Source: ‘Only 20pc of Zimbos have new Constitution’ – DailyNews Live
Jeffrey Muvundusi 25 January 2017
BULAWAYO – Only 20 percent of Zimbabwe’s 13 million-plus population has a
copy of the new Constitution, a research group has said.
The group – Matabeleland Institute for Human Rights (MIHR) – conducted a
survey in 2016 to establish Zimbabweans’ access to the crucial document.
MIHR general-secretary, Benedict Sibasa, said there was need to prioritise
constitutional awareness as provided for in the new charter –
overwhelmingly voted for in a referendum in 2013.
“As Parliament resumes sitting and legislators are going to be debating
the 2017 National Budget statement, the MIHR would like to urge Members of
Parliament to demand the Finance minister allocates funds for
constitutional awareness in accordance with Section 7 (a)(b) and (c) of
the Constitution of Zimbabwe,” he said.
Sibasa said the survey also indicated that the remaining 80 percent of the
respondents do not have access to a copy of the new Constitution and did
not know where to get one.
The new Constitution is available at the Government Printers and retails
for $5 per copy – a top-line ripple for most ordinary hard-pressed
Zimbabweans.
“It is disheartening to note that since the year 2013 when the new
Constitution came into force, the government of Zimbabwe has not made
deliberate efforts to ensure that more copies of the Constitution are
printed and public awareness of the Constitution is made,” he said.
According to Section 7 of the Constitution, the government must promote
public awareness of the Constitution, including translating it into all
officially-recognised languages and disseminating it as widely as
possible.
But government seems to have overlooked this, Sibasa said.
However, Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is also the Justice
minister, claims his ministry has managed to translate the Constitution
into eight vernacular languages out of 16 official languages.
COMMENTS
they change it so often it is difficult to keep up
As far as ZanuPF is concerned, it is a ‘secret document’. They don’t want the ordinary person in Zimbabwe to know what their rights are. it’s called subjugation and it has lead to dictatorial governance in Zim.
As far as ZanuPF is concerned, the new Constitution is a ‘secret document’. They don’t want you to know what rights the people of Zim are entitled to – it’s called subjugation and it leads to a dictatorial form of governance, which is already firmly entrenched in Zimbabwe.