Zimbabwe Constitutional Outreach Program Delayed Further Amid Disorganization
Members of the public bused from outlying areas to Chinhoyi were stranded in the provincial capital waiting for meetings to begin
Sources in Midlands province said teams there could not hold consultation meetings because they were still waiting for equipment such as cameras and recorders, and the same happened in Mashonaland West Organizational and logistical problems dogged Zimbabwe's national constitutional outreach process Wednesday with outreach team members sitting in Harare and Bulawayo waiting to deploy but lacking the means to do so. Sources in Midlands province said teams there could not hold consultation meetings because they were still waiting for equipment such as cameras and recorders. The same happened in Mashonaland West where the team spent the day doing nothing for lack of equipment. Members of the public who were bussed from outlying areas to Chinhoyi were stranded in the provincial capital waiting for the process to begin, sources said. In southeastern Masvingo province members of Parliament were threatening to abandon the process in protest of the organizational chaos. Midlands outreach team leader Amos Chibaya of the Movement for Democratic Change formation headed by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai told VOA Studio 7 reporter Jonga Kandemiiri that his team spent today completing the accreditation of team members. In the western region of Matabeleland, Believe Gaule, a deputy co-chairman of Parliament's select committee on constitutional revision in charge of Bulawayo and Matabeleland North said induction of members was completed on Wednesday, but that his teams were unlikely to start holding meetings until the end of the week. An official with the select committee said the problems plaguing the outreach process have been caused by delays in the release of funds by donors. Committee Deputy Chairwoman Gladys Gombani Dube told VOA Studio 7 reporter Patience Rusere that the problems should be sorted out by Thursday. The outreach team scheduled to leave for Mashonaland Central on Wednesday was stuck at a hotel in Harare because members had not received travel allowances, reported correspondent Sylvia Manika. The National Constitutional Assembly, a critic of the parliamentary led constitutional revision process, said it was pushing on with its "take charge” campaign opposing the official process. NCA Director Earnest Mudzengi said the poor circulation of public information on the process reflected the desire by politicians in charge of the process to exclude the views of the people.