THE Constitution Select Committee (Copac) has admitted that it produced too few copies of the full draft constitution to be distributed countrywide and that only 500 copies have been allocated per district, though smaller versions are expected to cover the gap.
Report by Nqobile Bhebhe
Zimbabwe is due to hold a constitutional referendum on March 16 and the distribution of the documents was meant to afford citizens a chance to familiarise themselves with the contents before voting.
Copac national co-ordinator Gift Marunda told NewsDay yesterday that distribution of the copies was dependent on the number of districts per province.
“For instance in Bulawayo there are five districts which simply means only 3 500 copies will be provided. The Midlands has eight districts which translates to 4 000 copies and that will not cater for everyone,” he said.
Marunda said the huge shortfall could be narrowed with additional copies that have been allocated to political parties.
He said the three GPA parties — Zanu PF and the two MDCs have been given 3 500 copies each to circulate in their structures countrywide and 50 to other smaller parties.
“However, Copac has also made available small versions of the draft or a summary of it in a handbook note. That document will be distributed to the generality of the population.”
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On Wednesday, legislators were each given 20 copies of the draft for initial distribution to their constituencies.
Copac co-chairman Douglas Mwonzora (MDC-T) said they “are overally happy” with the distribution of the draft constitution and have brought in some non-governmental organisations to print, distribute and campaign for the draft constitution.
Parties in the inclusive government are campaigning for a “YES” vote at the referendum, but the National Constitutional Assembly has enlisted the support of some labour organisations and civic groups in its bid to campaign for a “NO” vote.
