By Staff Reporter
Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Ziyambi Ziyambi says the government has never engaged or worked with former Higher and Tertiary Education Minister, Jonathan Moyo in drafting Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 3.
He rejected social media claims that the exiled academic played a role in crafting the proposed Constitutional changes.
Some opposition activists recently claimed that Ziyambi had travelled to Nairobi, where Moyo is believed to be living in self-imposed exile in Kenya, to persuade him to return to Zimbabwe and help speed up the legislative process.
Addressing journalists in Harare, recently, Ziyambi dismissed the allegations, saying the proposed amendments were initiated by the Executive as they were looking to stablise the country’s economic blueprint.
“Jonathan Moyo is not the architect behind Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 3. The process was initiated by the Executive, which felt there was a need to anchor political and economic stability through the proposed amendments.
“I never worked with him at any stage regarding the drafting of this Bill. The process was undertaken through established government channels.
“I gave instructions to the Attorney-General’s Office and worked with them pursuant to a party resolution and the mandate that we have as the Executive to bring legislative proposals before Parliament,” he said.
Ziyambi said attempts to associate Moyo with the drafting of the Bill were misleading and risked diverting attention from the real issues surrounding the proposed amendments.
“Those who are criticising the amendment must not bring in unfounded claims or attempt to create narratives that have no basis in fact. The legislative process followed the proper procedures, and the Attorney-General’s Office handled the technical drafting in line with the instructions that were given,” he said.
He said discussions around the constitutional amendment should instead focus on the substance and objectives of the proposed changes rather than speculation about individuals who were not part of the process.
“What is important is to look at the substance of the amendment and the reasons behind it. People are free to debate and even criticise the provisions of the Bill, but they must do so based on facts and not on speculation or misinformation,” Ziyambi said.
