Copac should be our concern

regime change agenda, personnel dishonesty, error of commission and connivance, partisan politics and external influence.
A snail is a very small creature. It lives on land and at times is found in the water where it forages for its food.
It is known for its very slow moving characteristics.
This writer would want to liken the progress of the constitution making process to the speed of the snail.
The pace of the constitution making process seems to have taken its slow start from the Ministry of Finance. The treasury, knew very well that it was mandatory for the country to have a new constitution and deliberately under-funded the budget which was meant for the writing of the supreme law of the land.
The donor community pretended to be playing a saviour’s role when it sought to bailout the process by funding the program. The huge manpower base that constituted the staff compliment of Copac exacerbated the financial problem. Whilst it was genuine that Copac needed a sound budget, the huge allowances bled the system out of its mega finances. This writer feels a small manageable group could have been ideal for the task and should have performed an excellent job that would have been completed by now.
The Copac staff compliment started with over 400 members as compared to 55 who wrote the American Constitution. All the members lived in expensive hotels that took off a big chunk of the budget.
Copac started the writing process of the constitution by carrying outreach programmes around April 2010. At this juncture, every party to the GPA was confident that it would convince people to rally behind its party positions. Every party was willing to participate in anticipation of a sound outcome of its positions.
This writer feels that the two MDC formations based their assumptions of their parties’ positions prevailing over that of Zanu-PF on their asymmetric preaching of democracy, good governance, rule of law and human rights which the majority of people thought they had already acquired through the war of liberation.
On the other hand Zanu-PF thought its assumptions would prevail over the two MDCs’ positions as a result of the land reform, 99-year land leases, indigenous and black empowerment Act which people thought needed to be addressed as the economy is still in the hands of foreign corporations.
The two conniving partners,(MDCs and donors) having analysed the results of the 2008 elections and the continued effects of sanctions felt that their position on the land issue in which they supported the position of white commercial farmers, would be reversed by the Copac process.
Sadly, when results of the out reach program started to indicate that the people preferred the Zanu-PF position, the donor community withdrew their funding.
The strategy was to either arm-twist Zanu-PF and declare the process a failed process or to bring in interventions from external powers that would put the process under the control of the donors who would then manipulate it for regime change. This strategy only seems to have succeeded in further delaying the already slowed process.
During the outreach period, the process ran smoothly in most rural areas. Conflict only broke out when some officials went out of the agreed procedures of questioning the people. This happened in few wards across the rural countryside. However, when the outreach program was brought to urban areas, particularly in Harare, it was only peaceful for the first day.
It is believed when the two MDC formations found out that Zanu-PF’s position was prevailing, even in their perceived strongholds, they instigated violence to cripple the program that was already behind schedule.
The violence only stopped after prompt intervention by the three principals in the inclusive government.
The process was further delayed during the data collection and score rating of points that come from the outreach program. The people thought this was going to be the easiest and shortest exercise. However, disagreements arose on petty issues such as what model of scoring was going to be used.
At this juncture, the issue of personnel dishonesty started to arise where it is alleged that the committee was not agreeing on straight forward issues on land, homosexuality, satanism and systems of governance, just to mention a few. It is alleged that the scoring of points showed high percentage points of between 70 and 80 percent as people said no to the above alleged contentious issues and various others.
If the constitution is to be people driven, the committee should demonstrate its integrity by respecting the people’s views; more so where people’s views scored high percentage points, indicating their wishes.
It would be regarded as both dishonest, disrespectful of people’s wishes and having a desire towards procrastination, if individuals, political parties or any organisation was to violently disregard the people’s will.
Why should parties negotiate on positions taken by the people on an outreach? If negotiations are allowed on positions of outreach outcomes, how is the constitution going to be people driven and when is it going to come to finality?
Are the co-chairpersons and their teams seized with the budgetary constraints they are exerting on the IG?
This writer hopes that sanity will prevail and members of Copac will start to behave and act responsibly and honestly, becoming dedicated and highly devoted to the completion of the program in the shortest possible time.
Through patriotism, we only wish and hope that the mentality of greed is eradicated from the minds of those tasked to perform such an important task for the people and that they would call on their wisdom to think in an honest manner.
In analysing the political gymnastics at play, one cannot be penalised for thinking that all Copac members are liable to errors of commission and connivance.
They are in many people’s views a camaraderie which is very willing to stretch the process to cover their parliamentary period which ends in 2013. One may also not be faulted to think that there could be some horse trading so as to scuttle the process. Individuals like the chairpersons could easily be on a ticket to take us to 2013.
If not, what then is the stumbling block when the people have spoken? We hear the two MDCs are now garnering for a negotiated constitution which seems to be the main delaying tactic. Where has their invigorated steam for a people driven constitution gone to?
All members of Copac must understand that the constitution is the supreme law of the country. It is therefore a law that is above party politics. It is a law that should live for generations to come.
The views of the people on the outreach programs must therefore be respected and honoured without making dubious alterations and excuses. It should be understood that the constitution is not made to satisfy any party’s positions but to respond to the views of the people. These views must not be sacrificed for either party positions or donor community positions.
Let all those involved be led by what people said and not to be influenced by the British PM who clearly says any country that observes gay rights will be guaranteed British aid. There are two things that we and Copac staff must be aware of. The fact that Sodom and Gomorra were destroyed by God for practicing sodomy and homosexuality and the second being that the promised British aid can easily be withdrawn by any British PM as did Blair on aid to compensate white farmers.
So the aid is only an assurance for the constitution to include homosexuality but not for continued British donor funding. Alas! The bible forbids donor funds for it says man shall eat from thy sweat. Persons or countries surviving on donor funds (free handouts) are clear candidates for hell, according to the bible.
One can only be helped when faced with problems and not to be entirely funded simply because the country endears homosexuality. “Aaa imbwa dzozo dii!” Copac, from chairpersons down to team members, show us your integrity.
As the committee deliberately delays the constitution making process, they must be aware that the President has constitutional powers to declare elections with or without the new constitution.
He is only allowing the process to take place in order for the country to have a people driven constitution.
It is hoped that Copac will not push the President to the limit so as to force him to use his constitutional powers to declare elections without a new constitution.
Thus, Copac should exploit fully the trust bestowed on them and complete the process in the shortest possible time before year end.