The Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe (VMCZ) held a media training workshop in Bulawayo on Wednesday to enlighten journalists on some provisions of the new constitution.
This after the organization noted a coverage deficit of constitutional matters in the mainstream media.
“The training was carried in line with Chapter 7 of the new charter, which mandates the media, civil society groups and citizens to promote public awareness around the new constitution,” said VMCZ Program Officer Faith Ndlovu.
She said the training ran a gamut of issues, including the charter’s “founding principles and values, the Bill of Rights, devolution of power and gender equality among others.”
Media trainers Takura Zhangazha and Tapfuma Machakaire also took up the question of presidential succession in light of ferocious warring between Zanu PF factions angling to succeed President Robert Mugabe.
Under the new constitutional dispensation, if Mugabe should leave office by way of death, resignation or removal, his party appoints a replacement to complete his term before an election is called.
Previously, Vice President Joyce Mujuru looked certain to take over from Mugabe, 90, by virtue of her seniority in Zanu PF.
But the removal of that certitude has sparked aggressive jostling between a faction she allegedly leads and another loyal to Justice Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Rivals in the warring camps have traded some of the worst invectives yet ahead of the party’s elective Congress in December. In some cases, the tensions have turned physical.
