Presidents of 16 opposition political parties have resolved not to attend the indaba convened by SACCORD over the constitution slated for this month end.
The Presidents say the time for the agenda that the SACCORD indaba is seeking to achieve is long gone and that now is the time for the release of the draft constitution and not for the question and answer session that SACCORD is proposing.
At a news briefing in Lusaka, the leaders of the opposition stated that the invitation by SACCORD to the 16 opposition political parties undermines the need to have the draft constitution.
A joint statement was read out by Alliance for Democracy and Development President Charles Milupi.
“We want to acknowledge the efforts made by SACCORD to organise an indaba where government and all stakeholders are supposed to dialogue over the constitution. We all feel the SACCORD meeting does not take into account the stage at which the political parties have reached with regard to the constitution making process,” Mr Milupi said.
He said the country is facing challenges ranging from the misapplication of the Public Order Act, the Political Violence, the hooliganism coming PF cadres and the high cost of living which are of great concern to the people of Zambia.
“The opposition political parties are currently not permitted to function in the democracy we introduced in 1991. Almost all the challenges the country is facing today have been addressed in the draft constitution which the PF is no refusing to give to the Zambian people,” he said.
He added, “We wish to remind President Sata and the PF government that a people driven constitution to reflect the democratic dispensation that the country is in, is long overdue. We believe it is the foundation for good and accountable governance and underpins meaningful and sustainable development that the country so badly needs.”
Mr Milupi charged that it is immoral to start discussing Clauses and Articles of the Draft Constitution as the process for debating were completed through the district, provincial and national conventions.
“Infact we believe that the continued debate on certain clauses and articles in the draft constitution is not in good faith as this draft constitution is currently not available to the rest of the country.”
Mr Milupi said the Presidents of opposition parties remain focused on meeting President Sata to discuss the way forward on the constitution.
“We remain focused on the meeting we requested with President Sata to have with opposition political party Presidents. This is so because following the various contradictory statements emanating from the PF government as well as the President, we are convinced that only President Sata holds the key to the resolution of this matter. We also expect State House to be professional in handling the letter we delivered to them on April 16 2014 as a quick response would help the country have resolution to this matter of national importance,” Mr Milupi said.
This is the right decision because the SACCORD meeting is just for window dressing. We all know what we want – the release of the draft constitution to the general public and a well articulated roadmap of its adoption. Without these two any meeting with government is a sheer waste of time. Government knows what the people want and there is no reason why we should begin to hold non-productive meetings. We want the constitution released to its rightful owners – the PUBLIC. Short of this, forget. We shall ensure to force government to give us what is ours. After all, we the people have the power, not Sata or his cartel.
These opposition are just deluded little pricks.Go and attend you morons.
@Janette, I need to know you briefly before I undress you on LT.
what is a moron?
What are pricks?
When did you become a woman?
Listen, don’t come here with such language, muletekanya. You need to know the locals before you show them colors of your nika. We say “Sumbu lyandi lala, tumone imipaile ya bakaya”.
Seems as though Sata thinks we’re Joking.
Now I beg o!!
Which constitution are they going to debate on??????? Since as far as I know, the final draft constitution has not yet been released to the public?
Foolish opposition. why not go there and roast winter with all your demands. We knw the president might not be there but kabimba would have taken the message after all we knw he is the one holding on the president . its very annoying that, instead of showing maturity , u still want hold meeting refusing to grill the government. take this as an opportunity .so upset right now
CLUELESS opposition. why not go there and roast winter with all your demands. We knw the president might not be there but kabimba would have taken the message after all we knw he is the one holding on the president . its very annoying that, instead of showing maturity , u still want hold meeting refusing to grill the government. take this as an opportunity .so upset right now
wynter is NOT the one who promised the 90days constitution,,,, this Indaba needed Sata the snake to be in the chair to ask the about the constitution, the weak kwacha,,,, cadre killing Cadre,,,,and all those other lies
besides we have already heard all sorts of statements about the constitution from headless goats (kabimba included),,,,, it about time we heard it from the Donkey`s mouth
Twende – Looks as though you were writting with a frastrated mind having failed to meet your weekly target by Friday.
Meeting Wynter for What. Now listen, Wynter has never won an Election in his Life, his never been voted for by anyone. Even in 2011, no one voted for Wynter, as such see no reason why he should be Involved in such a very important task as this one.
@Ndobo please please… be fair. Calling them “headless goats”, I will never eat goat again.
And who is “donkey”… hahaha sorry its the “himself”, I know whom you mean, namashina yakwe ubwingi.
