Education Minister David Coltart who represented the Movement for Democratic Change-Mutambara faction in the constitution making process told a visiting United States congressional delegation that though funding was a problem, lack of dialogue between political parties and opposition to the process from elements of civil society who thought that they should have a larger role, were other obstacles.
He said that said during the 2000 referendum which inflicted the first national defeat on the Zimbabwe African National Union- Patriotic Front’s efforts to come up with a new constitution civil society and the opposition were united.
It was therefore necessary to bring in civil society groups such as the National Constitutional Assembly, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade unions And the Zimbabwe National Students Union into the constitution making process as they currently opposed the parliamentary-led process.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 09HARARE721, ZIM PARLIAMENTARY LEADERS DISCUSS CONSTITUTIONAL
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Reference ID |
Created |
Released |
Classification |
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VZCZCXRO2571
OO RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHSB #0721/01 2531509
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 101509Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4887
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEHAR/AMEMBASSY ACCRA 3018
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 3133
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 1562
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2396
RUEHDK/AMEMBASSY DAKAR 2763
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 3181
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 5626
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHMFISS/EUCOM POLAD VAIHINGEN GE
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 2309
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000721
SIPDIS
AF/S FOR B. WALCH
DRL FOR N. WILETT
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU
ADDIS ABABA FOR ACSS
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR J. HARMON AND L. DOBBINS
STATE PASS TO NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR MICHELLE GAVIN
DEPT FOR AF/RSA KMOODY
STATE PASS TO HOUSE FOR STEPHANE LEBOUDER
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/10/2019
SUBJECT: ZIM PARLIAMENTARY LEADERS DISCUSS CONSTITUTIONAL
AND POLITICAL CHALLENGES
REF: A. HARARE 720
¶B. HARARE 707
Classified By: CDA Donald K. Petterson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
——-
SUMMARY
——-
¶1. (C) On September 3, a panel of parliamentary leaders
updated a visiting Congressional delegation on Zimbabwe’s
process to draft a new constitution and key issues affecting
Parliament. Discussion centered around the need to unite
stakeholders to craft a constitution that would gain the
support of the public by enshrining principles such as the
separation of powers. Another topic of concern was the
selective and politically motivated application of the rule
of law against parliamentarians. END SUMMARY.
¶2. (C) The Codel, which also met with President Robert Mugabe
(Ref B) and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai (Ref A), was led
by Representative Greg Meeks (D-NY), and included
Representatives Marcia Fudge (D-OH), Sheila Jackson-Lee
(D-TX), Jack Kingston (R-GA), and Melvin Watt (D-NC). The
Charge was also present at the meeting at the Parliament
building in Harare.
——————————————
Problems Facing the Constitutional Process
——————————————
¶3. (C) The discussion was mediated by the Speaker of the
House of Assembly, Lovemore Moyo (MDC-T), and began with an
update of the constitutional drafting process by the three
co-chairs of the Parliamentary Select Committee on the
Constitution, Douglas Mwonzora (MDC-T), Paul Mangwana
(ZANU-PF) and David Coltart (MDC-M). Mwonzora pointed to a
lack of funding as the greatest impediment to a new
constitution. Aside from the USD 2 million UNDP grant which
had largely funded the All Stakeholder’s Conference in July,
he said the rest of the process was unbudgeted and would
require an additional USD 9 million from either government or
donors. He explained the Committee had now entered a
consultative phase whereby the 17 thematic sub-committees —
dealing with subjects ranging from the role of women to labor
to separation of powers — would elicit feedback from
Zimbabweans across the country. However, (unspecified)
delays had put the process one month behind schedule. On
funding, Mangwana made the case that the government should be
the principal funder of the process to ensure the result was
driven by Zimbabweans and not external parties.
¶4. (C) Coltart agreed that funding was an issue, but
candidly said that a lack of dialogue between the political
parties and opposition to the process from elements of civil
society, who think they should have a larger role, were other
obstacles. He reminded the Codel of the 2000 referendum that
attempted to significantly alter the Lancaster House
Constitution and how the opposition had united in rejection
of it. He cited that case as an example of the necessity of
drawing in civil society groups )- such as the National
Qdrawing in civil society groups )- such as the National
Constitutional Assembly (NCA), elements of the Zimbabwe
Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) and the Zimbabwe National
Students Union (ZINASU) )- that currently oppose the
parliamentary-led process.
————————–
Biased Rule of Law Remains
HARARE 00000721 002 OF 002
————————–
¶5. (C) Both Coltart and Mangwana responded to a question on
the selective application of the rule of law against members
of the MDC-T. Coltart made a case for his objectivity on the
issue, as none of the MPs of MDC-M had been persecuted. He
said without looking at the merits of the individual cases,
the one-sided nature of the arrests was having a polarizing
effect on Parliament. He worried that there was little
Parliament could do to protect itself other than debate a
motion on the matter and push for an investigation into the
conduct of the Attorney General’s office.
¶6. (C) Mangwana defended the arrests and maintained that
Zimbabwe had a functioning judiciary, while conceding that
the appointment of judges and their autonomy ought to be
revisited. He argued that there was a common perception that
the MDC-T MPs had been arrested for “just doing their jobs.”
This was inaccurate as they had i fact been charged with
serious offenses including rape and fraud. “Shouldn’t the
rule of law be applied in these cases?” he asked. Coltart
countered that there was a history of selective application
of the law in Zimbabwe, and the fact that 100 percent of the
arrested were MDC-T MPs highlighted the “fragility of the
government.” Coltart also cited the lack of arrests in the
recent cases of suspected arson against two white commercial
farmers who had resisted leaving their farms as further
evidence of the partisan application of the law.
———————————
The Need for Separation of Powers
———————————
¶7. (C) Congresswoman Jackson-Lee made the case for the
necessity of a separation of powers with a strong legislative
branch to counter the executive branch, and invited the panel
to discuss the issue. Coltart and Mwonzora agreed while
Mangwana was silent. Coltart was well informed on the
history of the U.S. constitution and agreed that separation
of powers was pivotal. He said that President Mugabe had
extensive de facto appointment powers and that this had led
to the degradation of the judiciary. Mwonzora warned that
even a good constitution was no guarantee of good governance.
——-
COMMENT
——-
¶8. (C) The presence of all three parties on the panel led to
a respectful and at times cautious discussion of some thorny
issues, such as the causes of constitutional delays and
selective prosecutions. For instance, the point was never
made that ZANU-PF was holding up the constitutional process
by not submitting its sub-committee representatives. More
positively, the ability of MPs from all three parties to
engage in productive discourse was an encouraging sign and
supports our belief that Parliament can be a forum for
political cooperation. END COMMENT.
¶9. (SBU) Codel Meeks did not have an opportunity to clear
Q9. (SBU) Codel Meeks did not have an opportunity to clear
this message before departing Harare.
PETTERSON
(23 VIEWS)
