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AMHVoices: Polad is not extension of Parliament or Executive

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DIALOGUE and engagement should be the modern way of doing things. But engagement should not be misconstrued as a sign of weakness.

DIALOGUE and engagement should be the modern way of doing things. But engagement should not be misconstrued as a sign of weakness.

By O Gutu,Our Reader

NCA leader Lovemore Madhuku, a professor of law, should know better.

Laws are made by Parliament and that ordinarily, all Bills originate from the Executive and are subject to parliamentary scrutiny.

Parliament either passes, rejects or proposes amendments and no other body is mandated to do this.

The Political Actors Dialogue (Polad) does not exist in our statutes and for Madhuku to say the Executive must recall the Constitutional Amendment Bill No 2 from Parliament is nonsensical and extortionist to say the least.

Polad is of the view that the current government is desperate for friends, desperate to be seen dialoguing with some political players.

I doubt that is the situation. Those that hold that view are day dreamers. Government business cannot be crippled because of Polad.

Polad is not a governing partner, so it must stay out of governing issues.

A Constitution is a set of rules governing the people and how certain things are done. The same Constitution dictates how it can be changed or altered.

In our case, changes to the Constitution require a two-thirds majority vote in Parliament.

A government is there to serve the people, specifically delivering on its electoral promises and even bettering the same.

In its wisdom, if the Executive believes certain provisions of the Constitution are hindering it from delivering its promises and proposes certain changes and Parliament is amenable to same, who is Madhuku or Polad to say no to it?

I went through the proposed changes and I found them to be very progressive and feel Madhuku and company are just playing politics, which is unfortunate.

On this one, Madhuku, let it go, but agree in your closed-door meetings on how future Bills should be handled before coming to Parliament.

For Mnangagwa to withdraw this Bill at this stage and on the instruction of a non-constitutional body, he would have really created a serious constitutional crisis for himself.

As far as Zimbabweans are concerned, the Government of National Unity ended in 2013.

Today, Zanu PF has the mandate to rule and it is the only body that is answerable to the people, and not Polad.

The good job being done by Polad is commendable, but it should not overstep.

Polad is a creation of the Executive and must remain so and all are advised not to wash their dirty linen in public.

Polad should not be a ground for political contestations, but a bridge-building platform. So diplomacy should be the key word.

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