Very wise move. There is no need to discuss anything because the constitution is not for the opposition but for the whole nation. In any case what do they want to discuss? We are paying for how we voted indeed.
Euro – you are right it is for the who nation and in a democracy, the nation is represented by the ruling party and opposition. If this meeting took place the whole nation could have been represented. 13 million people cannot possible sit down and debate in one meeting. The sooner the opposition learn to debate and persuade the better. Otherwise they are not good enough to lead the country
Euro – am with you on this.
What do we need to discuss on. Even when Sata pretended to be a Catholic he knew we needed a Constitution, we needed it then and need it the more now.
This Old Rug is simply wasting our time, we have a lot more important issues to deal with, can we have our Constitution today, else he will get burnt.
SACCORD was falling into PF’s trap of vaccillation and delaying the constitution. It is gratifying the opposition political parties saw through this. We cannot afford to be moving backwards on this issue.
There goes the bunch of shallow minds. We all know you want to meet the great king cobra. UNDER5, 1ST SECRETARY TO MALAWI kikikiki
….you dont have anything sensible to say! Why dont you just put this SH.it in your backside where it will never shine! Pa.nyo!!!
There goes our attention seeking opposition leaders again ! Come on you shortsighted individuals.Saccord is offering you this nice platform at which you can air out your pseu-issues but instead of embracing it you start playing the “playing hard to get” games ? What a pathetic opposition that we have in Zambia ! Be serious !
Saulosi – This is not a PR stunt.
No one is interested in meeting Wynter. Wynter a mandate from any Zambian other than the one that nominated and appointed him. NO ONE VOTED FOR HIM. Even in his home village, Wynter’s kingsmen voted for Brian Chituwo from the MMD.
Zondwa knew when he pretended to be Catholic, and hypocritically came out like he understood the Catholic teachings that we need a Constitution. A Lier even in Old age, we will teach him a lesson of his Life that he doesn’t Lye No More.
Very f.o.o.l.i.s.h decision. Any way they have nothing to offer after all. Then at last they will be crying and ask questions in parliament when they had chance to drill Kabimba. Foolish indeed.
Dont attend .the meeting has no police permit.
This opposition has the same strength as a high school student government!
Little whiners! The opposition is a disgrace.
loosers these quacks. what do they really want? stop wasting our time (HH) and your fullish friends. anyway what do you expect from faction led by an uncircumcised cattle breeder
Surely you must be a result of a violent gang bang administered to your mum by a group of low life tribalists. How else does one explain your hateful traits towards another tribe? Ask you mum properly next time you see her. Something is not right here.
Hi Kudos, I see you’re still being a non-progressive hopeless tribalistic cu.nt with the mental depth of an amoeba. Why don’t you ever debate like a normal human being? I ask this sincerely coz your bitterness towards HH baffles the hell out of me, like truly. Was your daddy a miner ku Luanshya and then got retrenched and somehow you blame HH for the suffering that followed in your home? Is that it my pathetic little friend? Did you know that after 2016 the only difference with your rantings towards HH will be that you will be ranting towards the president of Zambia and not an under 5 opposition leader anymore? One can only feel sorry for you poor PF b@stards. What you must be going through at the prospect of HH’s definite presidency in 2016.. tsk tsk.
Thank God that SATA is circumcised!
I cant understand our opposition. You call for indaba and when the government agrees to meet up for dialogue you chicken out. From my recollection, not long ago Nevers Mumba wrote an open letter to the govt for indaba on constitution and he is already part of the limp opposition with cold feet to do so. In parliament they do the same – instead of debating they walk out. This is a grand opportunity to discuss and air their position on the constitution issue and all they want is to incite silly demonstrations. Man up if you want to lead us.
SACCORD called for the constitution meeting between opposition and President Sata a NOT PF reject Kabimba,,, SACCORD called the meeting NOT the opposition,,, So which part don`t you understand sir,,,,,, Dont read the post too much,,, too much confusing
You have been told by Ndobo clearly, read before making yourself look foolish. Is SACCORD the government? The stupidity of some Zambians is incomprehensible, read, read again, analyse logically then comment. Don’t be a damn fool mate, you are better than that.
To ddialogue over what and with who? The Zambians spoke already and all that remains if for the government in power to do what Zambians want.
They asked to meet the head of state and not Wynter. They did not ask for an agenda that included discussing the clauses but rather an agenda to discuss the way forward. The meeting by Saccord is contrary to what these noble men and women asked for. SACCORD has jumped on the band wagon and completely missed the mark. I support the opposition over this and SACCORD should not be the ones to confuse everyone. They should help the process by doing what the opposition is asking for.
Who told you the opposition called for the INDABA??? Read the article, don’t show your ignorance here !!!
