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This followed Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Eric Matinenga’s deferment of debate on the Bill to today contrary to what was agreed at the management committee meeting on Monday evening, in the wake of a similar accord by the principals.
MDC-T secretary general Mr Tendai Biti, who is Finance Minister in the inclusive Government, was heard telling his Zanu-PF counterparts on the benches that his party wanted to frustrate the prospect of a June 29 poll.
“We do not want to go ahead because you guys (Zanu-PF) are trying to push us to June 29,’’ Mr Biti said.
In terms of the Constitution, harmonised elections are due on or before midnight June 29 when the life of the Seventh Parliament ends.
Justice and Legal Affairs Minister Patrick Chinamasa castigated the MDC-T for employing delaying tactics out of fear of elections.
He said Minister Matinenga defied the resolution of the Constitution management committee meeting that met on Monday evening.
“We agreed that we would suspend the standing orders to facilitate speedy passage of the Constitutional Bill in the House of Assembly,” Minister Chinamasa told The Herald after the debate had been deferred.
“We further agreed that the Minister of Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs would do his second reading today (yesterday) and allow for extensive debate until we close Parliament. That is what we agreed on so that the House of Assembly would pass it tomorrow (today) and then on Thursday we are in the Senate.”
Minister Chinamasa said deferment of the debate was part of the MDC-T’s delaying tactics because they were afraid of the elections.
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“It is very clear they are employing delaying tactics. They told me that they don’t want elections early. They think by stalling this process elections can be delayed. That is the sad thing about people who call themselves democrats but they are afraid of elections.
“In the meantime, I have spoken to the Speaker (Mr Lovemore Moyo) and I hope that he will use his influence so that we finalise this matter tomorrow so that we have the Bill in the Senate on Thursday,” he said.
Copac co-chairperson, Mr Edward Mkhosi of the MDC who sits in the management committee said he was surprised when Minister Matinenga deferred the debate.
“We expected the minister to have a debate on the Bill and I thought we were going into it because it is the reason why we had to suspend all the other business. I thought we were coming to the end of this process but it appears the minister had other ideas,” said Mr Mkhosi.
Ironically Minister Biti, who initially steered the Bill before Minister Matinenga came, requested the House to suspend all the other Parliamentary business for debate on the Bill.
He also moved a motion suspending automatic adjournment of the House at 1855 hours yesterday to allow legislators to debate the Bill.
These suspensions are usually requested when there is important and urgent business which needs to be expeditiously concluded.
When Minister Matinenga introduced the Bill he then requested deferment of debate arguing that legislators needed more time to study the Bill.
However, the 30-day gazetting period which is a constitutional requirement was specifically meant to give the same legislators an opportunity to familiarise themselves with the Bill.
Zanu-PF leadership among them Vice President Joice Mujuru, Defence Minister Emerson Mnangagwa, Minister Chinamasa and party chief whip Cde Jorum Gumbo protested Minister Matinenga’s motion.
But fighting from Minister Matinenga’s corner was Minister Biti, while Regional Integration and International Co-operation Minister Priscilla Misihairabwi Mushonga was also consulted by Minister Chinamasa.
The consultations took about 20 minutes before Mr Moyo asked Minister Matinenga to give feedback of the consultations to which he claimed that the management committee had agreed that he would just introduce the Bill while debate would be done today.
Minister Matinenga insisted that the Second Reading would be done today to which Mr Moyo agreed.
Meanwhile, Cde Gumbo has urged all legislators including Ministers to attend today’ sitting so that they could meet the two-thirds majority required to pass the Constitution.
The draft Constitution became a Constitutional Bill after the President gazetted it on March 28 and it lasted the statutory 30-day period.
The Zanu-PF caucus has urged all the party’s legislators to attend today’s session to vote on the Bill.
The MDC-T has been campaigning to have harmonised elections postponed to September or October amid reports that the party had failed to draft an election manifesto, and had been seriously unnerved by several recent surveys that pointed to a Zanu-PF victory in the harmonised elections.
The situation has been compounded by the West’s moves to re-engage Zanu-PF amid mounting attacks on Mr Tsvangirai’s character by major western media organisations.
Online Reporter