BATTLE lines have been drawn against the inclusive government in general and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai in particular, as his allies in the civic society mounted an attack this week to derail the constitution making process.
The Financial Gazette can reveal that the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) this week started canvassing for support from members of the Broad Alliance, including the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), to reject the proposed new constitution at a referendum expected early next year.
There is concern within the civic society that ZANU-PF and the two Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) formations want to impose the Kariba draft, albeit with minor adjustments, on the people through a 25-member Select Committee appointed on Sunday to steer the constitution making process.
Since its formation in 1997 the NCA has been pressing for a people-driven constitution, joining forces with other civic allies to denounce previous amendments to the country's supreme law.
The Broad Alliance comprises the ZCTU, the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition and the Zimbabwe National Students Union.
Its partners played a part in campaigning for the MDC-T and ensuring that President Robert Mugabe did not succeed in his re-election bid during the synchronised polls in March last year.
In the run-up to the March 2008 polls, Tsvangirai campaigned on the promise of delivering a people-driven constitution, among a catalogue of other populist policies that resonated with members of the Broad Alliance.
The Prime Minister outpolled President Mugabe in the harmonised polls but did not garner enough votes to be declared winner leading to a blood-letting presidential election run-off boycotted by the former trade unionist due to violence.
President Mugabe won the one-man race roundly condemned as a sham. For the first time in the history of the country, ZANU-PF lost its majority in the august house, creating a hung Parliament.
But the inclusive government has created fresh challenges for the MDC-T and its partners in the Broad Alliance.
Eric Matinenga, the Constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs Minister recently told civil society representatives that the Kariba draft document will not determine the outcome of a new constitution.
The Kariba draft was authored by ZANU-PF's Patrick Chinamasa and Nicholas Goche, MDC-T's Tendai Biti and MDC-M's Welshman Ncube in the resort town as the negotiating parties sought to find a solution to the political crisis.
"The Kariba draft is not and will not determine the final constitution", Matinenga was quoted saying. "That draft is on the same footing as the 1979 Lancaster House constitution and the 2000 (draft) constitution which was rejected by the people."
The civic society is however, not convinced.
The alliance met in Harare last Thursday at a consultative meeting boycotted by MDC-T legislators where it was agreed that the new constitution be rejected once it is put to vote at the referendum.
Critics of the NCA and its allies campaigning for the "No Vote" doubt Madhuku and company would succeed, considering that when they rejected the draft constitution in 2000 they were riding on the back of the newly formed MDC.
To succeed, the alliance would need to win the support of the electorate that has so far thrown its full weight behind the inclusive government despite the continued bickering over a number of outstanding issues.
The Financial Gazette established this week that there was consensus within the Broad Alliance not to embrace the constitution making process.
NCA chairman Lovemore Madhuku, whose organisation is fiercely opposed to the political party-driven constitution making initiative, did not mince his words in an interview with The Financial Gazette yesterday, blaming the premier for what he described as a "flawed and defective partisan constitution making process."
Tsvangirai last Thur-sday held a caucus meeting with his legislators where he ordered them not to entertain the NCA and other groupings opposed to the process brought about by the Global Political Agree-ment (GPA) under Article 6 of the September 15 2008 unity pact.
A few days after the premier's meeting, Spea-ker of Parliament Love-more Moyo unveiled the Constitutional Select Committee comprising legislators from ZANU-PF and the two MDC political formations, setting the stage for the political parties driven constitution making process.
The Select Committee would be charged with producing a Draft Constitution for Zimba-bwe to be debated in Parliament before a final draft is subjected to a referendum.
Madhuku said the NCA and like-minded organisations want Zimbabweans to reject for the second time another defective constitution making process.
This was in reference to the 2000 constitutional referendum rejected by the majority of Zimba-bweans.
"This will be a second rejection specifically for (Prime Minister) Morgan Tsvangirai who believes that popularity is all that matters. The second rejection will be his because (President) Mugabe already knows that popular support is not enough to impose a constitution."
Madhuku said the current constitution making process was so defective that the only hope for the inclusive government to succeed was to abuse Prime Minister Tsvangi-rai's current popularity.
"Tsvangirai was able to stop his legislators from coming to our function to eat our food but he will not be able to stop the ordinary people who are suffering during the present equally defective constitution. Let him try and test his popularity using this defective process and he will be surely embarrassed," said Madhuku.
Wurayayi Zembe, the president of the little known Democratic Party added his party's voice to the growing disgruntlement over the constitution making process.
"The ZANU-PF, MDC-T and MDC-M parliamentary route of constitutional making is oppressive, clandestine, and anti-people. We remind those of short memories that at the February 2000 constitutional referendum the people of Zimbabwe rejected a draft constitution that was imposed by the ZANU-PF commission," said Zembe.
"If a ZANU-PF commission of 400 individuals was rejected and dismissed by the people in 1999, it is baffling to see how a tiny committee of 25 can succeed."
Matinenga said yesterday it was unfortunate that there were some people such as the NCA campaigning against the parliamentary process.
"The fact that someone outside Parliament has a different view does not mean that the person will make the process people-driven," said Matinenga in an interview.
"Also the fact that the process has been started by Parliament does not make it less people driven. If there are areas of concern let's talk and we can reach some form of agreement," he said.
"This business of wanting to spoil or start a fight we don't buy it and it will not deter us to produce a new constitution under the inclusive government in a decent manner."
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