Good step though at last minute.
Why did they call the indaba if they already had plans for drama queen antics? That said, I believe we need some clarity regarding the draft constitution and its status generally. I note that doctors and lawyers have been making their thoughts known and my question is at what stage is the draft constitution anyway?
Ask SACCORD NOT they,,,, the opposition!!
Kal……………..
That is what your government and my government must explain, not to call Zambians names for asking legitimate questions.
@13.2 (Let me say this …..), you have a point. There is something that bothers me about the Zambian setup today. It appears you either have to be in a political party or have some NGOs shunt you about before you can make your thoughts known. I doubt very much that constituencies even have impromptu or even appointment-based representations to their respective members of parliament on matters such as these. I believe it should be the citizen at the base that should be agitating and not so-called political parties and NGOs.
@Kal
Read the article before making any comments !! You simply jump into commenting without a clue about what is really going on??? Who says the opposition called for an INDABA????
the time for a new costitution is long overdue and buried under pf so Zambians might as wel think of better things to do eg calling for early elections especial for at least,not even better but good President.I rest my case
Attending the indaba is a sheer waste of time and resources,already k115 million had already been spent on the draft constitution by the PF govt.what else do they want?let them just release the draft constitution together with the road map.”PERIOD”
Sata is playing with you like kids. What is indaba. What language is that. After spending much on ncc sata wants more money in the drain. Am very certain venue ha s been paid for in full.
The constitution process has reached a level of no return…its not time for indaba anymore…what views do you want saccord to hear that has not been aired? Government should only unveil the draft constitution thats all. What are they afraid of!
PERFECT MOVE BY THE OPPOSITION PARTIES!
@ mwine mushi,you can’t just find another name?
Opposition by name only, you can be more construction if you go back and take stock of what your ideologies are. On examination of the sixteen party constitutions one can hardly tell what you stand for. One gets the feeling the were written by the same person or uplifted from either from MMD FDD or UPND. In my humble view these are the parties people should align with, I have no ill feelings towards NAREP which unique but Elias was better of with any of the three. What is going on in MMD, the spirit of intolerance is the root cause of these little parties like Mulongoti Party or Mpombo party or Milupi party. Otherwise we stuck with PF for sometime.
“More construction”?
@Njolomba: …..let us just call you Nyo.lomba! How can a normal person be thinking and saying such SH.I.T
Opposition is letting go an opportunity to dialogue and convey their message. World is watching.
Dialogue? With whom?
With the same characters which refused dialogue in the Parliament?
Be serious.
PF are trying to find a way to dribble themselves out of the constitution issue by engaging the opposition in some sort of mental gymnastics. The Opposition are smart and have out-witted the wizardry PF.
The opposition has a point. Debating the clauses is long gone. It now needs to be put to the final test – i.e. asking the Zambian people whether it reflects what they said it should, during the consultation process. It is really disheartening when some bloggers above cannot discern the linkages – namely those between Constitutionalism, Good Governance and Development. There is a difference between merely having a Constitution (for example in a one-party state) and having one that entails the practice of Constitutionalism ( one that clearly grounds the respect of the rule of law, enforceable rights, accountability and a level playing field for all to realise their potential, which includes contributions and decisions on the best line of socio-economic development )
The Opposition have out-smarted the willy old Serpent. Otherwise, they were going to get entangled and mired in it; and PF were going to use them as the scape goat by either making them take a share of the blame or the reason for the failure to implement the new constitution. As it is, the ball is still in PF’s court.
The reason PF chose to make the new constitution issue a campaign promise, was because they had realized that people were eager to hear that kind of message. It was sweet to the ears of the electorate and to that of the Zambian people at large. The new constitution was going to be delivered in 90 days.
People were excited and decided to vote PF into power. If PF can turn around and dribble the people who voted them into office on the strength of that promise, who will ever take PF seriously again? Are they not a bunch of liars? This issue of the constitution shows PF’s true colour. The party leadership lacks integrity. They are busy creating a mountain of excuses in full view of the Zambian public. Do they think people are not seeing all this?
A promise is a promise. PF needs to deliver on it’s promise. It was PF, not the Opposition, who promised the Zambian people; and its PF that must deliver.
If you can not see developmental projects then you are indeed blind. Travel round the country and see.
@Njalamimba Musonda: The subject matter here is not developmental projects around the country. Its the constitution. PF promised to deliver the constitution in 90 days. That promise is long over-due. Its time PF delivered on its promise.
This was a campaign promise. PF chose it because it knew that, that is what the Zambian people were eagerly waiting for. It’s high time PF delivered. Otherwise, they simply lied their way into office.
