The Global Political Agreement signed in September last year makes it very clear that it is a framework for a transitional government. However, Zimbabweans are not vigilant, we run the risk that our interim government will become our government for the next five years or more.

Someone recently sent us a very useful list of the steps detailed in the GPA that will lead to a new Constitution, to be followed by fresh elections to be held according to the terms described in that Constitution.  They also sent a timeline of when those steps should be taken, given the number of months the GPA provided for the various tasks.

The first step is that a select committee – to work on the Constitution – should be set up by 11 April. That’s just three weeks away. Play your part in ensuring Zimbabwe moves towards a people-driven Constitution and a democratically elected and established government. Put pressure on your representatives, and the heads of all three political formations who signed the GPA, to make sure they follow the timeline.

The Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee (“JOMIC”) has been established to “ensure full and proper implementation of the letter and spirit of“ the Global Political Agreement. If you have any concerns about the implementation of the agreement, or the government’s adherence to the timeline for drafting a new Constitution, report your concerns to JOMIC. You can reach JOMIC rotating Chairperson Welshman Ncube on Tel +263 4 252782-3/94-5/846, Fax +263 4 736300 email: wncube@africaonline.co.zw  and cc to funsthole@yahoo.com

Steps towards a new Constitution

1. Select Committee be set up within two months of inception of a new government;
2. The convening of the first All Stakeholders Conference shall be within 3 months of the date of the appointment of the Select Committee;
3. The public consultation process shall be completed no later than 4 months of the date of the first All Stakeholders Conference;
4. The draft Constitution shall be tabled within 3 months of completion of the public consultation process to a second All Stakeholders Conference;
5. The draft Constitution and the accompanying Report shall be tabled before Parliament within 1 month of the second All Stakeholders Conference;
6. The draft Constitution and the accompanying Report shall be debated in Parliament and the debate conceded within one month;
7. The draft Constitution emerging from Parliament shall be gazetted before the holding of a referendum;
8. A referendum on the new draft Constitution shall be held within 3 months of the conclusion of the debate’
9. In the event of the draft Constitution being approved in the referendum it shall be gazetted within 1 month of the date of the referendum; and
10. The draft Constitution shall be introduced in Parliament no later than 1 month after the expiration of the period of 30 days from the date of its gazetting.

New election date then to be decided upon according to new Constitution.

Timeline for a new Constitution

Maximum 20 month process – Taking the number of months stated in the GPA and using the maximum time limits as the guide to building the calendar.

11 Feb – New Government
11 April – Select Committee to be set up
11 July – Convening of the first All Stakeholders Conference
11 Nov  – Public consultation process completed
11 Feb 2010 – Draft Constitution to be tabled
11 March – Draft Constitution and the accompanying Report tabled before Parliament
11 April – Draft Constitution and the accompanying Report debated in Parliament
18 April – Draft Constitution emerging from Parliament shall be gazetted
18 July – Referendum on the new draft Constitution
18 Aug – If draft Constitution approved in the referendum it shall be gazetted
18 September – Draft Constitution introduced in Parliament

New election date then to be decided upon.

This entry was posted on March 28th, 2009 at 10:48 am by Amanda Atwood and is filed under Governance, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.