Zimbabwejournalists.com: Constitution making process should be people-driven


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Constitution making process should be people-driven

print article	First published: 18th Jun 2009 04:16 GMT
Constitution making process should be people-driven
Zimbabwe is entering a phase of constitutional making; the spirit is already there it should only be translated into action. A constitution is a sacred document that unites the nation and directs the national vision among other things. This document should be respected and owned by all sundry, it is a document unlike in electoral processes that should never be contested as it should be a shared document. As our country is fighting to come out of an institutionalized and entrenched dictatorship it is important to clarify that a national vision should be authored by all citizens regardless of political affiliations. Zimbabwe just like in any other state should not invest trust blindly to political players of the day; they should always embed it in their hearts that constitutions transcend beyond generations, beyond centuries and beyond what divides us. Politicians have a tendency and an entrenched habit of writing national documents with their myopic and narrow selfish interests directing what they include and exclude Editor it is my deepest feeling and conviction that the process leading to a constitution in Zimbabwe be done in a transparent and all inclusive manner. If the process is entirely left to political leadership we will have yet another flawed document replica in some parts to the Chidyausiku document. If political leadership is left with the mandate to author a constitution, it will equally be rejected by the people of Zimbabwe, we will reject it with contempt it deserves. A constitution in Zimbabwe should be authored through a process that should be respected and owned by all. By Trust Matsilele