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Rumbidzai Mbewe Chronicle Correspondent
THE New constitution is fast becoming a mere display document due to the slow pace at which the Acts of Parliament are being aligned to the country’s supreme law, the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) has said.

The organisation challenged the government and civil society to roll out constitution awareness campaigns.

In October, cabinet approved the amendments to 206 laws out of 400 that need synchronisation with the new constitution – 14 months after its adoption.

ZCC vice president Bishop Amos Ndhlumbi told journalists on Friday, after the ZCC head of denominations meetings at a local hotel that the country has gone for more than 16 months without full compliance to some provisions of the New constitution.

Bishop Ndhlumbi said the delay in implementing the provisions has affected citizens as they are not enjoying some of the rights enshrined in the constitution.

“The alignment of Acts of parliament to the new constitution is taking too long hence the constitution has become just a display document. There is also a delay in appointing the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission,” he said.

He said the situation was worsened by the fact that most Zimbabweans were not aware of the provisions of the new constitution.

“Churches should raise awareness of the constitution during services.

“Congregants do not only need the bible but also need to be taught about issues affecting them. These issues can be economical, social, environmental and also political,” he said.

The Bishop called on the government to develop a culture of respecting and following the constitution.

He urged the government to make greater efforts to bring full awareness of the constitution to the people of Zimbabwe.

“The constitution must be translated into officially recognised languages, in this case 16 languages stated in the constitution on Chapter (1) Section 7.

“Further, it’s a provision of the constitution that it must be taught in schools as part of the curricula and there should be training for the members of the civil service, security services and employees at the public institutions about its provisions,” said Bishop Ndhlumbi.

He ZCC was committed to continue with constitutional awareness to bring life and meaning to the constitution.

The Acting President, who is also Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa, at a public lecture at the Great Zimbabwe University, said lack of resources was hampering the alignment of laws to the new constitution.

He said some laws needed minor changes such as wording, while others needed to be completely overhauled with substantive amendments.

Cde Mnangagwa said at the moment, the constitution was available in four languages, Ndebele, Shona, Tonga and English, adding the government hoped to eventually publish it in the other 12 indigenous languages.

Mnangagwa recently blasted government ministries for allegedly sabotaging efforts to align the country’s laws to the new constitution, by failing to identify and submit to his ministry, the laws they wanted reviewed, more than a year after the new government came into office.