Justice, legal and parliamentary affairs minister Ziyambi Ziyambi has admitted that the country’s constitution adopted in 2013 is not perfect.
Addressing representatives of local civil society groups on the proposed Constitutional Amendment number two, Ziyambi said the new charter endorsed by over 90 percent of Zimbabweans during the March 2013 referendum is one of the best but not perfect.
“Zimbabwe’s Constitution is one of the best but it’s not perfect,” said minister Ziyambi.
The 2013 constitution a product of political settlement between the ruling Zanu PF and two MDC formations was heavily criticised by the National Constitutional Assembly pressure group led by Professor Lovemore Madhuku.
Madhuku said the 2013 constitution left too much powers in the hands of the President who will be head of state with unlimited power, head of government and commander-in-chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces.
Contributing during the engagement, Edward Mapara from the Law Society of Zimbabwe spoke against the proposed amendment on the promotion of judges which he said should continue as in current Constitution.
Another contributor, Roseline Hanzi of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) urged government to concentrate on implementing the Constitution rather than amending it.
She added that the current constitution should not be subjected to too many amendments like the Lancaster House constitution which was altered a record 20 times.
