everybody resident in that country is obliged to obey it. And anything or any law which is inconsistent with that Constitution is invalid. So you can see that whilst a Constitution should be obeyed by everybody in the country, the Constitution of a voluntary organisation only binds those members who belong to that organisation.

I notice that this question came from Mutare. So if you’ve got maybe the Sakubva choral society, it means that that society has got a Constitution which only binds the members of that organisation. I stay in Harare, and I’m not in their choir. So I’m not bound by the Constitution of that choral society. But, whether you’re a member of that choral society, or whether you are Minister Matinenga who is in Harare, if you are a resident of Zimbabwe, we are all bound by the Constitution of Zimbabwe.

2. Today’s question came from Kudzie, who asked How long is the Constitution making process going to take? When will the outreach programme start, and why has it been so delayed?

Firstly, Constitution making is a process. It is not an event. So when we hear people saying that there is nothing happening in the Constitution making process, one needs to know what is happening on the surface and what is going on in the background, so as to know whether we are still on track, or have gone off track.

We go back to February 2009 to start the Constitution making process in this country. And we go back even further to September 2008 to the agreement between the political parties as to how the Constitution making process should be conducted in this country. After February 2009, with the swearing in of the inclusive government, we were then obliged to put in place the Select Committee. That was done. We were then obliged to hold the first All Stakeholders Conference. That was done in July 2009. I think a lot of you, particularly those of you who have access to television, remember the real disturbance we had in July, and some of you will remember that after that disturbance, the three principals addressed a joint conference, and stated in very clear terms that the Constitution making process was not negotiable, and that this process will be seen to its very end. I am glad that the indications up to now are that we are on our way to fulfil this important requirement of the GPA, even though we are a bit slow.

Now after the First All Stakeholders Conference, we were able to establish Constitutional Themes, in respect of which persons identified are to address these themes. The persons who are going to address these themes have been identified. These are the persons who are going to take part in the outreach programme which will get under way very shortly. We have also trained the rapporterus, who are the persons who are going to be reporting what each and every person says during the outreach meetings.

The outreach programme will be rolled out, I believe, around the middle of May. It may be towards the end of May, but I am confident that come mid-May we will be able to roll it out.

After the outreach, the draft Constitution will then be crafted by the experts, and I can assure you that it is not going to be the Matinenga Draft. Nor is it going to be the Tsvangirai or Mugabe or Mutambara Draft. It is going to be a draft which is going to be crafted by experts who are going to be looking at what you said during the outreach, and who will then gather what you said into a draft Constitution.

After that draft has been done, we are going to go to a Second All Stakeholders Conference. From there, we go to a referendum, which gives you the people the chance to see whether what you said in the outreach is contained in the draft and is what is being presented to you in the referendum. I am sure that that will be in order and that what the people say is not going to be tampered with. I foresee, in terms of time table, that by April 2011 we should have a Constitution that has passed through Parliament and has been adopted by Zimbabwe.

3. Today’s question came from Philebon, who asked: What is the role of the Kariba Draft in the Constitution making process?

People must not fear. They must not be taken in when people say the Kariba Draft will determine the Constitution of Zimbabwe. Let me assure people that there is no special place for the Kariba Draft in the Constitution making process. What we have agreed as the three political parties is that the outreach team should be gathering information on the basis of talking points. These talking points have been agreed by the political parties, and whilst the persons involved are obviously not going to be too particular about these points – because they need to be as inclusive as possible – nobody is going to be waving the Kariba Draft, nor any other draft for that matter, in the outreach meetings. So people should feel free, when they attend these outreach meetings, that they need to contribute to the making of the Constitution for Zimbabwe.

4. In Matabeleland and Midlands, if there is no devolution of power we will vote no in the referendum. What is the position on devolution of power?

This comment is about how the people of Matabeleland and Midlands will respond if presented with a Constitution which they believe does not provide for devolution of power.

Now let me clarify this point. When you talk about devolution of power, we are not talking about devolution to particular provinces. When you talk of devolution of power, you are talking about devolution to every province, to every local authority. So it is not an issue which should only be a concern for Matabeleland or Midlands, it is an issue which should be a national concern. What is important is that the people in the Midalnds and Matabeleland provinces, and the people in all the other provinces, must understand what devolution is, and what they want for devolution in the Constitution, and then must articulate this position when the outreach programme comes to their area.

When you talk about devolution, you must talk about meaningful devolution. You must talk about both economic and political power at the local level. People talk about devolution and they say we have it now. But when you look at the type of devolution we have now, we have got a devolution which unfortunately answers to the central authority. Your governors are appointed by the President. Your local council answer to the Minister of Local Government. And when you look at economic devolution, you will find that there is really nothing at local level which builds local institutions. So when we are talking about devolution, we must know what we are talking about, and proceed to articulate positions for meaningful political and economic devolution.

