Government says it has intensified preparations for the National Constitutional Conference, NCC.
Justice minister George Kunda says the process of appointing members of the NCC
will start next week.
At a press briefing in Lusaka today, Mr Kunda said it is the intention of government
to convene the NCC as quickly as possible.
Mr Kunda said government through its Constitution Review Process Implementation
Committee is working on a sensitisation programme aimed at creating public awareness
on the Conference.
He said the idea is to ensure that members of the public including those in rural
areas are fully informed about the National Constitutional Conference.
Mr Kunda stressed that the position of government is that the NCC Act number 19 of
2007 as enacted by parliament will be implemented to the full as it is the only
lawful basis for the structure, composition and function of the conference.
The minister explained that only a few members from the CRC, mostly experts, will
take part in the NCC while the majority will come from various organisations and
interest groups.
Meanwhile, Justice Minister George Kunda says government does not accept arguments
being advanced by some interest groups that the composition of the NCC is unfair.
He said contrary to such assertions, the composition of the NCC is far much better
and fairer than that recommended by the Mung’omba Constituyional Review Commission.
Mr Kunda explained that stakeholders made submissions to the Parliamentary Committee
which dealt with the NCC and government graciously included in the NCC Act more than
90% of the suggestions which came from stakeholders.
He said for example, government removed the CRC recommendation which suggested that
the President should appoint 10 eminent persons because of insinuations that the
President enjoyed too much power.
Mr Kunda said it was therefore surprising that the same people who advocated for the
reduction of Presidential powers should now be insisting on the unfettered
implementation of the CRC recommendations.
He said the ongoing contitution review process should be about improving the supreme
law of the land and not undermining President Levy Mwanawasa.
The minister said the idea of the new deal government is to improve the constitution
and that is why the document circulated commented to all stakeholdders for them to
make their input.ÂÂ
He said the CRC Report had recommended the holding of elections in all the 72
districts to elect delegates to the confernce.
The Oasis Forum made representation to the Government it should not follow this
recommendation but instead include councillors who are infact politicians to be part
of the conference.
He said as a listening government, one councillor from each district was included
in the NCC in line with the suggestion by the OASIS Forum.
To government’s astonishment, the Oasis Forum has turned round demanding a full
implementation the CRC report.
“As it’s usually the case, the OASIS Forum has continued to raise new issues even
after the enactment of the NCC Bill with a view to sabotaging the process.” Justice
Kunda said.
He urged members of the OASIS Forum to read the report and recommendations of the
CRC as they will discover that the NCC Act and its composition are better than that
recommended by the CRC.
Mr Kunda said government will not allow a situation where persons not interested in
having new constitution hold the public to ransom.
He said government will proceed to enforce the law as it is and not as some people
would like it to be.
Mr Kunda urged all organisations and interest groups mentioned in the NCC Act and
Zambians in general to prepare themselves for the conference.
The minister took a swipe at South African based law lecturer Professor Michelo
Hansungule for misleading Zambians on political issues he has little information
about.
Mr Kunda said he expected Professor Hansungule to guide the nation rather lower his
profile as a professor through unresearched presentations.
Professor Hansungule was one of the speakers at the civil society organised meeting
on the constitution making process at Lusaka’s Mulungushi International Conference
centre last week.
Cop caught in the act with married woman
By Jonathan Mukuka in Nakonde
Saturday September 15, 2007 Print Article Email Article
Scores of villagers in Nakonde’s Chilolwa village on Wednesday
confiscated an AK47 assault rifle and uniforms from a police
constable who they caught having sex with a married woman.
The irate villagers confiscated the rifle from constable Chiti
Chipili who has since been arrested.
Nakonde district commissioner Edwin Sinyinza confirmed the incident
and said the officer who is stationed at Tazara Police Station in
Nakonde has since been arrested.
Sinyinza explained that the officer was assigned to guard an
installation at TAZAMA sub pump station in Chilolwa village.
After confiscating the gun and police uniforms, the villagers hid
them in one of the houses. But other police officers went to the
village and managed to retrieve the gun and also arrested constable
Chipili who is currently detained at Nakonde Police Station.
However, the villagers bitterly complained about the behaviour of
constable Chipili and asked the police command to discipline him.
The woman’s husband, who preferred not to be named, said he was
planning to withdraw the case so that it could be handled outside the
court because he did not want constable Chipili to be tried in the
courts of law.
Ba Easy bakaamba all these characters #1 are collegues to Veteran.Veteran please stop this rot.Why do you want to get an MA in sex?
I’ve made remarkable progress – VJ
By Bivan Saluseki
Saturday September 15, 2007 Print Article Email Article
FORMER information minister Vernon Mwaanga has said he is doing well.
In July, Mwaanga was flown to South Africa for medical treatment.
Mwaanga said he had made remarkable progress.
“I am doing well and have made remarkable progress,” he said.
Mwaanga underwent an ear operation.
He was earlier admitted to the University Teaching Hospital (UTH)
before being flown to South Africa .
And veteran politician Sikota Wina said his wife Princess Nakatindi
Wina is still admitted to Sandton Med Clinic.
