THE implementation of Zimbabwe’s new Constitution is set to come under scrutiny tomorrow when 120 youths drawn from around the country under the auspices of the National Youth Development Trust (NYDT) hold a one-day conference in the city under the theme “From Constitution-making to building a culture of constitutionalism”.
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Guest speakers at the conference will include politicians, lawyers and media practitioners.
According to the conference agenda, topics under discussion range from unpacking the promises and problems in the implementation of the new Constitution, an audit of the legal environment vis–à–vis the implementation of the Constitution and dealing with perceptions on electoral fairness and low voter turnout.
NYDT director Liberty Bhebhe yesterday said the aim of the conference was to create a critical mass to influence the implementation of the Constitution.
“As an organisation, we have been carrying out awareness programmes on the Constitution throughout Matabeleland. The next phase is to influence government to implement the governance Charter.
“So this is an opportunity for the youths to pinpoint key issues they want implemented without delay. The Constitution has several promising clauses such as the devolution of power; we need to interrogate the challenges faced in implementing it,” said Bhebhe.
MDC-T legislator and former Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development deputy minister Jessie Majome, director of the Media Institute of Southern Africa, Nhlanhla Ngwenya, Election Resource Centre director Tawanda Chimhini, Samukele Hadebe from the Public Policy Research Institute of Zimbabwe and Lupane State University’s Cornelius Brown Ncube are among those expected to address the conference.
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The NYDT is a youth focused organisation whose commitment is to ensure that young people in Zimbabwe transform and re-invent themselves to exert influence by taking charge of their destiny.
It creates platforms to enable young people to participate, interact and voice their concerns on critical national issues.
The new Constitution was endorsed in a referendum in March 2013 and it clips the powers of the president and imposes a two five-year presidential term limit.
However, the presidential term limit does not apply retrospectively. Zimbabwe had been using a peace-pact Constitution crafted at Lancaster House in London in 1979 to end a protracted war of liberation.
The Constitution was amended 19 times to entrench President Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF’s rule.
