The ZPSAA liason director Primrose Miga(in pink) addresses journalistsNewsPoliticsBy Chris MahoveThe Zimbabwe Presidential Scholarship Alumni Association for Economic Development (ZPSAA) has thrown its weight behind the Constitution Amendment Bill Number 3 (CAB3) adding its voice to those of many other organisations supporting the constitutional amendment, which seeks to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term of office and that of Parliament among other changes.ZPSAA executives, including chairperson Roncemore Mhlanga, his deputy Dr Limukani Mathe and Liason Director Primrose Miga presented their submissions on CAB3 to the Parliament of Zimbabwe Wednesday morning.In a media briefing after handing over their submissions Miga said CAB3 was a timely and necessary initiative whose underlying objectives spoke to the objects of Zimbabwe’s Vision 2030.Miga said the National Development Strategies required institutional stability, policy continuity, and sufficient time horizons for execution and consolidation of national programme adding that extension of the presidential terms to 7 years which runs concurrently with the lifespan of the current Parliament, would avail the country’s political economy enough time to plan and implement national development programmes.“ZPSAA FOR Economic Development emphasises the need to balance the exercise of electoral democracy with socio-economic rights and other developmental priorities. CAB 3 achieves this equilibrium by ensuring that elected officials implement their electoral mandate through transformative policies without the interruptions associated with a frequent electoral cycle. The underlying philosophy of CAB 3 is to reorient and reorganise the political economy of Zimbabwe in sync with the country’s developmental imperative,” she said.ZAPSAA’s support for CAB 3, she reasoned, was premised on the fact that due to the prohibitive economic costs associated with elections, with approximately US$188 million for the 2023 harmonised elections, extension of the presidential term would not only be politically compelling but also economically sound as it enabled the executive the opportunity to augment, ringfence and secure the economic resources needed to execute national development projects without diverting them to fund the country’s political economy.Miga further argued that CAB 3 and its underlying objectives were also in alignment with regional, international instruments and best practices in sync with Zimbabwe’s Vision 2030, the National Development Strategies, global good practices on constitutional reform or development, the African Union (AU) agenda 2063, and the country’s imperative to achieve United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).ZPSAA is a representation of the beneficiaries of the Zimbabwe Presidential and National Scholarship programme and is constituted by skilled professionals drawn from law, social sciences, pure sciences, philosophy, agriculture, among others, produced by the initiative of the Zimbabwe Presidential and National Scholarship programme through the ZANU PF-led government.Critics across different groups, including opposition parties, legal experts, civil society groups, churches, and some war veterans, raise several consistent and serious concerns, arguing that the bill is not just a technical amendment but a fundamental shift that reduces citizen power, concentrates authority in the executive, and weakens democratic institutions.They argue that the Bill shifts more power to the President and weakens democratic checks and balances, which thy fear would centralise authority and undermine the separation of powers.Some legal analysts describe it as “executive consolidation,” meaning the presidency becomes dominant over other institutions.They also argue that the Bill moves Zimbabwe toward a more authoritarian system and removes or weakens direct presidential elections, with the most controversial proposals being changing how the President is chosen.The bill proposes that the President be elected by Parliament instead of citizens voting directly, whichThe ZPSAA liason director Primrose Miga(in pink) addresses journalistscritics say undermines the “one person, one vote” principle and reduces citizens’ influence in leadership selection.Another major concern is that the bill could extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s time in office beyond the current 2028 limit to 2030.Critics argue this violates constitutional safeguards and avoids a required referendum.Leave a ReplyCancel reply The ZPSAA liason director Primrose Miga(in pink) addresses journalistsNewsPoliticsBy Chris MahoveThe Zimbabwe Presidential Scholarship Alumni Association for Economic Development (ZPSAA) has thrown its weight behind the Constitution Amendment Bill Number 3 (CAB3) adding its voice to those of many other organisations supporting the constitutional amendment, which seeks to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term of office and that of Parliament among other changes.ZPSAA executives, including chairperson Roncemore Mhlanga, his deputy Dr Limukani Mathe and Liason Director Primrose Miga presented their submissions on CAB3 to the Parliament of Zimbabwe Wednesday morning.In a media briefing after handing over their submissions Miga said CAB3 was a timely and necessary initiative whose underlying objectives spoke to the objects of Zimbabwe’s Vision 2030.Miga said the National Development Strategies required institutional stability, policy continuity, and sufficient time horizons for execution and consolidation of national programme adding that extension of the presidential terms to 7 years which runs concurrently with the lifespan of the current Parliament, would avail the country’s political economy enough time to plan and implement national development programmes.“ZPSAA FOR Economic Development emphasises the need to balance the exercise of electoral democracy with socio-economic rights and other developmental priorities.
