Kanyama Member of Parliament (MP) Gerry Chanda says he is ready to be dragged to court by the former UNZASU Secretary General Stanford Kabwata, who quarried him on why he refused to represent his constituency on the National Constitutional Commission (NCC).
Colonel Chanda said he would not hesitate to respond should the former University of Zambia Students Union official proceeds with his plan to petition him through the National Assembly for not representing him at the NCC.
He told ZANIS in Lusaka today that he could not participate in the NCC because he did not want to go against his party rules and campaign promises.
He stressed that he belong to a political party that has rules and regulations to follow saying attending the NCC will be a violation of the party rules.
Colonel Chanda said he will as at now not respond to the letter from Mr. Kabwata, which is asking him to explain why he has chosen not to represent him at the NCC.
He said he was too busy with addressing problems in his constituency and he would therefore not respond to Mr. Kabwata’s query.
The MP noted that people in his area elected him because he promised to concentrate on developmental issues saying aligning himself with the NCC would be a betrayal to his electorates.
He has since advised Mr. Kabwata to proceed with his plans to petition him through the National Assembly or take him to court.
On Wednesday, two former UNZASU officials gave Colonel Chanda and his Munali counterpart Mumbi Phiri a three day ultimatum in which to explain to them why the duo chose not to represent them at the NCC.
Antonio Mwanza, a former UNZASU President and his former Secretary General Stanford Kabwata wrote to the two MPs demanding for a legal explanation saying the move by the MPs is an infringement of their rights and contrary to article 133 (b) of the Zambian constitution.
Efforts to get Munali MP Mrs. Phiri proved futile by press time.
ZANIS
That’s the way. An innocent man has nothing to fear.
C’est tres interesting….
TypicaL PF reasoning. I may not subscribe to the petition, but certainly, PF’s participation would have made a difference. Col. Chanda is not participating simply because the great leadr says so. But hows the Pact treating this issue since UPND is at NCC!
Surely Colonel, what should come first, Party interest or national interest? when you abrogate your rsponsibilities as an elected MP, you do not invoke Party rules to protect you. what you must ask youself Colonel is, constitutionally speaking, is Mr Stanford Kabwata right in taking the kind of action he has taken? And mind you, Mr Kabwata is not asking for just an explanation, rather, he is asking for a LEGAL EXPLANATION why the Colonel refused to represent Mr Kabwata at the NCC. If the Colonel can’t understand his legal requirement as an elected MP, how is he going to understand the legal interpretation of his action in court? Why rush to court when what Mr Kabwata has asked for is something straightforward? Why agree to be brainwashed, in the name of Party rules and regulations?
#3 A very interesting observation you’ve made there. These are some of the disparities the PACT needs to iron out at the earliest possible time, so that they have a common standing on all pertinent issues of national interest.
We still await to hear the PACT’s common development agenda for 2011.
Chanda has betrayed his people. Listen to his absolute childish twaddle – he says that he didn’t go because he respects the rules of his party. Are we going to have AGAIN a situation where the party is more superior to the citizens when PF gets into office? What about his constituents who wanted their views on the consitution represented through him? He has obviously let them down. He sounds like a lightweight guy. Boycotting the constitution making process is the worst decision that PF has ever made and it will haunt the political ambitions of individual PF politicians for the rest of their lives. They chose to save Sata in stead of the country. I don’t care who it is but PF here screwed up big time and I wonder what they will do when they get into power…. Scrap the new consitution?
Just an innocent observation;Are these guys(Antonio and Stanford) in formal employment by any chance. Probably the answer should come from the two of them or some close acquaintances. Please advise before we draw any conclusions. I pray that no legal guru tells me that one does not need to be in formal employment to petition a cause like the duo are doing…………………..no harm in being inquisitive.
I’m really looking forward to PF/UPND kicking out this nyamasoya lunatic out of State House!!! However, PF will have the clash of principles in governing a country based on a constitution they deliberately avoided contributing to. We don’t want another constitution making process when they take over power, that may introduce opportunity to re-introduce dictatorial provisions. And we don’t any more money to spend again!!! Sata is probably the least democractic leader in the country today and it is not unrealistic to expect him to question the validity of the new constitution when he comes into power. Unless there are inherent safeguards built into the new constitution. Potential circus on the way post-2011 elections!!!
