adminThey feel it undermines their authority.
The management committee finished reviewing the final draft last Tuesday and instructed party representatives to hand over the final draft to the three principals, President Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Professor Welshman Ncube.
Justice and Legal Affairs Minister Patrick Chinamasa last week said the fate of the draft constitution lay with the principals.
However, traditional leaders, represented by the president of the Council of Chiefs Chief Fortune Charumbira, condemned the management committee for altering and omitting issues raised in previous drafts.
In a memorandum addressed to the principals, Copac management committee and the select committee, the traditional leaders expressed “deeply felt” reservations in the manner issues relating to them were handled.
Chief Charumbira called on the Copac management committee to revisit some provisions as recommended.
The traditional leadership is not happy with the alteration in Clause 15.1 reading “Traditional leadership under customary law is recognised”, as it was altered from the previous draft.
“The previous draft read on the same clause; “The institution, status and role of traditional leadership according to customary law are recognised”.
“According to the new formulation, only the concept of traditional leadership is recognised but not its status and role,” Chief Charumbira noted.
He said the original formulation had been agreed on by the Copac Select Committee.
The formulation, the traditional leaders said, was not contested or parked hence there was no need to revisit it.
“The new formulation is inappropriate because it does not reflect the wishes of the people expressed during the outreach phase.
“The National Report including the List of Agreed Issues shows clearly that people of Zimbabwe want the role and status of the traditional leaders be enhanced and
recognised.
“Mere recognition of the existence of the institution of traditional leaders without recognition of the role and status of traditional leaders falls short of the people’s aspirations.”
The traditional leaders dismissed Clause 15.3 (2) on Traditional Leaders and Land saying it was from the management committee and never appeared in previous drafts.
The clause says traditional leaders have no “authority, control or jurisdiction over land except communal lands or over persons outside communal lands unless the cause of the action arose within the area of that traditional leader’s jurisdiction”.
“This exclusion . . . is objectionable in that it is a throwback to the colonial era where administration of land was regulated in accordance with the white settlers’
policy of racial segregation as reflected in the Land Apportionment Act,” Chief Charumbira said.
Online Reporter