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He said his party would reject it as long as it does not provide for devolution of power. Prof Ncube’s party and the MDC-T endorsed the draft immediately after it was produced.
Addressing civil society leaders in Bulawayo, Prof Ncube, who in the past has been praising Copac for a job well done, said the draft constitution was a compromise that does not fully represent the views of the people of Zimbabwe.
“The Copac draft is no doubt an imperfect document, not the best constitution for the country. It has a lot of features that should not have been included,” said Prof Ncube without elaborating.
His views come at a time when the country is heading for the Second All-Stakeholders’ Conference scheduled for the end of this month.
The finalisation of the writing of the new constitution will pave way for the holding of harmonised elections, which President Mugabe has said will be held by end of next March.
Zanu-PF has condemned the Copac draft and proposed several amendments to the document. The revolutionary party is opposed to devolution saying it prefers decentralisation instead.
Prof Ncube said the constitution-making process itself was fraught with a lot of irregularities and marred by excessive influence of the three political parties in the inclusive Government, Zanu-PF, MDC and MDC-T.
He said the three parties had huge ideological differences.
The development, he said, has resulted in polarisation among Zimbabweans, which makes it difficult for the country to achieve consensus on major governance issues.
Prof Ncube, however, said the constitution-making process must be allowed to continue up to the referendum but his party would reject it if it does not provide for devolution of power.
“Our party wants devolution of power and we have been consistent about that. About 87 percent of people said they want devolution and without devolution of power there is no constitution,” he said.
He commended Zanu-PF for clearly stating its position in advocating for a decentralised system of governance, saying some parties who call for devolution actually do not believe in it. MDC-T is among the parties that have been calling for devolution.
Prof Ncube said parties have agreed to hold the Second All-Stakeholders’ Conference on 22 and 23 October but the parties did not share common ground on the way forward.
He said there was a possibility that Copac might be dissolved after the Second All-Stakeholders’ Conference with the principals taking over the process up to the referendum, a proposal he said his party would reject.
Prof Ncube said his party would field its own presidential candidate in the next election and ruled out coalition with other parties.
He said the next election should be decisive in order to ensure that the country does not return to another Government of National Unity.
Prof Ncube denigrated other political parties he accused of just calling for the removal of President Mugabe from power without proffering any policy differences with Zanu-PF and how they intend to take the country forward.
Online Reporter