People let’s not behave like nyamasoya with memories that save information for 2 hours.. The issue of the Constitution making process was the HOW.. which would determine the extent to which the resultant draft would be PEOPLE DRIVEN.. Adoption of a new constitution through the CONSITUENT ASSEMBLY IS what we WANTED and WHAT WE STILL WANT.. for fear of people driven document that would see the powers of the President cust and Auditor genral reports etc being tabled before and accountable to parliament and not President, mwanawasa & MMD came up with this sham of a process that only ensures MMD wants get drafted aimed at targeting People, private media etc… look at the threat to have new constitution before 2011.. What is in it? Bar SATA i suppose. SATA-PF and others were right to…
The only process that ensures and steadfast strong and fair constitution that protects the interst of the majority is through the CONSITUENT ASSEBLY PROCESS:: this is not debatable.. in fact I shall get annoyed if people want to believe that this process tah Levy emarked on when the majority of peopel said NOOOOO!!! is acceptable. it will never be. he bribed spineless MP’s with heafty stting allowances.. I mean what ever submissions they said the got.. who submitted? did any of you on the blog? how is this beinng vetted.. who decides what to consider and not.. THos compromised MP’s ?? lets be serious…
The bill was debated and when it finally became law every Zambian is obliged to obey whether one supported it or not.It’s that simple.I don’t like the P.A.Y.E tax cuz they cut over over a million from my meager salary every month but I’ve no choice but to oblige because it is law.The only legal option available now to those against the CA is to fight for the amendment of this law thru parliament.It’s this simple brother/sister Digga above(#10).Whether those former unza bungwes are employed or not is irrelevant cuz what they got from Unza is worth far more than any salary they can get from any company.They got empowered in their minds- they are educated.
I meant those against the NCC not CA!
#11 Dob I hear you.. Thanks but no thanks.. I’ll wait for 2011 when the criminal, manipulating, greedy political dribbling MMD controlled useless house/ parliament are history. We can then spearhead teh Great nation forward in quantum leaps.
what happened to maestro HH?Does any body Know?
At least Colonel Gerry Chanda and his PF/UPND PACT colleagues were sensible enough to realise that their attendance of the NCC would unnecessarily increase the number of participants and thereby increase the financial burden on the Zambian Tax payer. What with the millions NCC members are being paid.
We need such sensible leaders who look beyond their nose. NCC has been a very big drain an the nation’s finances, resources which could have been better channelled to procuring more equipment for the Rural Health Centres.
Of course for the “Ponya Ntole’s” it’s paradise has come early.
#14 maestro HH was burried last month.He died of priapism in his single bed.
# 14 Menstruation hakuchinja has gone Mad.
Probably, the Veteran guy followed maestro after the latter disclosed his NRC and village. He must have been threatened with death!
These two loose cannon are hired by MMD. Who knows these even voted for the two MPs? They are part of the projects designed by the MMD. One to silence the independent media (The post)through regulating the media. 2: To come up with the constitution few months before the elections that will bar Sata from standing in 2011 that is to include a clause for a degree holder. From reliable sources the time for finishing up the constitution is not known by many people attending the sessions as much as the majority of Zambians. The reason for delaying the completion is avoid to have time for challenging a constitution that is discriminatory and that targets certain individuals. 3: Bribing opposition MPs to rebel against their sponsored parties as with the view to distabilise the opposition.
Contd: 4: Sponsoring the so called brief case NGOs and family political parties to be the mouth piece of MMD.Hiring people like Chifire, Mumba, who have no hearts for the oppressed as long as their pockets are full no problem. 5: Cementing Elections Council Zambia by promoting those people who will support the current govt and its party by any means and this is what Rupiah has done. Using any disposal resource to silence opposition e.g the police. court and the parliament to eliminate those they see as threats. HH and Sata will painted as tribalist in the govt media and not fit to run the govt. The list is endless.
The Hon MP need not take such a defensive stance…(must be his army training)…The least he can do is to reply to the letter and explain his position on the matter. That is a duty he owes to his constituent(s).
Lord SITH you are right. Is the party more superior to its citizens? That is the problem of taking decisions without consulting a well-informed electorate. Why does he want to drag this matter to court when all he needs to do is to give an explanation on his decision not attend the NCC on behalf of his constituents. it’s not too much to ask.
ubupuba aba baiche mwe!
21 and 22. We all know that the NCC was a way for the late President to allow the status quo.his the main reason the PF and Mother Churches refused to participate. When LPM was launching the Mungomba Review Commition he had promised to abide by what ever reccommendation would be made. It was unanimously reccommended that the consititution be adopted by way of the Consitituent Assembly, but because he knew that he might lose some of the evil powers vested in a Zambian president LPM came up with this scheme on NCC which he could easily manipulate. This two chaps are just being used by MMD who want to torpedo the efforts of the PACT. This NCC has been there now for 5 years so where were this two boys? So even us Catholics must petition the Church for not representing us on NCC?
