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CURRENT NEWS

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 Diaspora can also discuss new constitution

http://www.irinnews.org

HARARE, 17 August 2010 (IRIN) - The parliamentary committee in charge of 
reviewing Zimbabwe's constitution is actively inviting feedback and 
recommendations from the millions of Zimbabweans living abroad.

"Our resources could not permit us to travel all over the world to solicit 
the views of Zimbabweans on the contents of the draft constitution; this 
meant that we could only conduct outreach programmes in Zimbabwe," a 
co-chair of the Select Committee of Parliament on the New Constitution, 
Edward Mkhosi, told IRIN.

"The launching of a website is a wonderful opportunity for Zimbabweans all 
over the world to contribute on how they want their country to be governed," 
said Mkhosi, who represents a smaller formation of the Movement for 
Democratic Change (MDC) led by Arthur Mutambara.

The other co-chair, Douglas Mwonzora, representing the main MDC faction led 
by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, told IRIN that some 4.2 million 
Zimbabweans, of a total 13 million, were living abroad.

"That is quite a significant part of the population which would need to be 
consulted, as they may have issues that are relevant to them - some of the 
issues that could be peculiar to them may have to do with dual citizenship 
and the right to vote," he said.

Under existing Zimbabwean laws dual citizenship is not allowed, and only 
diplomatic staff and armed forces stationed abroad are allowed to 
participate in national elections while they are out of the country.

A new constitution is one of the requirements stipulated by the Global 
Political Agreement, signed in September 2008 between Zimbabwe's three main 
political parties.

The outreach programmes to find out what people would like to see included 
in a proposed new constitution have covered urban and rural areas throughout 
Zimbabwe, but millions of others living abroad have not yet been given a 
chance to participate in the consultative process.

Paul Mangwana, representing President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF party, 
commented that "the website was designed primarily for Zimbabweans in the 
diaspora ... they should be able to say what kind of country they want to 
come back to."

Estimates of the number of Zimbabweans living abroad range between 3 million 
and 5 million, and their remittances are widely credited for softening the 
impact of the country's economic collapse.

Admore Tshuma, a Zimbabwean journalist based in the United Kingdom, welcomed 
the decision to include expatriates "because it is the same diaspora who, 
during the height of near economic collapse of Zimbabwe, chipped in and 
re-oiled the wheels of Zimbabwe's economy".

Interested Zimbabweans around the world can join the discussion here: 
www.copac.org.zw

Zimbabwe constitutional reform meeting in London

THE Zimbabwe Diaspora Development Interface (ZDDI) is hosting a consultative meeting on Diaspora participation in the Zimbabwe national constitutional reform exercise on Saturday, 7th August at the London Metropolitan University.

The public meeting will provide Zimbabwean community groups and individuals in the UK with an opportunity to map out and discuss the key issues they would like to see included in the draft constitution that will emerge from the current public outreach process being led by the Constitutional Parliamentary Committee (COPAC) in Zimbabwe.

The weekend gathering represents the first opportunity for Zimbabweans in the UK to formally discuss their views on this most important national exercise. It follows on the coattails of statements by the two Deputy Prime Ministers, Ms Thokozani Khupe and Prof Arthur Mutambara on recent visits to the UK encouraging Zimbabweans to feed their views into the ongoing COPAC public outreach process.

Speakers from outside the UK will include senior officials from the human rights advocacy group Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, Pedzisayi Ruhanya (Programmes Manager) and Dewa Mavhinga (Regional Coordinator), who will be accompanied by Arnold Chamunogwa of the Youth Agenda Trust.

Zeb Manatse, chairperson of the Zimbabwe Constitutional Consultation UK, a coalition of Zimbabwean community groups in the UK, will speak on the state of the national constitutional consultative process which aims to gather the views of Zimbabweans in the UK for onward submission to COPAC.

However, the main purpose of the public meeting is to provide a platform for Zimbabwean groups and individuals to express their views on the constitutional reform exercise and to identify the main themes and issues that should inform the Diaspora´s submission to the COPAC process.

ZDDI coordinator, Msekiwa Makwanya said: "The consultative meeting is meant to be a barometer for gauging the UK Diaspora´s views on the new constitution. As Zimbabweans we do not want to miss this opportunity to put our issues on the national agenda and so we encourage fellow Zimbabweans in the UK to come forward and express themselves freely."

* The meeting will be held between 12pm-14:30pm at Stapleton House, Room SH209. Address: 277-281 Holloway Road London N7 8HN. (1minute from Holloway Tube Station; Buses 43, 276, 273)

* Places are limited and are available on a first-come first-served basis, so please arrive early to gain entry into the meeting. For further details or enquiries, please email Chofamba Sithole on info@zimdiasporainterface.org. Msekiwa Makwanya

20 students quizzed over Lesbian Scandal

BULAWAYO police have quizzed 20 students from the girls-only Eveline High School over allegations of lesbianism, school authorities confirmed.

The 20, all believed to be players in a local football team, were quizzed individually by detectives last week after another student allegedly blew the whistle on her teammates.

Eveline headmistress Rosemary Moyo said Tuesday: “I can confirm 20 of our girls have been questioned by police in relation to allegations of engaging in lesbian activity. At this time we have no further update.”

He said: “We are not sure if the accusations are true. If they are, I am shocked. I do not expect such behaviour. It is unacceptable.”

Theresa Ndlovu, president of the Carlton Football Club, said she had received over a dozen calls from parents wanting to pull their children from the team.

The local Chronicle newspaper reports that the scandal blew up on July 17 when the team travelled to play in a tournament in the Nswazi area of Umzingwane district, Matabeleland South.

“While there, one of the girls accused other team members of being lesbians. School authorities questioned her and asked her to write a statement and she did so, pairing the names,” the paper reported.

Police spokesman Assistant Inspector Bhekimpilo Ndlovu said: “The matter is very delicate and cannot be discussed at the moment because that might jeopardise our investigations.”

Proven or otherwise, the claims are sure to ignite a new debate on the purpose of same-sex boarding schools believed to fuel homosexual experiments