By Rex Mphisa
BEITBRIDGE ZANU PF structures met last weekend at an inter-district gathering deliberating constitutional provisions including the topical Ammendment Bill 3.
According to the District Coordinating Committee Secretary for Mines Forbes Muchihwande Sithole the meeting was to update party members on whether or not the amendment required any referendum.
Sithole, a lawyer by profession, said unpacked that in terms of the current constitution the proposed bill does not require a referendum.
“The constitution, according to section 328 imposes referendum to the amendment to a term limit. In casu, the bill seeks to retain the 2 terms that the president should remain in office. Section 91(2) of Constitution clearly outlines term to refer to 3 years or more. Hence the addition of 2 years does not amount to term extension. No Constitutional provision prohibits addition to term cycle from 5 to 7 years,” he said.
He said there is current propaganda by some elements in the streets that a constitution is not amendable.
“That’s false. Constitution is like a road that we construct for our benefit. If a rock falls and blocks that road, we have the wisdom to repair that road to avoid accidents. The 2013 constitution was just a marriage of convenience,” he said.
He interpreted the one man one vote to mean the people will vote once for their party and president.
“People cry for one man one vote. The bill seeks to achieve precisely that. One vote for your political party will be enough. No need for the 2nd vote. Your one vote will determine both parliament and the president. That’s one man one vote phenomenon,” he said.
He said members of Parliament and councilors who complained they would not benefit from the additional were incorrect because the bill seeks to have elections in 2030.
“Therefore the President (Emmerson Mnangagwa) will go with his team to 2030. All are vital to assist the president to accomplish his developmental projects most have witnessed in his short term he has served,” said Sithole.
He said under the current leadership Zimbabwe had witnessed massive development and most of it was tangible.
“Right here at Beitbridge we have an improved world class border post and the highway leading from the same border to Harare is world class. The projects done in the last few years are massive and if Zimbabwe had been on such a pace ever since the country would have long become an upper middle class economy,” he said.
He said it is important to have the president supervise his National Development Strategy 2 (NDS 2) which will usher Zimbabwe to a superior upper middle class economy.
Sithole said Zimbabwe was slowly moving towards food self-sustenance because of massive mechanisation investments by the Government of the ruling party.
Zimbabwe recently accelerated investments in agricultural mechanisation, aiming to transform the sector into a US$13.75 billion industry by 2025.
Recent, notable, and ongoing investments include US$37 Million Youth Farm Mechanisation Drive launched by President Mnangagwa to support young farmers with 72 tractors and 2 combine harvesters.
Another is the US$10 Million Youth Irrigation Support, a complementary, initiative aimed at setting up irrigation systems for Youth Business Units.
The government is in the process of mobilizing 14,000 tractors to boost winter wheat production and ease manual labour constraints.
Zimbabwe has also heavily prioritised investments in mining aiming for a $12 billion industry and tourism, driving growth through lithium, gold, and infrastructure expansion.
Major investments include over US$700M in lithium projects by Chinese firms (Huayou Cobalt, Sinomine), the US$1B+ Dinson Steel Plant, and over $900M in tourism revenue in 2025.