Civic society groups from Matabeleland are this weekend expected to hold a crunch meeting to decide whether to urge their members to endorse or reject the proposed draft constitution.
The groups which are members of the newly-formed Matabeleland Civil Society Forum (MCSF), said the meeting would be held in Bulawayo on Saturday. The consortium comprises of 40 civic society groups from the region.
“It is definitely on this Saturday. Basically, we want to articulate our minimum conditions on the issue of devolution of power,” said MCSF spokesperson Dumisani Nkomo in an interview with NewsDay yesterday.
“We want to measure what Copac comes up with against our minimum demands.
“There are minimum conditions that we agreed on sometime ago. “We want to see how that measures up with the expectations of the people of Matabeleland and also the people of the Midlands, Masvingo and Manicaland, among other areas in Zimbabwe. “There is a draft that is circulating which I understand is still under discussion.
“The problem with the Copac process is that it is secretive.
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“Copac chairpersons have been gagged and as a result we are working in darkness.
“We feel that other issues have been sufficiently addressed by other organisations. For us, we want to address devolution of power, public finances and the truth commission. We are expecting over 400 delegates for that discussion.”
The consortium, formed early this month by like-minded civic society groups, is aimed at advocating for the development of the region and pushing for the inclusion of devolution of power into the new constitution.
Some of the consortium’s members include Habukkuk Trust, Shalom Trust, Women of Zimbabwe Arise and Bulawayo Progressive Residents’ Association.