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In a telephone interview from Harare Friday Copac co-chairperson Mr Douglas Mwonzora said the process had since resumed as problems with Copac’s main server had been rectified.

The process had been scheduled to start on 10 January but was postponed after the main data server developed a technical fault.

“We have put measures in place to ensure that there are no further delays in the data collation and sampling phase to give us ample time to meet the set deadline.
“To ensure that there are no delays, our teams of rapporteurs are working 12 hours a day, from 8 am to 8 pm,” said Mr Mwonzora.
He said everything was under control and the Copac teams were working flat out.
“In this phase we are simply verifying the data that was gathered during the outreach exercise and finding out whether the information was not tampered with.

“This is being done manually by checking the forms which the three co-rapporteurs’ team leaders signed and verifying the responses,” said Mr Mwonzora.
He said the process involved identifying the forms and entering the data into the computer.
“The data will then be uploaded into the main server where it is going to be kept. The data will then be signed for as a true version of the responses,” said Mr Mwonzora.
He said the uploading of the data onto the server would protect the information from being tampered with.
Mr Mwonzora said the verified data would then be presented to the Thematic Committee.

This process would culminate in a referendum over the new constitution, which is expected to be conducted in June, paving way for elections.

While the two MDC formations have been dragging their feet on elections, President Mugabe has announced the country will go for elections at the expiry of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) next month.
The GPA, which saw the marriage of three major political parties, Zanu-PF and the two MDC formations, to form the inclusive Government, was signed on 15 September 2008.

Although the three principals agreed to the drafting of a new constitution within the two years of the GPA tenure, the process has been hampered by lack of funding.-Chronicle