Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Final draft Constitution will not be doctored-Malila

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ATTORNEY General Mumba Malila
ATTORNEY General Mumba Malila

GOVERNMENT has assured that the final draft Constitution to be submitted to the President this month will not be doctored.

Attorney General Mumba Malila dismissed public fears that the final draft Constitution would be doctored if it would not be submitted to the President and the Public simultaneously.

Mr Malila said Government would deliver the people driven Constitution that would stand the test of time.

He said a lot of resources had been spent on the process and Government would ensure that it respected the wishes and aspirations of the people.

“The submissions of the people would be respected to the greatest extent possible, and they would be included as long as they are practical and can be implemented,” he said.

Justice Minister Wynter Kabimba told Parliament last week, that the final draft Constitution would not be handed over to the President and the public simultaneously.

The announcement by Mr Kawimba unsettled various stakeholders and accused Government of back-peddling on its initial announcement that the document would be handed over to the President and the public simultaneously.

Mr Kabimba clarified that the Technical Committee drafting the Zambian Constitution was appointed under the Inquiries Act, which obliged them to hand over the draft Constitution to the President first.

Recently the Technical Committee issued a statement stating that the draft would be handed over to the President and the public at the same time.

14 COMMENTS

  1. We have been at this for a long time and it’s hard to believe the AG’s assurances. Once the draft is handed over to government without handing it over to the public it will definitely be doctored. We have seen this happen before!

    • Are we just dumb or what?Does it really matter what kind of constitution we have so long as Sata is in office?I have personally lost count of how many times Sata has disecrated the ka constitution and every one has just sat and did nothing.We should have invested our time and money in something else.Constitutional making process is something that PF cant superintend.These are pipo who have failed to provide the barest that a government be expected-fundamental human rights and you have pipo wondering whether they will give us a constitution that will stand the test of time.

  2. We all remember DONCHI KUBEBA and 90 days promises. The constitution will be changed as soon as we change govt in 2016. It is much easier to believe a kalulu than this govt. The document is already doctored to suit PF’s desire.

  3. It means when it is handed to the public it will already have been approved by the president. Yet it was supposed to be the other way round, from the public to the president and then enactment.

  4. were those PF’s ideas of how the constitution should be or the peoples ideas. we just asked the commit to go round the country and gather ideas period. so y can’t it be an open final draft.

  5. The president is just an individual. Why should the laws of the land be first analysed by him and he decides what should be ratified or not. He is below average academically and it will be naive for zambians to entrust him with such power. If the law of the land allows him to review the constitution earlier than the public or selected committees then that law must be changed.

  6. In what capacity is Malila speaking? This statement is best answered by Sata and not him. What is the problem with PF? They have such indisciplined officers. The other day it was Mwamba- PS Information speaking as if he was a politician. Now it is Malila. Is it a wonder that this PF government is on auto pilot? Every Jim and Jack can speak on behalf of the government. Why does Malila think the constitution will not be doctored? Kaunda would have called him S.T.U.P.I.D. I.D.I.O.T, and he would have been right.

  7. Whose document is the constitution? Is it the government’s or the Zambian citizens? If the document is final, why not allow the media to educate the people on what has been included before anyone makes a decision on it? This is not a government’s document, regardless of what the Inquiries Act suggests. Zambians deserve the right to know what the final document says. The President should have been briefed when the whole process was going on. Are you telling us he is not aware of what’s been happening all this time? This is what is wrong with govt thinking it is more important than the people.

  8. will africa ever going to respect the voices, rights, desires and political will of the people, becouse in all countries, political leaders are almost like the same why?

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