HARARE - President Robert Mugabe's Zanu (PF) party says it wants the new Constitution of Zimbabwe to impose presidential term limits, meaning the party is putting an end to the concept of an unchecked Supreme Maximum leader.
The official Herald newspaper, which reflects official policy, uncharacteristically carried a screaming front page splash, '2-term limit for President', in its Saturday edition. The paper flew off the newspaper stalls in Harare, Zimbabwe's capital.
Revelations that Zanu (PF) actually wants a President which the party can put in check if that party remains in power, provoked intense debate.
"Why would Zanu want a Constitution that provides for a limit to how long a President can serve?" asked a middle-aged man buying a copy of the newspaper.
Observers speculated that the party was looking into the post-Mugabe era.
The Herald was unequivocal in its reporting.
"Zanu (PF) wants the new constitution to limit Presidential terms to a maximum of two five-year tenures but with full executive powers retained," the paper reported. "Zanu-PF’s position paper says the President’s term of office should run concurrently with that of Members of Parliament and executive authority should rest with the President and Cabinet.
"Executive authority must rest with the President and Cabinet. The President is the Head of State and Government and Commander of the Defence Forces.
"The President appoints one and not more than two Vice Presidents from among MPs to assist in the discharge of duties. There should be no Prime Minister," the paper says.
The full text of the position paper was not immediately available for perusal at the time of publishing, but it would seem the expose was a controlled leak expected to set the agenda for the Constitution-making process.
Zimbabweans hope a new charter, replacing one inked in 1979 before independence from Britain, will strengthen the role of parliament and curtail the president's powers, as well as guaranteeing civil, political and media freedoms.
Select teams are expected to soon go around the country for the next four months to solicit views and ideas that will form the basis for the new constitution.
This means Zanu (PF), post Mugabe-era, will have to constantly throw up new leaders so that it does not find itself in the position it is in now, stuck with one leader since independence in 1980.
However, despite his prolonged rule, Mugabe remains very popular in his party and at the December Zanu (PF) congress he got full endorsement from his party's entire 10 provinces.
A senior Zanu (PF) Politburo member who spoke to Zimbabwe Reporter on condition of anonymity said the party was encouraging "new leadership."
"If we stay in power, which we intend to do, we will need every ten years to replace our President with a new person, thats what we want captured in the new Constitution," said the Politburo member. "A dose of democracy within the party is good for the party's health. This will ensure that there is a process of churning out individuals who are capable of filling the leadership voids.
"The party therefore cannot continue to adhere to one position when it comes to the Constitution and another one which is counterproductive to the process of finding leaders. Zanu (PF) is a very very democratic institution and it wants to allow for open competition for leadership. In true democratic fashion, we want to allow our members the opportunity to decide this question and show to the entire world that we have evolved as a political entity."
Political commentator Ronald Shumba welcomed Zanu (PF)'s Constitution position paper on caps on the presidency.
"Hazvidi kuti munhu ongoramba aripo sechipikiri chiri kumadziro (A leader must not be like a nail in the wall)," Shumba said. "Given the problems that Zimbabwe faces, leadership is extremely important. This, in fact, has always been so because Zimbabwe's problems have been so intractable, that it requires a special kind of leadership to resolve, and right now that kind of leadership is not present in the country."
Hailed as a saviour by fanatical supporters and praised throughout Africa for standing up to what many see as bullying by the West, Mugabe is hated in equal measure by opponents who accuse him of being a dictator.
Mugabe denies charges of human rights abuses and insists the West has withheld aid mainly in protest over his controversial seizure of white-owned commercial farms for resettlement among blacks.
His unity government with arch-rival Morgan Tsvangirai, formed in February last year has been rocked by tensions but has hobbled along. The reporter
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written by mark, March 15, 2010
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