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PF had no intentions to give the Zambian people a new constitution-Nevers Mumba

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MMD President Nevers Mumba addressing Briefing at MMD Secretariat on 11th December 2015
MMD President Nevers Mumba addressing Briefing at MMD Secretariat on 11th December 2015

Movement for Mult-Party Democracy MMD President Nevers mumba has alleged that the Patriotic Front Government had no intentions to give the Zambian People a new constitution.

Speaking at a press briefing to day, The MMD President saluted the efforts of opposition political parties, the Grand Coalition and many Zambians who he said had consistently applied pressure on the PF to deliver the constitution.

Below is the full Press briefing

Members of the Media Fraternity; MMD National Secretary; MMD Members of Parliament present; Members of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy; Our Party supporters; Ladies and Gentlemen.

On this very momentous occasion, a day after a very historic event in the history of our nation, I wish to sincerely congratulate all MMD Members of Parliament for having stayed the course, fighting off fatigue and sleep, staying awake through the night to work and ensure that the process which finally resulted in the delivery of key progressive Constitutional clauses as demanded by the people of Zambia, were finally delivered.

The history of this outcome starts from the failed 90 day promises of the Patriotic Front government. When it became clear to all Zambians that the promise to deliver the constitution in 90 days was an open lie to hood-wink voters, the MMD and other civil society organizations began to demand for a road map of realizing the national dream of the constitution.

PF had no intentions to give the Zambian people a new constitution. We therefore salute the efforts of opposition political parties, the Grand Coalition and many Zambians who have consistently applied pressure on the PF to deliver the constitution.

The outcome of today has been due to the sustained pressure placed on the PF to at least give us clauses which would assist us in ensuring that the next election is conducted in an atmosphere of expanded liberties. MMD has supported this route by using common-sense that if we did not support it, we would not have attained the victory of the 50%+1 and Running Mate clauses. This is only the first step towards getting all that Zambians have been demanding over the years.

MMD understood that going the way of a census and a referendum, which was going to require the participation of at least 50% of eligible voters was not going to be attainable in the time available before the 2016 elections. This has been our party position and I am proud of all those MMD MPs who struggled hard and long to grab these clauses out of the clenched fist of the PF.

We, the MMD, as initiators of the process through the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) under the Levy Mwanawasa presidency, our dear late President who coined the now popular phrase that “We shall not govern our country according to laws of men, but according to the rule of Law” are extremely delighted that the end of this very long journey is now in sight.

By what transpired in Parliament yesterday and into this morning, our gallant lawmakers have fulfilled the old-age adage which says, ‘Half a loaf of Bread is better than nothing.’ This indeed was why we, the MMD, opted and promoted the ‘piece-meal’ approach to the Constitution-making process as opposed to what we believe would have been a longer, more difficult and expensive Referendum route which offered no guarantees of success and was at risk of having the entire process abandoned with nothing achieved.

We are therefore delighted that as a party, we have remained focused and consistent and provided strong leadership, direction and a sense of clear purpose in making history to enact clauses that Zambians have looked forward to over a very long period of time.

We are happy to have been part of the historical effort to realize and fulfill the Zambian dream of having the 50%+1 clause which will now avoid putting a minority president to rule over the majority. To have the Presidential running mate clause which will avoid wastage of resources when an incumbent Head of State becomes incapacitated and unable to effectively execute presidential duties or indeed dies in office. This new clause will provide for a seamless, cost-effective and swift transfer of power to the running mate without the heavy expense of a presidential by-election as has happened in our country before.

Ladies and gentlemen, millions of Zambians are currently living in the diaspora and have acquired new nationalities, but trapped there, unable to fully enjoy the privileges and rights of their natural heritage as Zambians. With the enactment of the clause on Dual citizenship, a door has now been swung wide open for them to come home without cumbersome immigration complications and procedures.

Zambia has finally joined the many progressive countries who have this clause in place which allows their nationals the right and liberty to enjoy full privileges and ability to invest back home. Key among the Clauses that were close to our hearts as MMD are as follows:

1. 50%+1 electoral system which ensures that we shall now have a majority president unlike the overturned system where a candidate could become president even with 10% of the vote as long as he or she had the highest vote.

2. Presidential Running Mate Clause to prevent a by-election in case the sitting president is no longer able to continue in office.

3. Dual Citizenship for Zambians to make it easier for Zambians with foreign passports in the diaspora invest back home.

4. Strengthening of the Auditor General’s office to effect prosecutions of erring civil servants.

5. Mandatory national Debt contraction through parliament to prevent the current situation where Cabinet can just borrow anyhow and leave future generations in perpetual debt.

6. The Supplementary Appropriation Act to prevent spending money that has not been pre-approved by parliament.

7. Preventing Parliamentary defections and crossing the floor in an effort to bring order to the House and eliminate costly, unnecessary by-elections.

