President Robert Mugabe's former ruling ZANU-PF party has climbed down from its threat to fire the three drafters of the country's new constitution after running into stiff resistance from the Movement for Democratic Change formation of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, sources informed on the situation said Wednesday.
The ZANU-PF co-chairman of the parliamentary select committee on the constitution, Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana, had said the drafters ignored a national report based on information gathered in the public outreach program during 2010.
Drafters appeared Wednesday before the select committee to explain the extent to which they had referred to the report. But sources said drafters confronted Mangwana with video evidence showing him giving them instructions he later denied issuing.
Sources said this convinced Mangwana to agree to let the drafters continue their work.
Sources said Mangwana traded barbs with Constitutional Affairs Minister Eric Matinenga, who wrote Mangwana telling him that he had no power to unilaterally stop the process.
The select committee co-chairman responded that he did not take instructions from the minister. Mangwana told VOA reporter Blessing Zulu that the team of drafters, including a former High Court justice, will continue under strict monitoring.
Tsvangirai MDC selection committee co-chairman Douglas Mwonzora accused ZANU-PF of trying to sabotage the process to trigger early elections.