CONSTITUTION MAKING TAKING TOO LONG: RESIDENTS
By Media and Publications Officer

Bulawayo residents have expressed concern that the making of Zimbabwe’s new constitution is taking too long than previously suggested and expected.

According to the Habakkuk Trust results of the Opinion Poll conducted during the recently ended Zimbabwe International Trade Fair, residents who participated in the poll expressed concerns on the tortoise pace with which the process is moving.

‘We need the constitution before elections’ suggested a resident from Killarney. Another resident from Luveve had this to say, ‘The process of writing the new constitution should be speeded up.’ This was concurred by a resident from Richmond who said, ‘the constitution making process must be done at a faster speed. As of the moment the process is non-existent.’ Other residents from Luveve accused the civic society saying, ‘You have been talking about this constitution issue for a long time, its not coming up, you should know why because you talk to these people.’ There are some residents who felt that the problem is that ‘the process is polarised along political lines (ZANU PF vs MDC a resident from Ward 6.

Habakkuk Trust called the COPAC offices today seeking clarity on the delays in the constitution making process and a female COPAC official who refused to identify herself, revealed that there would be a press statement on Friday pertaining to the progress of the constitution making process. This statement, she said, will appear in the Herald and the Chronicle.
COPAC has been issuing numerous conflicting press statements, which have not culminated to practical action. On signing the Global Political Agreement (GPA) the Principals in the agreement had initially agreed to make the constitution making process a top priority.

Habakkuk Trust will continue monitoring and creating awareness around the constitution making process. This is inline with the organisation’s vision of ‘enhancing citizen participation in decision-making processes.’