Radio Dialogue Giving you a voice
The two MDC formations have intensified campaign for the draft constitution on the basis that the document provides a solid foundation for the balance of power between the executive and legislature.
Speaking during a meeting organised by Zimbabwe Election Support Network, MDC member Qhubani Moyo said unlike the current constitution, the draft gives parliament enough powers to effectively play its oversight role over the executive.
“It is a document that clearly states that executive authority is derived from parliament, is derived from the people and the citizens. It is a deviation from what we have where the President has been running the country as if they are running family affairs,” he said.
“And indeed it is a document that clarifies that state institutions are not party organs. It clearly moves away from the current norm whereby politburo of a certain party behaves like the Cabinet.”
Moyo further said the presence of balance of power between parliament and executive is the main reason why Zanu-PF is rejecting the document.
MDC-T legislator for Magwegwe Felix Mafa Sibanda echoed similar sentiments that in the document, the president has no power to make unilateral decisions without the consent of parliament.
However, ZAPU secretary for legal affairs Steven Nkiwane said the document falls short in addressing matters of balance of power. He said the fact that Cabinet Ministers are appointed and answerable to the president limits powers of parliament.
“The draft says Cabinet members will be appointed by the President and accountable to the President not to parliament. So this part of the constitution in a way and a sense is like this type of fertiliser, ammonium nitrate for the cultivation of dictatorship,” said Nkiwane
Qhubani Moyo
[podcast]http://www.radiodialogue.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Qhubani..mp3[/podcast]
