Blog #Constitution

A few months the country woke up to shocking news of proposed changes to the Zimbabwean constitution that would drastically change a lot of things, including taking away the power of people to vote for the President, extending term limits and a whole lot more. This bill proposes significant changes to how the country is governed especially how leaders are chosen, how long they stay in power, and how key institutions operate. Because these changes affect every citizen, it’s important to understand them in simple terms, this is not the time to stand by and do nothing and to be clear this should go to a referendum so that everyone has a say. So let’s dive in.

Zimbabwe’s land is managed under a complex mix of constitutional provisions, statutes, and customary practice. The 2013 Constitution and various Acts of Parliament define three main categories of land tenure – freehold (private), leasehold (state-resettlement), and communal – and set rules for each. Importantly, communal land (former tribal trust land) is vested in the President, but used by rural communities under customary law. Chiefs and village heads may administer communal land locally, but they do not personally own it but the problem to this system is that most chiefs don't have the full grasp of the law as recently witnessed in the Chief Murinye incident, where he blocked the road to stop parents going for opening day demanding some kind of payment for the Riverton school built in his area.