With the 2016 General Elections just a few months away, we the MMD sounded our intention to support these progressive and straight-forward Clauses as espoused during the Presidential debate just prior to the January 2015 Presidential election. We were of the view then and now that these clauses were of paramount importance since they directly hinged on elections and therefore important inclusions for us as a country going forward.

With all these positive indications said about the process, we are however not blind to the fact that there were heated and tense moments during the debate, occasionally drawing strong and sharp exchanges on the floor of the House, particularly during the debate on the Provincial Assemblies and the Proportional Representation voting system which have been set aside for now. This is positive for the advancement of democracy.

The comfort we would like to bring to the people of Zambia, is that all is not lost in fact a lot has been gained. If we remain as focused, single-minded and resolute as we have been during the just ended process, there is no doubt that every clause that the Zambians want will eventually be enacted into Law in due course.

Finally countrymen, my sincere desire is that no side should feel vanquished and the other side as winners. The real winners in this entire process are the people of Zambia whom we all aspire to serve selflessly.

As a nation, let us now forge ahead as one people as we look to scoring greater achievements and successes for the betterment of the lives of our people.

I thank you

Nevers Sekwila Mumba
MMD President

33 COMMENTS

  1. Dr mumba,why didn’t your government do the same iñ the wake of your time in charge of state affairs?
    why do you think the then opposition PF shot the same document down? it’s all because of your insatiable appetite for power that led to your George kunda’s led campaign to malign the poor masses from getting the sound constitution documented & meet the people’s aspirations. then you come here yapping utter rubbish after seeing that what your predecessors failed had been done by a regime which is also best in opposition unlike in the ruling pattern.

    • He is right

      Mr mumba is a great man with words of wisdom.

      PF has not failed, it is President Lungu who has

      he must go

      He has blood stains on his hands for mishandling and refusing to rule the country according to the vision of the GREATEST President zambia ever had- Mr. Michael C Sata

      We also need to allow Muslims in our country and i believe same sex couples must be legalised and marriage allowed in our new constitution.
      Thanks

      BB2014

    • Nervous Mumba is an *****. He should have spent just one minute to analyse what could go wrong with the PF constitution instead of vilifying UPND who foresaw all this trickery. Waona manje! Stoopidity cannot be disguised by smart suits and a fancy accent.

    • The government system and structure itself is not up to standard creating good men also fall into the same trap like them predecessors before them. Regulatory system in Zambia is still 20 if not 30 years behind including structure, no matter who sounds intelligent or come up with good idea it disappears in the rotten system and no one even remembers your efforts. Until a good competitive constitution is in place that bring proper checks and balance eg civil society voices heard, anyone will end up looking bad because reporting system and structure is terrible to say the least hence Mumba was only a victim. Even us the critics once in office same will be said about us

    • In all honesty, I may not support the entire route that PF took, but I do welcome these amended clauses:
      1. 50%+1 electoral system which ensures that we shall now have a majority president unlike the overturned system where a candidate could become president even with 10% of the vote as long as he or she had the highest vote.
      2. Presidential Running Mate Clause to prevent a by-election in case the sitting president is no longer able to continue in office.
      3. Dual Citizenship for Zambians to make it easier for Zambians with foreign passports in the diaspora invest back home.
      4. Strengthening of the Auditor General’s office to effect prosecutions of erring civil servants.
      5. Mandatory national Debt contraction through parliament to prevent the current situation where Cabinet can just…

    • contd..
      5. Mandatory national Debt contraction through parliament to prevent the current situation where Cabinet can just borrow anyhow and leave future generations in perpetual debt.

      6. The Supplementary Appropriation Act to prevent spending money that has not been pre-approved by parliament.

      7. Preventing Parliamentary defections and crossing the floor in an effort to bring order to the House and eliminate costly, unnecessary by-elections.

      More can be done.. This is a starting point. The credit cannot be attributed to PF as they (PF) have only done a fraction of what is expected of them…

  2. Much as I support the clauses which have been amended , it’s not a people driven constitution , to strengthen our democracy and empower the three arms of government , the clause of appointing ministers outside parliament should have been amended , the notion that it’s costly is total crappie as parliamentarians would get their share as mp and let parliament enact a law of the # of ministers and ministry unlike the current situation were a president wakes up and create ministries for his friends .

  3. Bravo! MMD and the Zambians who made this possible. My children can now be Zambians and hopefully feel free to help in the country of our decent.

    • Dual citizenship is not about “helping” Zambia, and its not about “investing” in Zambia.
      @Mujina, muli mbwa fye, how can you stop helping your family in Zambia just because you have a different passport now?