5. Today’s question has come from a number of people, including Malile, Marlene, Peter and Cicely, who asked: What are the provisions for citizenship? How will citizenship by birth be determined?

When you talk about citizenship, you are talking about belonging – not in terms of a club, but in terms of the country. So if you belong to Zimbabwe, then you are a citizen of Zimbabwe. But you are only a citizen of Zimbabwe if you can trace that belonging, that citizenship, by birth – either because you were born here, or because your parents or grandparents were born in Zimbabwe. You can trace your citizenship by descent – because your parents or grandparents were Zimbabwean. Or by registration, whereby you have sufficiently stayed in Zimbabwe that the laws of Zimbabwe consider you as somebody who already is a Zimbabwean.

I know that this issue is a major concern in regards to two types of person. Firstly, this issue is a concern for those persons who come from neighbouring countries, or whose parents come from neighbouring countries, like Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique. These people were born in Zimbabwe, but in the last elections were rudely told that, because they claim another citizenship, they are not allowed to vote.

I also know that this issue arises for persons who were born in Zimbabwe, who have been in Zimbabwe for quite a bit of time, but who have been forced by circumstances to leave Zimbabwe and stay in other countries. This is what we call the Diaspora.

Now I have always held the view that it is very unfair that in 1980, the people whom we now call non-citizens were allowed to vote. And they voted for certain political parties. But because we now believe that maybe those persons are going to be voting differently, now those persons should not be allowed to vote because those persons are considered non-citizens.

I think this Constitution should address this very critical issue, and I think this Constitution should seek to make it possible for persons who are born in this country to enjoy all the benefits of citizenship, to enjoy the right to vote, and the right to hold a passport. Also, when you look at the Diaspora, I think it is also important that, until such time that we get our politics and our economics right, that we should allow for what we call dual citizenship so that these people in the Diaspora are able to participate in the political and economic activities of this country.

You can listen to the Minister answer these questions here and view pictures too.

If you have a question on the Constitution that you’d like him to address, please leave a comment on this blog.

I think that I am one of the few fortunate people around. I got to witness the first musical performance of HIFA by Edith WeUtonga. She and her band got the audience moving to her new sound. However that’s not all. I had the privilege to talk with a very special person during HIFA, who in my own view gave this year’s edition of HIFA its face. He was busy painting and transforming the Harare Gardens from a place of every day life; to a place that everybody wants to be part of. I really would like to give the thumbs up to this guy who says he doesn’t mind the long hours spent kneeling, doing all that painting. He said that he too was transformed because it takes a lot of patience and paint to get it all done. Well, he did not say the paint part but I thought I should rhyme! Who can blame me – I spent the whole week in a place of creativity! I tell you I am yet to meet someone who does not have the desire to be a part of HIFA one way or another. It is by far the most exciting time of the year in Zimbabwe.

Tony and I are setting off for 10 days in a log cabin in a dune forest in northern Natal. Ttime to stop and breathe and watch the sea.

A preliminary to this trip is to get police clearance for your car to cross the border (all Zimbabweans who drive across borders have to meet this challenge).

I park in a queue (surely illegal) outside the station
on a dusty foot path
in the face of oncoming traffic
Banana vendor outside my car window
sharing the footpath
sharing the greeting
‘did you sleep well?
I slept well if you slept well’

slowly edging through the gate
policeman points across the dusty pitted space where I join the next queue

alongside the car, a man dressed in rags merrily burns the piles of rubbish he has gathered
odorous black fumes of burning plastic fill the air
he chats happily to an unseen audience
waving a stick and smiling

slowly edging towards a open shelter
the man who has to check the engine number complains of being sick
‘sick enough for a woman to help?’
‘yes’
I open the bonnet

A newly painted red sign tells you to proceed with the signed corner of torn- off paper to room 19

‘Do I go to room 19?’  (just checking)
‘no, 18’

I wander across the dusty gravel to the line of prefab. rooms with asbestos roofing
man in room 18 looks up
‘I’ve come for clearance’
‘Room 15’

ok – it is, after all, next door (?)
man in room 15 looks up enquiringly
‘I’ve come for clearance’
He hands me a sheet of grey photocopied paper with the printing barely showing

I look around
no other stick of furniture apart from his huge ancient desk
‘do you mind if I lean on the corner of the desk?’
‘you have to go to your car’

I cross the pitted ground and lean on the car to fill in the form
the fire maker has replenished his fire with more plastic and unnamable detritus
smoke

