THE hasty introduction of the new Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) currency without thoroughly consulting ordinary people is the latest sign that the government is keen to undermine the country’s Constitution, Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights) director Dzikamai Bere has said.
Speaking during an interview with the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CiZC), which shared the conversation with NewsDay, Bere said the Constitution gave Zimbabweans the power to determine the way they are governed.
Citing the new currency, Bere said: “A new currency is not a tsunami. You know, as a government, that you are going to introduce a new currency on this day, so you should begin a process of consulting the stakeholders. You bring the law to Parliament, to allow Parliament to debate the law. Because sovereignty resides in the people, you do not ambush people with a new currency.”
The ZiG replaces the Zimdollar which had been heavily battered by inflation, resulting in the economy self-dollarising.
Authorities insist the ZiG is backed by gold and foreign currency reserves as well as other minerals. However, Bere said people must be consulted first in line with dictates of the Constitution.
“This is why the Constitution starts with the phrase ‘we, the people’, and establishes what we call the sovereignty of the people,” he said.
“If you then go further into the Constitution, into the very first section after the name, the next thing that comes in the Constitution is the supremacy of the Constitution.”
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has on several occasions been accused of abusing Presidential Powers (Temporary Measures) Act to dodge consulting the Legislature.
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“The Constitution establishes its supremacy, but do not forget this supremacy is linked to the sovereignty of the people,” Bere said.
“For example, the executive authority derives from the people of Zimbabwe, as stated in Section 8.8.1 of the Constitution.”
Bere also cited examples of the Executive’s abuse of power, such as the establishment of the Mutapa Fund.
“This is an investment for the future. It must be subjected to debate in Parliament,” Bere said.
The CiCZ is running a series of interviews to commemorate the 11th anniversary of Zimbabwe’s Constitution.
