Transcript 2: Jessie Majome on Mutambara vs Ncube

In the continuing discussion with Copac spokesperson Jessie Majome, journalist Lance Guma asks if Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara is being protected and kept in the position by President Robert Mugabe as a Trojan horse to influence the outcome of the constitution making exercise.

Majome is the Deputy Minister for Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development, MP for Harare West constituency and spokesperson for the Constitutional Parliamentary Select Committee (Copac).

Interview first broadcast 20 November 2012

Lance Guma: Just out of curiosity, if Mugabe and some of his supporters are saying the Principals will have a final say, would that be the reason why Arthur Mutambara despite not leading a political party, is there as a principal, is he like the Trojan horse that they want to use, what do you think?

Jessie Majome: Actually the issue of whether or not Professor Arthur Mutambara is a Principal or not is a moot point. It’s a very controversial point, there are court decisions to this effect, the fact that he is not. I understand he has appealed against it and there is also a decision by SADC to the effect that he is not a Principal.

But again if we look at the Select Committee of Parliament (Copac), remember this process is being prosecuted by a Select Committee of Parliament that is representing the parties to the Global Political Agreement.

So if we look at the composition of the Select Committee and find out who are the people, which are the parties in there, if Professor Arthur Mutambara is of the same political party as Professor Welshman Ncube then the problem is solved, there is no problem.

But if Professor Arthur Mutambara is of a different political party to Welshman Ncube’s party then he is in trouble because in the Select Committee of Parliament (Copac), as far as I know, there no representatives from Professor Arthur Mutambara.

The members of the Select Committee that are in the Select Committee are Honourable (Edward) Mhkosi and (Believe) Gawule. As far as I know they reflect allegiance and membership to Professor Ncube.

And even when we held the Second Stakeholders conference the participants that came and that were deployed by that MDC, were members from professor Ncube’s party, there was not a single person from Professor Arthur Mutambara’s side who came to the conference.

Guma: So Professor Mutambara is seeking symbolic recognition rather than practical recognition based on actual participation in the process?

Majome: Lance I do not hold the brief for Professor Mutambara. I wouldn’t be able to say yes, but what I will just refer to are the facts on the ground which is more interesting because the Stakeholders Conference was an All Stakeholders Conference. It had the three political parties that are party to the GPA.

It had civil society, in addition there were also political parties that are not party to the GPA. There were political parties that took part in the outreach process, they were also represented. If you ask Mavambo, if you ask Zanu Ndonga, if you ask even the Christian Multi-Party Democratic Party, they were also there.

And Zapu was there, they were other parties that were there. But the political party that is led by Professor Arthur Mutambara to the best of my knowledge was not a participant at all in the Second Stakeholders conference and it is not reflected in membership of the Select Committee, so…

Guma: ….So you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to work that one out and coincidentally he (Mutambara) is a rocket scientist….. (Majome laughs)…

Next will be Part 3 of this transcript looking at criticism of the Copac draft