The National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) has extended its “begging bowl” to its membership and the public after it was dumped by traditional financiers.
This comes at a time the Lovemore Madhuku-led NCA has also shelved its elective congress to choose a new leadership until the country goes for general elections that could be held over the next 12 months.
In a statement on Tuesday, the NCA said this would allow the current leadership to “complete its projects”.
“The consultative assembly acknowledged the difficulties in funding mainly caused by donors who opted to support the ill-fated Copac process,” the statement read.
“The NCA calls upon its membership to voluntarily assist in funding the programmes and activities of the organisation to move away from too much reliance on donor funds, to ensure that the NCA continues to be afloat and remains truly independent in its operations bearing in mind the ‘strings attachments’ mainly associated with donor money.”
The NCA resolved to enforce a resolution that membership cards were to be sold at a pegged fee as a way of fund-raising.
“We unanimously resolved that the NCA congress be held after the referendum and national elections so as to allow the current leadership to continue leading the ‘NO’ Vote campaign. Therefore any talk of leadership renewal has been shelved for the time being to allow the smooth running of the Take Charge campaign,” the NCA added in the statement.
On the Copac-led constitution-making process, the NCA demanded that an independent commission be set up to restart the process.
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“The assembly resolved to call upon its structures to intensify the ‘NO’ Vote campaign in rejecting the politician-driven constitution,” the lobby group said in its resolutions.
According to the resolutions, the NCA rejected calls for elections without meaningful reforms in the media, electoral and security sectors. “The NCA demands that elections be conducted only after the writing of a new democratic people-driven constitution that will lead to free and fair elections,” the NCA said.