  4. Mumba should have said Sata did not want to enact a new constitution. It is unfair to say the same for LUNGU. LUNGU has been committed to the constitution from the time he became president. He and Simbyakula have made this possible. Nevers should be more concerned about his reluctancy to hold a convention in MMD to elect new leaders for the MMD in preparation for 2016. Why is he fearing to test his popularity again? If he wins, he will be going to the 2016 elections as a strong candidate. Let him not hide under this ‘ I have a mandate up to 2017’. What benefit will that be if he loses the 2016 elections?

  5. Nevers Mumba should have said that PF under late Sata never wanted to deliver a new constitution and thank president Edgar Lungu who has made it possible!!WHY ARE OUR LOCAL POLITICIANS CANNOT APPRECIATE A LEADER WHILE ALIVE?REALLY PRESIDENT LUNGU MUST BE THANKED BY ALL WELL MEANING ZAMBIANS FOR HIS GOOD WORKS!!MMD SPENT 20 YRS IN POWER AND NEVER DELIVERED ONE!WHILE LOOK AT HOW HH AND HIS UPND TEAM HAVE BEHAVED,WE ALL KNOW THAT UPND IN POWER (GOD FORBID) COULD HAVE NOT DELIVERED IT TOO.ECL IS REALLY A MAN ZAMBIA NEED AND NOT THESE OTHER DREAMERS LIKE EDITH NAWAKWI,HH AND NEVERS MUMBA ALSO!!BRAVO ECL AND GO PF GO!!

  6. Thanks Nevers for summarizing the outcome. No media house has done so yet.

    On another note, PF has taken your shine. MMD being the party of democracy should have given us this two decades ago!

  7. IN THE MEANTIME, the ZWD reports the beating up of two journalists and a UPND official by PF cadres today. Here is part of the story;

    At that point, Sukwa, who had gained consciousness, said he saw the cadres bring a 2.5 litre container of petrol so that they could burn him and Phiri, but the other cadres intervened.
    “Then I saw this guy they called JJ Banda come towards me and then he urinated in my mouth and later started squeezing my private parts,” Sukwa narrated.
    “He then got my wallet containing K250, a Zanaco ATM card, my sandals, an MTN phone before tying my legs using my belt. From there, they bundled us into their vehicle, which was in a convoy of five and took us to Chipata Police while chanting anti-UPND slogans.”

  8. You can try to put a man down by trying to impute failure but President Lungu has shown unprecedented leadership on the Constitution issue. If you take him out of the equation there is no way we would have achieved this historic milestone. Other previous presidents failed miserably including all the MMD presidents. No matter how others will try to claim success for what has been achieved the President’s name will be there. Of course he couldn’t have done it by himself & he needed people like the MPs who voted in favour of the constitution including the patriotic MMD MPs & selfless patriots like Dr simbyakula. But the President championed this process. We are fortunate to have a president with such temperament @ this stage of constitutional development. God Bless Zambia!

  9. FROM THE MOMENT OF PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES WHICH ECL RUN AWAY FROM, NEVERS HAS NEVER CHANGED. HE WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO PROPOSED THE ROUTE THAT HAS FINALLY BROUGHT ‘HALF A LOAF’ OF BREAD. PF HAD NO CLUE WHAT TO DO WITH THE PRESSURE ON ECL UNTIL NEVERS SPOKE.

    LOOK HOW HE OUTSHINED HH ON A BUSINESS FORUM TO PROMOTE ZAMBIA IN SA. AND COMPARE TO ‘INGOMBE ILEDE’ HH. YOU CANT COMPARE THE TWO. NEVERS LOOKED PRESIDENTIAL MATERIAL WHO WE CAN BE PROUD OF AS ZAMBIANS, WHEREAS HH REDUCED HIMSELF TO A LOCAL CADRE. IT WAS VERY PAINFUL AND EMBARRASSING FOR US ZAMBIANS TO SEE SOMEONE WHO WANTS O RULE US INSULT THE COUNTRY ABROAD LIKE THAT. HE BOOBED AGAIN ON THE CONSTITUTION.

    I BELIEVE PF NEVER WANTED THIS CONSTITUTION. REMEMBER THE ‘DRIBBLING’ THAT WE WERE SUBJECTED TO BY KABIMBA THAT THE…

  10. In all fairness, I tend to agree with Nevers Mumba that the PF initially did not want to deliver this constitution. However, kudos must go to President Edgar Lungu for this success because he haas shown the willpower to enect a truly people driven constitution. I also feel Nevers shud be thanked because it is his roadmap and solution as explained during the 2015 presidential elections which the PF followed. 2016 we need to consider Lungu running with Dr. Mumba ass running mate. Powerful combination and no split in our Votes and teach HH a lesson!

  11. 4. Strengthening of the Auditor General’s office to effect prosecutions of erring civil servants.

    That is a beautiful one. I campaigned for that one with Senior citizen, and the old greats of Lusaka times.

