UK-based Zimbabweans to hold indaba on new constitution
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 [email protected].