Back to room 15
signature
across yard to room 20 (in open shelter of the first stop)
boxes ticked

re-cross yard to room 21 back in line of prefab.
The man queuing in front of me smiles a greeting
yes, we both slept well
‘bit chaotic, this procedure’ I offer
‘Ah – this is easy – you should see what happens when you lose the papers – that’s chaotic’
‘Where are you going?’
‘Zambia – I am doing some work in Lusaka now’
‘Where do you cross the Zambezi?’
‘Both at Kariba and Chirundu’
‘I hear the river is full now’
‘Aaaahhh you should see it, the gates are open at Kariba
shaking the wall
it is steaming down
magnificent’

we share dreams of the Zambezi in a dusty, smoky yard

Man in room 21 has slept well
signs and fills in form
‘go to room 18’

(I know where that is!)
In passing, I notice that room 19 is closed – no sign on the door
man in room 18 stamps
tears up my first scrap of paper
and I am free to go

Back through the traffic of Southerton
fumes, vendors, commuter busses, hooting, speeding
with the memory of all these people
who through different shifts in their lives, different families, different threads, different chances
have ended up on this or that side of the fence
the banana vendor, the policeman at the gate, the fire maker, the man in a suit who stamps the forms

and me
in my own car
driving back to my trees and butterflies
planning to drive to the sea.

living with the contradictions in our lives

Here’s a new initiative from Amnesty International:

Amnesty International is releasing a social network that watches over tyrannical leaders from all over the world who attack Human Rights. This way, it seeks to form a global community of Human Rights defenders, making the contact between the public and Amnesty’s promoting causes easier. This network will have the designation of Tyrannybook.

With the visibility inherent to these social networks, Amnesty hopes to get more support to its causes. This being, calls upon everyone to embrace this digital tool which updates the current situation of countries led by these tyrants. With this Amnesty is trying to generate a wider awareness of the various atrocities that are committed all over the world. The participation of all those who are already actively involved in these causes is essential in order to complement it with information, news, and, not least, reports of living experiences.

This is the first version of the site. And like all social networks, it will grow and be constantly updated with new tools and features that are to be implemented. Each week Tyrannybook will win both size and presence on the web.

Residents in Ruwa are in a state of shock and disbelief after an 8-year-old girl was raped, killed and dumped in nearby fields. Even Grade Seven children are now accompanied to the Thorncroft School, for the fear that anything can happen. One prominent name behind all this is a 22-year-old man called Jeremiah Mazarura alias Joro. A young man well known in the area as Joro.  In Ruwa, any behavior that denotes heartlessness is refereed to as that of Joro.

To those that saw Joro soon after the incident, he was by no means a different man. As normal and happy as usual, even after the police released him. At first, no one could really tell that the blood of the little girl was fresh on his hands. Even at the burial of the girl, witnesses’ say that Joro was as affected and worried as any other shocked person in the locality.

Every Ruwa resident is desperately waiting for the 11th of May. A day set for the appearance of Joro and friends in court over this murder case.

The press reports that the motive behind the killing was the need to stop the girl from reporting the rape or making any signals. The community holds a different view. The belief in the gossip is that the girl was killed for some business purpose since the child was found without some body parts.

Joro’s is not the only weird story around; people are taking lives for the purpose of rituals that only the nyangas (traditional magicians) can tell their meaning. One wonders what has happened to moral and peace loving Zimbabweans? Human life has been reduced to that of a simple monkey or chicken. Why are citizens becoming this bloodthirsty? Can we put the blame on the tough time we have been in and are still enduring; that of political, economic and social difficulties? Before, these stories were really foreign to Zimbabweans. Now what is happening? Can this be one of the disadvantages of globalization? It is really disturbing and inhumane.

It is important that the courts be exemplary in giving tough punishment to these murderers. People should be freed from living in fear. They need smiles back on their faces, and peace and tranquility should exist in communities. Love for money and success should not be at the expense of human life. If these murders are done with “nyangas” and business people behind them, it is high time such culprits are traced to the root.

Social and political commentator, Psychology Maziwisa, suggests that the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) is taking the support of Zimbabweans for granted, and that they need to reassess their priorities.  Here is his latest article:

MDC doesn’t get it

Taking things for granted has for a very long time been the hallmark of African politics and apparently the MDC is no exception.

Over the years Zimbabweans have come to share a common and overwhelming detestation of Mugabe and his selfish mob engendered by repression, extra-judicial killings, torture, mismanagement, self-aggrandisement, plunder and all the rest of it.

When Zimbabweans felt they were being taken for a ride by Mugabe, they very readily and rightly transferred their confidence to the MDC. They did so in the full and fervent belief that their concerns as a people were likely to be much better understood by a government under MDC leadership.

Unfortunately attempts to democratically elect a government in accord with the will of the people have all but failed because Mugabe and ZANU PF are allergic to democracy.

However, when Tsvangirai agreed to share power with Mugabe in 2008 the overwhelming opinion was that, although to share power in circumstances where he clearly was the winner amounted to a travesty of fairness and democracy, his options were limited.