#11 Dobo. Can you give us the details of that law and what it says about those who have refused to attend the NCC. Are you saying the Speaker does not know what this so called law says and has to wait for 2 Unza graduates who stay in shanties to tell him what to do. Why havent the government brought this up in parliament? PAYE means you pay to GRZ while NCC means GRZ pays you big.
watch the space!!
You do not represent your party when you are elected!
#25 Deja Vu,
National Constitutional Conference (NCC) Act No. 19 of 2007, which legislation came into effect after the publication of Statutory Instrument No.68 of 2007 in the Gazette. The Bill was passed by the current Assembly in accordance with Article 78 (1) & (6), Article 79 (7) and Article 80 (2) of the Constitution.
I hope this answers your 1st question.You further wrote:”PAYE means you pay to GRZ while NCC means GRZ pays you big” .Whichever direction the cash flow takes in PAYE and NCC and whether there’s paying big or small involved is besides the point,rather the point is whether or not PAYE and NCC Act are laws?If the response is in the affirmative,then they both need to be obeyed.A bill is what is debatable,a law is not.
My next posting answers your last question
Your last question was:”Are you saying the Speaker does not know what this so called law says and has to wait for 2 Unza graduates who stay in shanties to tell him what to do. Why havent the government brought this up in parliament?” Both the speaker and govt know what this law( NCC Act) says and if you’ve been following the arguements from the PF ‘rebel’ MPs and govt’s side you would have known very well that this violation has already been pointed out.Talking about the Speaker,why do you think are the reasons why he has never acted on Sata’s letter to him to expel the ‘rebel’ MPs?Those two Unza graduates might seem to be simple shanty boys to you but do you know who is backing them?I don’t know either but I know for sure that IT’S NOT PUFFY BACKING THEM.Watch the events as…
#29 Dob- Thank you very much for your reply albeit after so many days. The PFs stand and which I agree with is that LPM came up with the NCC idea just ensure that he maintained the status quo contrary to the Mungomba Commission recommendations. Mind you MMD are in the majority in parliament and will always for laws that favour them. We all know how opposition MPs are bought by MMD to support their motions. It happened in 2002 when the majority of HP and FDD MPs were bribed to vote on MMD side. The whole thing (NCC) legal or not is a farce and I only hope that some one will come to there senses in parliament to scrap it for once and for all. Oh I dont belong to any political part, am just speaking as a Zambian aggrived by LPMs manuvours. At 1st he did not realise how important it was (cont)
for a sitting president to have the consititution in its current format. That is why he had assured us that he would abide by the reccommendations. After realising that it would be suicidal to assent to certain items in the reccommendations, he U- turned. As for those two chaps being sponsored, I dont know why and by who but as you say lets wait. But I still repeat that this law was made in bad faith just as the one on theft of motor vehicle. FTJ did the same to the Mwanakatwe Consititution Review. Dob, it is time we stopped this habit of making laws to suit individuals. Laws must suit the people – leadres and all ordinary citizens. On the shanty issue please accept my appologies it was in heat of the moment.
#31, Yes my reply came late cuz as u can see this subject is no longer in the ‘headlines’ so I wasn’t aware about your questions to me.My main contetion rather was about obeying and disobeying a law regardless of how such a law is viewed by some sections.My point in this regard is that once a bill has passed into law,then we are all bound to obey it by default.In a democratic society like ours there are always options to address any concerns regarding what are percieved to be bad laws but I’m very convinced that disobeying such laws is not one of those optins.Laws can be amended or repealed for example and there’re procedures for that.In our multiparty participatory democratic system of governance and the commonwealth parliamentary system that we have adopted,the majority always…
cont…
the majority rules and that explains the happenings in our parliament.Your complaint that HP and FDD MPs were bribed is not fair or its lack of appreciation of what parliamentarians do when bills are debated.The practice is called “lobying” and not bribery and its done everywhere including in the advanced democracies like the US and UK.Lobying MPs from the opposition parties to support or reject bills is one of the main duties of a parliamentary chief whip.Other members including the president can do that too.If ur keen in following the events in the US politics u will recall that a few weeks ago president Obama had to personally phone a republican party elected representative to lobby for his vote on the healthcare reforms that the democrats are pushing.I hop u’ve got my…