Princess Nakatindi has been admitted to Sandton Med Clinic in South
Africa for spinal problems.
Wina said they were still waiting for the doctor to give them the
results.
Wina said Princess Nakatindi began specialist treatment of her spine
in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
Wina said Princess Nakatindi was sent to South Africa last weekend by
the government for specialist treatment on her spine which was
damaged during her year-long imprisonment at Mukobeko Maximum Prison
in 1998 by Chiluba on trumped-up charges of treason which were later
quashed by the High Court.
He said since her incarceration, Princess Nakatindi, who attended
some court sessions in a wheelchair, has used a frame walker to
support her damaged spine.
He thanked President Mwanawasa for sending his wife to South Africa .
Wina said the single act of compassion by President Mwanawasa had
shown leadership qualities, which were so lacking in Chiluba.
I’ll use mines to redistribute wealth to Zambians, says HH
By Etambuyu Anamela-Gundersen in Oslo, Norway
Saturday September 15, 2007 Print Article Email Article
Changing the prevailing tax regime in the mining sector is the only
way to generate wealth in Zambia, UPND president Hakainde Hichilema
has said.
Speaking last Thursday to a crowd of mainly Zambian students in
Norway , Hichilema charged that President Levy Mwanawasa’s government
was not pursuing investment in ways that benefit Zambia and Zambians.
Hichilema, who is on a week long visit to Norway at the invitation of
Socialist Left Norwegian Minister of International Development Erik
Solheim, said his party aims to change Zambia’s labour laws
especially regarding investment so that there is a deliberate policy
to favour Zambians in the chain of supply.
And commenting on Zambia ‘s relationship with China , Hichilema said
while historically China had made positive contributions to Zambia by
building the TAZARA, it was now time to engage China on a platform of
partnership. “Chinese investments should not only benefit the Chinese
but also the Zambian people,” he said.
“Investment must add value to Zambia , by not only creating jobs but
ensuring that the processing of goods is carried out in Zambia by
Zambians.”
Hichilema said that by taxing mines now owned by foreign investors
between K500 million to K1 billion, a responsible government would be
able to lower the tax rate for every Zambian and redistribute wealth.
Hichilema emphasised that the objective of his trip to Norway was
mainly to learn from Norway on how oil wealth has been redistributed
to provide free education and healthcare.
He said once in power, he would use the mines to redistribute wealth
to Zambians. When asked if policy transfer is actually possible
between two countries that are so different in terms of structure and
levels of development, Hichilema said the principles of how to
redistribute wealth from a country’s natural resources, is what he
will take back to Zambia with him keeping in mind Zambia ‘s
specificities.
Hichilema said as an economist, he understood that claims of Zambia ‘s
purported five per cent economic growth did not really have any
meaningful impact on alleviating poverty because at this rate the
benefits of such an economic policy could only be realised in a
period of 45 years. He said UPND in government would achieve an
economic growth rate of 10 per cent, whose benefits could be realised
in 15 to 20 years.
When reminded by this author that he first has to win elections in
order to govern and introduce all these UPND policies, Hichilema said
he was confident that Zambians realised that they now needed a
knowledge-based leadership ushered in by a new generation of Zambians
regardless of ethnicity. He said he was certain of carrying the day
come election day because, ” Zambians have demonstrated that they can
unite behind a purpose”.
He said Zambians were tired of degraded standards and the choice at
election time would be between development and degradation. He
leaders in the present government did not know and understand how to
run the economy on business lines.
Hichilema, who described himself as a community worker, said somebody
needed to take up the responsibility of harnessing Zambia ‘s wealth
for the people’s benefit and not for selfish interests as was the
case today.
Hichilema also lamented on what he called the `PHD (Pull Him Down)
syndrome’. He said Zambia , like many other African countries, suffers
from this phenomenon where Africans tend to view another African’s
success as a threat.
He said Zambia needed a leadership that was not afraid to see people
well off. He said Zambia needed to come of age and stop blaming its
problems on colonialism and the West, but take steps to run its
economy efficiently.
He acknowledged that while Zambia needed help as a poor country, it
should still take steps to develop itself by relying on its natural
resources instead of begging.
Marianne Hille, advisor in the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
said Norway did not favour any political party and that there was
nothing sinister about Norway inviting Hichilema because as Zambia ‘s
development partner, Norway was in conversation with all stakeholders
including government.
Hille said Zambia ‘s foreign affairs minister Kabinga Pande was also
expected next week. Hille mentioned that Erik Solheim thinks
positively of Zambia ‘s political situation, which she described as
stable. She added that on his visit to Zambia earlier this year,
Solheim recognised that Hichilema was an important player in Zambian
politics and hence extended an invitation to him to visit Norway .
Hoops!! LT has finally gone into its Graveyard. What a short lived blog life you have had to the Zambian History. May your abused role in democracy and free speech be fully realized on Zambia Online’s “Dear Mr.President Page where Diversity and objectivity are pillars of no intruision.
PowerMan just look for where you can copy and paste instead of lamenting like a preganant woman