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“We have stepped up our preparations for the conference. We are printing all the required material and we will soon be conducting accreditation for the delegates and finalise other logistics. We expect to receive funding of about $1, 2 million from the Government and the donors by Wednesday this week. The Government will give us $800 000 and $400 000 will come from the donors. The fund will cover costs for the whole event,” said Cde Mangwana.
Mr Mwonzora, who attended a consultative meeting on the constitution in Bulawayo on Thursday evening, told the gathering that Copac was discussing the issue of the venue and indicated there was a high possibility that Bulawayo would host it.
Cde Mangwana refuted this; “I am not sure about that. That is his opinion. We believe the Second All- Stakeholders’ Conference should be held in Harare as we did with the First Stakeholders’ Conference. I admit there was discussion on that issue but it was not accepted. Bulawayo does not have the appropriate accommodation facilities compared to Harare and there is no reason why we should shift the venue for such a big event from Harare.”
Mr Mwonzora said Bulawayo was the preferred venue because of its diversity.
“We are discussing at Select Committee level and the sentiments expressed are that the conference should be held in Harare or Bulawayo. We are assessing the two options and some prefer
Bulawayo because of its diversity. Bulawayo is also far from the trouble zone especially considering the conflict we had in Harare during the first conference,” said Mr Mwonzora.
Mr Mkhosi also said Bulawayo was the suitable venue.
“A proposal was made in our last meeting to have Bulawayo as the venue. From my side we have no reservations over that. We could use Trade Fair grounds in Bulawayo and the issue of accommodation can be looked into. Harare has been a source of problems but Bulawayo provides a better venue and has advantages that are not in Harare. It is Zanu-PF which has problems with that.”
The Second All Stakeholders’ Conference will be followed by the referendum that would pave way for the holding of harmonised general elections. President Mugabe has indicated that the general elections might be held in the last week of March next year and that specific dates would be announced in due course.
During the conference, Copac will table its draft constitution together with the National Statistical report, receive comments and recommendations from all stakeholders and compile a report, which will be put in the national report.
Meanwhile, during the Thursday meeting fierce debate ensued over the content of the draft with participants raising concerns on how Copac would safeguard people’s views.
Matabeleland Constitutional Reform Agenda (Macra) chairman, Mr Effie Ncube, said political parties should not hijack the process to rubber stamp their manifestos. He also urged participants to ensure a peaceful environment and desist from inciting violence.
Some participants demanded equal representation of all groups including children, people in the Diaspora, women and the youth.
Mr Mwonzora said there would be 571 civic society representatives, which constitutes 70 percent of participants and 280 from political parties as well as observers and security personnel.
MDC representative, Mr Joshua Mhambi challenged Copac and participants to be consistent in their debates and ensure that people’s views were protected.
Mr Christopher Mungofa of Mavambo Kusile Dawn party said people should participate meaningfully during the process and called for the protection of minority groups.
Advocate Steven Nkiwane of Zapu said participants must be vigilant and ensure that no one manipulates the process. Mr Thabani Nyoni of the Bulawayo Agenda pledged full participation of the civic society.
The participants said devolution of power should be given priority and called for the protection of youth empowerment in the constitution. Some people called for the strengthening of security to avoid violence while others sought clarity on how the participants would be selected.
Zanu-PF representative Cde George Tshabangu said the new constitution should safeguard the country’s independence and sovereignty and urged participants to take the process seriously. He also said Zanu-PF preferred a decentralised system of Government as opposed to devolution.
Mr Mwonzora said the Copac draft constitution was the only principal document that would be tabled for discussion during the conference and said the Zanu-PF amended draft constitution was a party document that will not be discussed.
Online Reporter