Equally overwhelming was the sense that things would improve for the better – and they have to some extent. However, the improvement has not been fundamental enough to offer a clean break from the past. It has not been enough to restore the dignity of the majority of Zimbabweans.

To be fair to the MDC, the tyrant has not made it, and will never make it, particularly easy for Tsvangirai to bring about reform as quickly and as decisively as he probably would have wanted. That is the simple reality.

But here is another simple reality: anti-MDC sentiment is mounting and it is mounting at a pace so swift that it just may become impossible to contain if people’s support is continually taken for granted.

While support for the MDC abroad may still be intact, in Zimbabwe it is falling to pieces.

The reckless regard for Tsvangirai and the MDC as political saints and, to the extent that reform has not been as smooth as it could be, as victims, is misplaced.

The fact of the matter is that, almost two years into the arrangement, Tsvangirai is still very much a part of it- clear evidence that despite its imperfection, there is some kind of understanding between the parties in government.

When that government fails it is not just Mugabe that fails, Tsvangirai and Mugabe necessarily fail together.

For their part, Tsvangirai and the MDC have not done enough to deal decisively with real issues such as teachers’ salaries, tertiary education, media reform, inhuman prison conditions, poverty and disease.

Annoyingly the explanation usually given in response to questions about why, two years on, not much has been done, is simply that government has no money.

It was the MDC’s Tendai Biti who approved an expenditure of over R100 million per semester for the education of Zimbabwean students at South African Universities, most of whom are the offspring of the political elite of this country. (Bear in mind there are two semesters in an academic year and an average degree spans three years.)

It was the MDC’s Tendai Biti who just recently disbursed an estimated US$6.3 million to the Information and Technology Ministry headed by Nelson Chamisa.

While up-to-date communications and information technology (CIT) is vital in the modern world, it is not a top priority for Zimbabwe right now.

It boggles the mind, therefore, how and why that kind of money could be made available for those purposes when the country’s constitution-making process has been stalled because the government is failing to make good on its obligation to fully provide the US$8 million required for the process to get under way.

Chamisa wants millions of dollars to revive the ‘veins and arteries’ of communication. An estimated 2 million of our people will need food aid by the end of this year and all he cares about is revive the ‘veins and arteries’ of communication! Who is going to revive the veins and arteries of our starving people?

What the hell is wrong with these people? What is needed is decisive action on the real issues and not on self-serving agendas.

Despite the ignominy our dear old dictator heaps on the United States, Hillary Clinton recently revealed that her country pledges US$300 million each year in aid to our government. $US300 million per year is not enough to bail Zimbabwe out of its economic crisis but it is a lot of money nonetheless. And since Tsvangirai and the MDC have been in government for over a year they are just as accountable for it as Mugabe is. Where is that money?

When Zimbabweans insist on more being done even as they are aware that the country has no money- thanks to individuals who are pocketing the proceeds of Chiadzwa and several other mines and companies- they do so not because they are naive. It is because they believe that more time could be spent on pleading for aid and less, if any at all, on calling for the removal of targeted sanctions.

It is because they believe that more time could be spent on making sure that all the proceeds of our natural resources are used for the sole purpose of benefiting the country and less, if any at all, on harvesting blows at Harvest House.

That is what a serious government does. It is what the MDC is failing to do as a partner in the unity government.

There is much more to Tsvangirai and the MDC’s task in the unity government than to always and ineffectually declare anything and everything ‘null and void’.

It is their task, among other things, to bring about political reform. It is their task to plead with the donor community to put ideology aside, to open their hearts and help the people of Zimbabwe in every way possible. That is not happening right now. If it is, it is not being pursued vigorously and effectively.

Zimbabweans invested so much hope and expectation in the MDC yet today there is little to show for it. To date there remains a deep-seated, underlying economic anxiety in our country. That is why teachers are increasingly threatening to go on a nationwide strike. It is precisely why the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) is becoming increasingly critical of the MDC.

Many are now of the justified view that the MDC is losing sight of what it is fighting for in the struggle against ZANU PF.

That struggle, they correctly argue, is about putting the needs of people before claiming and clinging to leadership positions.

It is about guarding against treating teachers as cheap labour.

It is about ensuring that university students throughout the country are able to study in well–resourced colleges- more particularly, that they can sit for their exams without fear of being barred because of unpaid tuition.

It is about ensuring that thousands of precious children do not die needlessly every year from preventable diseases.

That is what the struggle is all about. Sadly these hopes and expectations are not being realized even with the MDC as part of government.

The MDC is really going to need to pull something special out of the bag to renew their covenant with the people.

No party can claim to have an absolute monopoly over the politics of our country. Not ZANU PF. Not the MDC. If the MDC continues to take the support of the people for granted, it does so at its own peril.

They can no longer continue to circumvent the ever loud and clear calls for swift, tangible and decisive action without serious consequences for the image and support base of their party.