I can’t understand where the opposition are coming from. I thought the Indaba was not discuss the content because the Technical committee have discharged their function. The Indaba should be about the process, i.e release of the Draft Constitution, agree on the time table for the referendum and enactment. The opposition should not squander this last attempt to move the process forward.
The are free to walkout of the meeting if PF have a different Agenda all together.
If the opposition are stubborn, MCF should move the process forward in 90 days.
The RIGHT place to discuss the process is the Parliament. Guess what? PF refused to discuss the issue.
President Sata said his MPS are incomptent and therefore you can’t expect anything to come out of the some current calibre of MPs. If consensus is reached from outside, MCS will ask his caucus to accept those recommendations. The opposition has another opportunity to prove their case. Mind you some of them like Mulongoti and Mpombo a one Man parties.
The Party in power has made it clear that they do not want a new constitution for Zambia. What else do Zambians want to hear from the Patriotic Front? Even if youvote for them in 2016 and 2021 the PF will still Not give you a new constitution. Fullstop.
What is this fuss about constitution? We have a constitution, let there be elections and if opposition and its supporters do not like the constitution they can vote PF out. Till then live by the law of the land.
@Richard
Our people need a new constitution. A people-driven constitution shall protect the fundamental freedoms of the ALL PEOPLE (not just those in power) and shall also protect their comprehensive human rights!!! IS NOT OBVIOUS, from the way these Panga Family has been roaming the streets, brandishing all sorts of weapons at anyone and everyone who has different opinions from theirs?? In recent times, our people feel very vulnerable under the current constitution, but can they talk freely about it??? Nooooo!!! Why??? Because the current constitution does not protect them from being arrested under the “public Order Act” which has been used from the colonial era to prevent people to meet and speak freely !!! Are you in support of Colonial Era Acts & Clauses still in current…
A mafioso boss once said you do not cut off the tail to kill a dog. you cut off the head. Kabimba is a tail who would not add any value to our demandsg .
Muyunda – Why even Involve Wynter in this? The bugger doesn’t have a mandate from anyone.
The one delaying the process is Zondwa. He is the one in his typical Hypocritical Nature that is holding on to the process. His the one that needs to be caged.
THIS IS INTERESTING. BUT VERY UNFORTUNATE. THE PF IS SURELY GOING TO WIN THE NEXT GENERAL ELECTIONS. PF WILL NOW HAVE AN EXCUSE FOR NOT ENACTING THE NEW CONSTITUTION. THEY WILL ALWAYS SAY THE OPPOSITION IS UNWILLINGB TO DIALOGUE. THE NEW CONSTITUTION MAY ONLY BE IN EFFECT AFTER 2016. THE ONLY WAY OUT IS TO MAYBE CHOOSE ANOTHER POLITICAL PARTY THAT MAY GIVE US A NEW CONSTITUTION. OF COURSE THE CURRENT MMD OR UPND ARE NOT INSPIRING EITHER. AND WILL BEHAVE IN THE SAME WAY. BUT GOD MAY RAISE UP ANOTHER LEADER FOR THIS NATION.
Mumbwe wrote to the president for this meeting. Where is he now?
Negotiations are inherent to democracy. Opposition parties are adopting dictatorial tendencies. That is tantamount to political campaign. What about negotiating as one opposition group? How about trying one opposition candidate? That would be more acceptable than a boycott. Remember, it is easy to destroy than build. Choose your options carefully.
5stupid
I.DIOTIC comment by the fake doctor above…
Who gave work to the commission? It is the government. Why then do opposition parties want to be in a hurry. Ma rubish 51 +1 will not be there even the running mate. Zambia is not United States of America or United Kingdom. You can not compare a rat and an elephant in size. Let them stay away after all they are not the ones who started. Do not forget the stronghold of PF.
Please tell me Lusaka Times. Is everything that the Zambian Watchdog tell us true?
Dogs happen to have a better sense of smell. Try not to judge a book by it’s cover. I stopped reading the Zambian Watchdog long time ago because I distrust the ethics of their reporting. However, I believe they are truthful in their reporting.
@ Mei Matungu
What about Post, Times…/
do you believe them? ZNBC? Do you believe that pigs can fly?
Has the opposition again run into a rut? Hence, a cold feet. This could have been a chance in a lifetime, believe me, to have had met the executive and chart way forward for this nation. In the same vern, 16 opposition parties are just too much against 16 million pop. This in itself, shows how greedy they are for becoming presidents. Why not merge to a minimum of 4 opposition parties?
Chance of a life time? For what? Either you are mentally hallenged or you do believe that fundamental rights came with PF member card