The underlying philosophy of CAB 3 is to reorient and reorganise the political economy of Zimbabwe in sync with the country’s developmental imperative,” she said.ZAPSAA’s support for CAB 3, she reasoned, was premised on the fact that due to the prohibitive economic costs associated with elections, with approximately US$188 million for the 2023 harmonised elections, extension of the presidential term would not only be politically compelling but also economically sound as it enabled the executive the opportunity to augment, ringfence and secure the economic resources needed to execute national development projects without diverting them to fund the country’s political economy.Miga further argued that CAB 3 and its underlying objectives were also in alignment with regional, international instruments and best practices in sync with Zimbabwe’s Vision 2030, the National Development Strategies, global good practices on constitutional reform or development, the African Union (AU) agenda 2063, and the country’s imperative to achieve United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).ZPSAA is a representation of the beneficiaries of the Zimbabwe Presidential and National Scholarship programme and is constituted by skilled professionals drawn from law, social sciences, pure sciences, philosophy, agriculture, among others, produced by the initiative of the Zimbabwe Presidential and National Scholarship programme through the ZANU PF-led government.Critics across different groups, including opposition parties, legal experts, civil society groups, churches, and some war veterans, raise several consistent and serious concerns, arguing that the bill is not just a technical amendment but a fundamental shift that reduces citizen power, concentrates authority in the executive, and weakens democratic institutions.They argue that the Bill shifts more power to the President and weakens democratic checks and balances, which thy fear would centralise authority and undermine the separation of powers.Some legal analysts describe it as “executive consolidation,” meaning the presidency becomes dominant over other institutions.They also argue that the Bill moves Zimbabwe toward a more authoritarian system and removes or weakens direct presidential elections, with the most controversial proposals being changing how the President is chosen.The bill proposes that the President be elected by Parliament instead of citizens voting directly, whichThe ZPSAA liason director Primrose Miga(in pink) addresses journalistscritics say undermines the “one person, one vote” principle and reduces citizens’ influence in leadership selection.Another major concern is that the bill could extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s time in office beyond the current 2028 limit to 2030.Critics argue this violates constitutional safeguards and avoids a required referendum. The Zimbabwe Presidential Scholarship Alumni Association for Economic Development (ZPSAA) has thrown its weight behind the Constitution Amendment Bill Number 3 (CAB3) adding its voice to those of many other organisations supporting the constitutional amendment, which seeks to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term of office and that of Parliament among other changes. ZPSAA executives, including chairperson Roncemore Mhlanga, his deputy Dr Limukani Mathe and Liason Director Primrose Miga presented their submissions on CAB3 to the Parliament of Zimbabwe Wednesday morning.
In a media briefing after handing over their submissions Miga said CAB3 was a timely and necessary initiative whose underlying objectives spoke to the objects of Zimbabwe’s Vision 2030. Miga said the National Development Strategies required institutional stability, policy continuity, and sufficient time horizons for execution and consolidation of national programme adding that extension of the presidential terms to 7 years which runs concurrently with the lifespan of the current Parliament, would avail the country’s political economy enough time to plan and implement national development programmes. “ZPSAA FOR Economic Development emphasises the need to balance the exercise of electoral democracy with socio-economic rights and other developmental priorities.
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The underlying philosophy of CAB 3 is to reorient and reorganise the political economy of Zimbabwe in sync with the country’s developmental imperative,” she said. ZAPSAA’s support for CAB 3, she reasoned, was premised on the fact that due to the prohibitive economic costs associated with elections, with approximately US$188 million for the 2023 harmonised elections, extension of the presidential term would not only be politically compelling but also economically sound as it enabled the executive the opportunity to augment, ringfence and secure the economic resources needed to execute national development projects without diverting them to fund the country’s political economy. Miga further argued that CAB 3 and its underlying objectives were also in alignment with regional, international instruments and best practices in sync with Zimbabwe’s Vision 2030, the National Development Strategies, global good practices on constitutional reform or development, the African Union (AU) agenda 2063, and the country’s imperative to achieve United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
ZPSAA is a representation of the beneficiaries of the Zimbabwe Presidential and National Scholarship programme and is constituted by skilled professionals drawn from law, social sciences, pure sciences, philosophy, agriculture, among others, produced by the initiative of the Zimbabwe Presidential and National Scholarship programme through the ZANU PF-led government. Critics across different groups, including opposition parties, legal experts, civil society groups, churches, and some war veterans, raise several consistent and serious concerns, arguing that the bill is not just a technical amendment but a fundamental shift that reduces citizen power, concentrates authority in the executive, and weakens democratic institutions.
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