  12. Edgar the drunkard just succumbed to pressure, he had no choice but to do what he has done for fear of losing next years elections! To him it is a campaign strategy! What else has this cheap man done apart from running the country! Companies closing down, workers losing jobs, wage freeze, employment freeze, free fall of the useless kwacha, bloated cabinet and removing of a very important clause from the constitution, that of picking cabinet ministers outside parliament. This removal was done in very bad faith (selfishness). Useless pf cadres like illiterate @eddy believe this is all because of global trends! What idi0ts!

  13. Edgar the drunkard just succumbed to pressure, he had no choice but to do what he has done for fear of losing next years elections! To him it is a campaign strategy! What else has this cheap man done apart from running down the country! Companies closing down, workers losing jobs, wage freeze, employment freeze, free fall of the useless kwacha, bloated cabinet and removing of a very important clause from the constitution, that of picking cabinet ministers outside parliament. This removal was done in very bad faith (selfishness). Useless pf cadres like illiterate @eddy believe this is all because of global trends! What idi0ts!!

  14. Edgar the drunkard just succumbed to pressure, he had no choice but to do what he has done for fear of losing next years elections! To him it is a campaign strategy! What else has this cheap man done apart from running down the country! Companies closing down, workers losing jobs, wage freeze, employment freeze, free fall of the useless kwacha, bloated cabinet and removing of a very important clause from the constitution, that of picking cabinet ministers outside parliament. This removal was done in very bad faith (selfishness). Useless pf cadres like illiterate @eddy believe this is all because of global trends! What idi0ts!!!!

  15. President EL’s temperament is so good that it cannot be equalled to any of the past Presidents or indeed any opposition leader. People now have the luxury to insult him, but let them wait for time. As a human being, he has so far done very well in as far as tolerance is concerned. So, those of you that thrive on insults, continue, we shall be watching. The guy who wants same sex marriage in our country must understand that that is a package purely envisaged by people who control the world economy( IMF, WORLD BANK,etc.), the Freemasons. I am sure by now, you should be well informed or learned that Freemasons control the world economy ( you like it or not ). They more often than not ‘wear’ the face of God but are completely the opposite. So, don’t support guy ism ignorantly; it is…

  16. Kaputo you are very right! What else would this id!ot kaminamisa edna lungu could have done apart from this succumbed to presure driven constitution. This man lungu is just in wholly phobia of losing elections next year. Believe me you, edna can do anything for now just to cling to power beyond 2016! If one can opt to bring the bunch of demonic sangomaz in the building, its not an ice deal. Anyway, we thank God for our mighty opposition for exerting more posible presure for him to succumb to this stil unripen constitution just for him to gain a political milage thing! A big up to you edna compared to your late master hoodwinker michael sata-nism who masquaraded it within 90 days provion, what a shame.. Now we want those 500 000 jobs before next year sir! Viva HH 2016!

  17. After a falling kwacha, job loses, wage freez, loadshed etc. What else would this id!ot kaminamisa edna lungu could have done apart from this succumbed presure driven constitution. This man lungu is just in wholly phobia of losing elections next year. Believe me you, edna can do anything for now just to cling to power beyond 2016! If one can opt to bring the bunch of demonic sangomaz in the building, it was not an ice deal. Anyway, we thank God for our mighty oppositions for exerting more posible presure for him to indeed succumb to this stil unripen constitution just for him to gain a political milage thing! A big up to you edna compared to your late master hoodwinker michael sata-nism who masquaraded it within 90 days provion, what a shame.. Now we want those 500 000 jobs before next…

  18. Given the most ridiculous votes Mr Sekwila Mumba curved out at the last polls, one would have though the spirit in him if it’s guided by Jehovah will tell him it’s time to quit politics! It’s hard to think of any politician today in Zambia who is bereft of ability to the same degree as Mumba! Not even God can deliver Plot 1 to such “masalamusi”, it would be a spiritual traversy of satanic proportions.

  19. This is the speech President Lungu should have given, of course with some editing to leave out self criticism.
    Yes I agree with President Mumba of the MMD. I am most happy about the Clause stopping unnecessary crossing of the floor. I need to read it in print to believe this is not a dream.
    No. President Sata was not the greatest president zambia ever had. Tribalism was awakened by him and PF. More could be said but, the man is dead and should be respected as any dead should.
    As for bad laws such as those recognising same-sex marriage, please wait till some of us have gone to the Lord. Best approach is please , neither recognise nor prosecute those who chose such. Let the Lord deal with them when their time on earth is over.

  20. Mr Mumba, please tell me that your office HAS on display photos of other MMD past presidents and not just Kafupi’s. You nevers, you are still MMD president, even if you have to look at Banda’s face when you are alone and gloating about your position in your office or secretariat for that matter. Get some pride in being MMD and show the party history.

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