2.8.
Outreach per Province
2.8.1. Bulawayo
A total of 57 meetings were held in Bulawayo Metropolitan Province, with 11,556
people attending the meetings, the least attendance in all the provinces. The Select
Committee had deliberately structured outreach in such a way that the Metropolitan
provinces, that is Harare and Bulawayo, would be done last, in a space of a few days,
using the teams from other provinces.
Generally all meetings in Bulawayo Metropolitan province were held in a peaceful
environment with members of the public freely making their contributions.
Outreach in Bulawayo was held from the 18th to the 28th September 2010 with teams
from Bulawayo, Matabeleland South and North Provinces conducting the outreach.
There were misunderstandings over how many meetings were to be held in each ward
with some insisting on one meeting per ward as per the Select Committee resolution
prior to outreach, while others argued that circumstances on the ground necessitated
the holding of more than one meeting per ward. Eventually, two meetings were held
in most of the 29 wards in the province.
The process was also interrupted on the 18th of September by an industrial action by
drivers who were striking against late payment of their allowances. The Select
Committee, as it had done in other provinces which had faced similar challenges
threatened to dismiss all the Drivers if they had refused to resume duty. They
immediately resumed work.
There were, however, accommodation challenges for outreach teams as they would
move in and out of hotels for non-payment of hotel bills.
The process was overseen by Hon Believe Gaule, Hon Martin Khumalo and the late
Hon Jabulani B Ndlovhu. The outcomes of the meetings are clearly indicated in the
National and Provincial Statistical reports as annexures to this report.
2.8.2. Harare
A total of 96 meetings were held in Harare Metropolitan Province, with 49,699 people
attending meetings. Harare province meetings posed a real challenge to outreach
consultation process as cases of violence were widespread in the province.
Serious cases of violence were reported in areas like Chitungwiza and Caren Business
Centre in Budiriro high density suburb where people from different political parties
fought running battles with the Police and the meetings had to be abandoned. On the
19th of September 2010, another meeting was also abandoned in Glenview due to
violence.
In the work of this violence, the Management Committee met and resolved that all
meetings abandoned due to violence would have to be redone, with the Police being
36
The Constitution Select Committee (COPAC) Report to Parliament, February 2013
Select target paragraph3
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