Thursday, March 28, 2024

Referendum to depend on final draft format-Wynter Kabimba

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Secretary General of the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) Wynter Kabimba
Secretary General of the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) Wynter Kabimba

MINISTER of Justice Wynter Kabimba told Parliament yesterday that holding a national referendum will depend on the format of the final draft constitution.

Mr Kabimba, in response to some members of Parliament who wanted to know how much has been allocated for the referendum, said there is no money set aside for such a ballot.
He said there is also a possibility that the referendum may not be necessary.

“Should the process require a national referendum, Government will, through the co-operating partners, source for funds for the process,” Mr Kabimba said.

The minister said to date, K103 million has been spent on the constitution-making process and it is estimated that another K115 million will be spent until the completion of the process.

Mr Kabimba said the current constitution-making process is cheaper than previous ones that the MMD Government carried out.

“The previous constitution-making process ended up producing nothing for this country. I have not seen any NCC [National Constitution Conference] document that has been used because it failed,” Mr Kabimba.

The minister was responding to Mwinilunga member of Parliament Stephen Katuka (UPND), who wanted to know how much money has been spent on the constitution-making process to date.

Mr Katuka also wanted to know the estimated cost of the whole constitution-making process.

19 COMMENTS

    • Zambia is cursed!
      We could have had visionary leaders like Nkumbula, Kapwepwe or Mundia but ended up with KK.

      Zambia is cursed!
      We could have had visionary leaders like Dean Mungomba, Humphrey Mulemba, AKA or Athur Wina but ended up with FTJ.

      Zambia is cursed!
      Mwanawasa died too young.

      Zambia is cursed!
      We could have had other visionary leaders, but ended up with Sata

      Zambia is cursed!
      Instead of having a visionary leader, will end up with either GBM or Wynter

    • This is where the intellectual line is drawn…while the GBM group is busy plotting “na la kuponona…te ndalama shabanoko” the other camp is busy selling their maturity…though both are losers

  1. this constitution thing is now money siphoning scam by sata and his surrogates. it will not meet the aspirations of the majority zambians. it will be tempered on by these i.diots who want to cling on power by all means. we have do it the egytian way to save our nation from these scavengers

    • Are you serious about going the Egypitian way?Egypt is in a serious medd and it will take ages for Egypt to recover from the current pandamonium!Please think before you make such suggestions.Its absurd!!

  2. I believe Wynter,our constitution will be among the best in Africa and it will be a legacy on his part.The man is very honest.

  3. The requirement to hold a referendum arose from the fact that the Bill of Rights has been amended. This dependency on format is a surprising development. We are counting, October ends in 5 days time.

  4. “The minister said to date, K103 million has been spent on the constitution-making process and it is estimated that another K115 million will be spent until the completion of the process.” Hahahahahaahah! Zambian justice minister?

    “Mr Kabimba said the current constitution-making process is cheaper than previous ones that the MMD Government carried out.” whatever that means? and our country is expected to develop by having such leaders level of thinking. What happened to Kabimba’s policy on using Bisa among others as medium of instruction in the educationsystem of Zambia.

  5. The Zambian people are eagerly awaiting the release of the final draft constitution (simultaneously) to Michael Sata and the the public.Wynter Kabimba is responsible for ensuring that unnecessary delays are avoided.
    A good constitution will bring about good governance,and it will be for the benefit of every citizen,irrespective of party affiliation.Many PF party zealots do not know that most of the current confusion in their party and country are due to the imperfections in the present constitution which Frederick Chiluba and Michael Sata imposed on the Zambian people.Sata was the third most powerful politician,(just like Kabimba is now),when the current defective constitution was enacted.Chiluba and Sata ensured that the constitution had enough loopholes to enslave us.

  6. Can Kabimba elucidate. An intelligent man does not just make a statement like that without explaining what he means or fail to give examples, in this case of formats that require or don’t require a referendum.

  7. A referendum is necessary. It ensures that national consensus is sought before any amendments are made to the supreme law of the land. It is a major aspect of good governance and democracy. While lawyers have the know how to put the law onto paper, the people should decide what laws they should be governed by.

  8. Any Amendment to Bill of Rights = REFERENDUM.
    i think will be back to point 1, thats the problem with moving in a circle, u never know wen to stop. Same old story

  9. The constitution is another “don’t Kubeba document”. PF are clever. They know that going by what the people want, PF cannot survive or is a one term government. The new constitution only has slight chances of being given to the people after 2016. For now, I repeat, it’s a don’t kubeba aspect. The format issue will drag on up to 2016. Though lies have short legs, they can make one attain one’s objectives. Example is PF. they are in power purely through lies and have formed the “Bufi’ government and are “eating” instead of governing. The only solution Zambians is to tighten your belts and live with it. Some opposition parties have realised this and are now thinking of adopting the “eating with them since we go into politics to eat” policy.

  10. No matter how good the draft constitution is, one of the points that is making PF grow cold feet is the 50 + 1 % clause included in the document. The people want it but the government more especially Sata doesn’t want it. Mark my word, that is a clause this current government will remove even though there are a few countries in Africa who have it (Kenya included). A very clear way of how this government operates, is look at how they are dragging their feet on the Freedom of Information Bill. All sorts of dishonest statements and promises keep being made for the time of Sakeni and now Kapeya. The government doesn’t want the citizen to request and access information that will lay bare how and what is going on in the country.

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