16 July 2009 Zim News Flash
Written on July 16, 2009 by Emily
Turmoil & Disorganization Mar First Zimbabwean Constitutional Conference
Zimbabwe’s power-sharing government and parliament along with civic activists and ordinary citizens took stock Wednesday of the first national stakeholders convention in the process of writing a new constitution, disrupted Monday by militants of the former ruling ZANU-PF party and relaunched Tuesday through the intervention of the president and prime minister. President Robert Mugabe warned that the government would “brook no further disruption” of the constitutional revision process after militant youths of his ZANU-PF broke up the first day of the conference singing revolutionary songs and intimidating floor delegates. Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai in the same news conference deplored the incident in which the House speaker of his Movement for Democratic Change was obliged to leave the hall.
NCA, ZCTU in parallel constitutional process
Zimbabwe’s largest political pressure group, the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA), said on Wednesday it was embarking on a parallel process to produce a draft constitution for the country after disagreeing with the government on who should lead the writing of the charter. The NCA said it would work with the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) and Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU). The national labour and student movements are also opposed to the unity government of President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai leading the constitutional reform process.
Tearful mother cannot afford cross for grave
A Zimbabwean mother’s long journey to the Western Cape in a last-ditch attempt to save the life of her gravely ill child ended tragically when the 15-month-old died soon after their arrival. Little Melissa Muketo died in her mother’s arms in De Doorns, near Worcester, where she’d been taken to join her father in the vain hope that she could be saved. Her mother, Patience Julius, 25, from Harare, wept as she told the Cape Argus on Tuesday that her baby had died because of a lack of food and medical supplies in their home country.
Generals refuse to meet PM.. Mugabe meets JOC behind Tsvangirai’s back
Service chiefs have boycotted yet another scheduled meeting of the National Security Council (NSC), highlighting the contempt of army generals for the Prime Minister. Last Friday’s meeting of the NSC failed to take place after flimsy excuses from the generals. Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was expected to sit down with the recalcitrant army generals but this has failed to take place on several occasions since the National Security Council Bill was passed on February 10. The NSC was created to replace the shadowy junta body, the Joint Operations Command (JOC). They were supposed to hold one meeting a month, but there has been fierce resistance against the make-up of the NSC from the service chiefs. They see the establishment of the new security think-tank as stripping them of their power.
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