Zimbabwean Constitutional Amendment No. 19 gazetted

Reports on Sunday, 14 December 2008 indicated that Southern African Development Community (SADC) chairman and South African President Kgalema Motlanthe has applauded the move and called for the immediate swearing in of Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe.

"South Africa and the SADC stand ready to assist the people of Zimbabwe as they embark on the difficult road towards the reconstruction and development of their country," President Motlanthe said.

Zimbabwean Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa has already indicated that the Bill providing for the setting up of the inclusive government would be tabled in Parliament after which it would take about two weeks to be debate and passed into law.

The Bill requires a two thirds majority to pass through Parliament.

Chinamasa called on all parties represented to support the Bill as none of the parties had the required majority to ensure its passage alone.

He, however, added that failure of the Bill to pass would result in elections being held soon.

Responding to the gazetting of the Bill, MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa said the party would only reveal its position once it had seen a copy of the Bill.

He, however, stressed that the MDC wanted other issues, including those relating to the sharing of Cabinet posts, the Constitution and the composition of the National Security Council to be resolved before the MDC could support the Bill.

Article published courtesy of BuaNews