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NewsDay

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Copac budgets $1,5m for drafting supreme law

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The Parliamentary constitution-making body, Copac, has set aside $1,5 million for the drafting stage of the country’s new supreme law. Copac chairperson for information and publicity Jessie Majome disclosed on Thursday the money had already been made available to kick-start the process. Majome also said compilation of the national report that would produce the data […]

The Parliamentary constitution-making body, Copac, has set aside $1,5 million for the drafting stage of the country’s new supreme law.

Copac chairperson for information and publicity Jessie Majome disclosed on Thursday the money had already been made available to kick-start the process.

Majome also said compilation of the national report that would produce the data needed by the drafters to compile a draft Constitution was currently underway.

Copac said an amount of $5 million was needed to take them to the completion of the Second All-Stakeholders’ Conference.

“The process of compiling the national report will commence soon and organising a team that will produce the national report is already underway,” Majome said.

“The national report they will produce will be forwarded to the drafters of the new Constitution,” she said.

Majome said the principal drafters would be Botswana High Court judge Justice Moses Chinhengo, and lawyers Priscilla Madzonga and Brian Crozier, who would be supported by a drafting team whose names she said would be publicised in due course.

She said the drafting stage was expected to take about 35 days, adding once the draft was in place it would also be made available in English, vernacular languages and Braille.

Majome said Copac did not envisage rejection of the draft document during the Second All- Stakeholders’ Conference because it encompasses all input by members of the public.

Copac deputy co-chairperson and Zanu PF representative Monica Mutsvangwa said they would ensure the public was apprised of the draft document before it is debated at the Second All-Stakeholders’ Conference.

“The idea of having a Second All-Stakeholders’ Conference would be to get representatives from all the 10 provinces commenting on what they think about the draft because all information on that draft would have come from what the people said during outreach programmes,” said Mutsvangwa.

After the Second All-Stakeholders’ Conference, the draft would be taken to Parliament for further debate.

A referendum on the draft would then be held at a date yet to be set.