MEMBERS of the public have slammed the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) Bill, saying it will give too much power to the minister and take away the independence of the commission.
BY BLESSED MHLANGA
Speaking at a parliamentary public hearing into the Bill in Kwekwe yesterday, members of the public said there was need to take away excess powers from the minister, who will administer the NPRC Act.
“The minister’s powers are excessive to compromise the independence of the commission, it should report to Parliament instead of the minister,” Jabulisa Tshuma, a Kwekwe resident, said.
The Bill also gives the minister powers to issue a certificate to stop investigations into any matter which he or she may deem not to be in the public interest.
Another resident, Charles Madiwa, told the Harare West MP Jessie Majome-led committee that Zimbabwe was not ready for the NPRC because of the prevailing political polarisation.
“We need to have a sober government first before we start doing this because at the moment, our society is too polarised and we have a Parliament, which can block discussion about a Zimbabwean who was abducted in the open,” he said, in reference to the National Assembly’s failure to debate on the abduction and disappearance of human rights activist Itai Dzamara over a year ago.
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Others called for the words truth and justice to be included in the name of the commission.
“The absence of the words truth and justice in the name of the commission betrays the essence of the job that the commission is supposed to carry out. Truth and justice are core in this process,” Polite Ndlovu said.
The public also felt that the appointment of a chief executive by the Public Service Commission would compromise the work of the commission.
