Online Reporter
Zvamaida Murwira
Senior Reporter
The Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment Bill (Number Three) seeks to rectify decades of stagnation stemming from Presidential election disputes that have reportedly cost the country over US$200 billion in lost revenue.
Justice, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said this today during an interactive meeting with members of the media as he unpacked the Bill.
This Bill, which was recently gazetted, will undergo a 90-day public consultation period before being presented to Parliament for debate.
Minister Ziyambi emphasised that the Bill transcends partisan interests, embodying a series of robust, historically transformative institutional reforms focused on the future.
“At its core, the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment Bill (Number 3) transcends narrow confines of partisan agendas, embodying instead a suite of institutional reforms that are unassailably robust, historically transformative and resolutely oriented towards future generations, all unequivocally in service to the national interest.
“The Bill stands as a cohesive, meticulously evidence-based antidote to the entrenched governance impediments that have afflicted Zimbabwe for over three decades, critically informed by judicial precedence, resonance and societal aspirations and illuminating comparative experiences across Africa,” said Minister Ziyambi.
“The Bill seeks the eradication of pernicious barriers that have undermined our governance framework since the introduction of direct Presidential elections in 1990, which worsened in 2000 and onwards. These include the recurrent spectre of disputed electoral conduct and outcomes, the insidious cycles of perpetual electioneering that diverts precious resources from policy execution and developmental imperatives, most notably infrastructural advancement and the corrosive tirade of corruption, inefficiency, and societal polarisation.”
He said multilateral institutions have estimated a loss of several billion dollars arising from the bickering over election outcomes, which the Bill seeks to address.
“Such maladies have exerted a staggering toll with estimates from authoritative bodies such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, African Union and SADC chronicling a loss of US$150 billion to US$200 billion in unrealised potential between the year 2000 and 2023.
“It is imperative that we confront and correct this legacy of stagnation with bold and decisive action,” said Minister Ziyambi.
The proposed Bill will abolish direct Presidential elections, shifting the responsibility of electing the Head of State and Government to Parliament, similar to practices in other jurisdictions.
