Sydney Kawadza and Farirai Machivenyika
THE Copac management committee yesterday handed over the final draft constitution to the Global Political Agreement principals for final determination.

Justice and Legal Affairs Minister Patrick Chinamasa, who is the Copac management committee co-chairperson, yesterday said each leader from the three parties had been tasked to hand over the final draft to each of the principals.

Cde Chinamasa represents Zanu-PF in the management committee while the MDC-T and MDC formations are represented by secretaries-general Mr Tendai Biti and Mrs Priscilla Misihairambwi-Mushonga respectively.

The Select Committee also announced that the final draft was being translated into various national languages.
In an interview yesterday, Cde Chinamasa said the management committee completed a review of the final draft on Wednesday.

“The management committee completed its task yesterday (Wednesday) and the co-chairpersons have presented it to the principals for determination.
“The matter is now in their hands.”

Addressing journalists, Copac Select Committee chairpersons said the final draft would soon be available in Zimbabwe’s known languages.
Zanu-PF Select Committee co-chairperson Cde Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana said: “I am pleased to announce that the process of drafting a new constitution is now almost complete because we have produced a draft.

“This draft constitution would be made available to Zimbabweans shortly, we are in the process of translating it into all the known languages of Zimbabwe.”
Cde Mangwana said preparations for the Second All Stakeholders’ Conference were already in progress and would be held before the end of August.
“We expect all Zimbabweans to fully understand the contents of the draft constitution and make meaningful contributions where possible.

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“We tried to use very simple language, it is as simple as possible, any person who has not been to law school will understand,” he said.
MDC-T co-chair Mr Douglas Mwonzora said the draft would also be tabled during the Second All Stakeholders Conference.
“This is a Parliament process and it it’s a process being undertaken in terms of Article 6 of the Global Political Agreement. This document if going to be tabled before the Second All Stakeholders’ Conference and then Parliament.”

Mr Mwonzora said 2 400 people will attend the stakeholders conference and a committee would work out the selection criteria for participants to the conference.
On the issue of the national report, Mr Mwonzora said it would only be produced once the whole constitution making process is over.
MDC representative Mr Edward Mkhosi echoed similar sentiments.

The three co-chairpersons defended the time it took to complete the draft saying it was difficult to find common ground on issues given the divergent views of the parties involved.

The constitution-making process was supposed to be completed last year, but dragged on while parties to the process disagreed on several issues.
Some of the contentious issues included devolution, citizenship, homosexuality and the death penalty among other issues.

The disagreements which spread over 200 issues raised by the parties threatened to derail the whole process while the MDC formations were also accused of trying to smuggle the issue of homosexuals in the constitution.

Copac was also accused of delaying the process due to the rich pickings involved, leading to calls by President Mugabe that the country would go for elections with or without a new constitution.

Cde Mangwana, however, said their operations were above board and had been audited on six occasions.
The final draft, if approved by the principals, would be decided through a referendum before it is tabled in Parliament.
Zimbabweans can either vote for or against the new constitution before it is adopted as the country’s supreme law.