The ruling party ZANU-PF has urged members of the media to report factually and not to weaponise the pen when reporting on issues of national importance such as the just passed Constitutional Amendment Bill Number 2.
Speaking during a special press conference, at the ruling party’s headquarters this afternoon, ZANU PF Secretary for Information and Publicity, Simon Khaya Moyo said the media industry must try at best to report as truthful as one can and that is why the media is allowed to ask for clarity.
He said the media should refrain from weaponizing the pen into swords, but rather be factual in reporting. Moyo said the Constitutional Amendment Bill Number 2 was well received by Zimbabweans during consultations, but however some media houses have been reporting otherwise.
“ZANU PF is proud to have steered the passage of Constitutional Amendment Bill Number 2 which received overwhelming and historic support from all political parties in Parliament and the Senate, with the bill receiving 191 to 20 votes in the Parliament and 65 to 10 in Senate.
“We have taken note of the spirited attempts by sworn critics of Gvnt misinforming the public about these amendments. Nothing can be further from the truth,” he said.
Moyo went on to say ZANU PF further supports the bill in so far as it seeks to stabilise the justice system by way of extending retirement age to 75. It is a recognizable tradition across jurisdictions that judges mature at law, wisdom and experience as they grow in it.
Moyo added that these amendments are aimed at strengthening the country’s flourishing constitutional democracy through the deliberate creation of a stable institution of the presidency by removing the imported running mate clause which has proved to be chaotic where it has been used.
“It is therefore not by mistake that the makers of the 2013 constitution, our people averred that this clause be operational after 10 yrs from 2013. This is because it needed to be subjected to further scrutiny coupled with observation of whether it was efficient elsewhere.
“The Bill also seeks to empower our women in line with gender equality in decision making bodies like parliament by extending the tenure of women in Parliament by a further 10 years while at the same time empowering young people through affording them 10 seats in Parliament,” he added.
-Zwnews
