The National Democratic Congress says it will attend the consultative meeting for Presidents of political parties called by the three church mother bodies today.
The three church mother bodies namely the Council of Churches in Zambia, the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia and the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops yesterday indicated that it is going ahead with the consultative meeting called for all presidents of Political parties planned for today at Kapingila House in Kabulonga at 14:00 hours.
According to a statement signed by Bishop Sydney Sichilima of the CCZ, Bishop Paul Mususu, the EFZ Board Chairperson and Bishop George Lungu the ZCCB President, the purpose of the meeting today is to allow the church to update the Political party Leaders on the progress made so far on the preparations for the National Dialogue and Reconciliation and the planned official launch.
This however, is contrary to the Press statement issued by the Zambia Center for Interparty Dialogue Board yesterday that the consultative meeting called for all Presidents of Political parties has been postponed.
According to ZCID spokesperson Jackson Silavwe the decision to postpone the meeting was made at an emergency meeting called at the request of member political parties of the Zambia Centre for Interparty Dialogue convened at the ZCID Secretariat yesterday.
Mr. Silavwe said yesterday’s meeting was unfortunately avoided by the three Church Mother Bodies without explanation.
But NDC Secretary General Mwenya Musenge said his party will fully participate in the meeting scheduled for Kapingila house in Lusaka today and has thanked the church for agreeing to steer the dialogue process.
Mr. Musenge said the three church mother bodies are credible institutions and we do not doubt their ability to superintend over this entire process.
“Further, we are confident that the Public Order Act POA will be tabled in this inaugural consultative meeting. The NDC is however disappointed that President Edgar Lungu will not attend this meeting. Revelations that State House is not aware of this meeting are unfortunate”, He said.
Mr. Musenge said by shunning today’s meeting, State House has clearly demonstrated that President Lungu is not ready for dialogue.
He said President Lungu should have suspended his trip to the Copperbelt in the interest of the Nation and attended this very important meeting.
Mr. Musenge said President Lungu and the PF are key stakeholders in this entire dialogue process as most of the problems that the country is facing have been caused by the Lungu regime.
“It is regrettable that President Lungu is seemingly adamant to participate in finding a lasting solution to the many challenges that the country is facing. President Lungu should be fully aware that they cannot be any development without peace”, Mr. Musenge added.
According to Special Assistant to the President for Press and Public Relations Amos Chanda, President Lungu did not received any formal invitation from either the three Church Mother Bodies or the Zambia Center for Inter Party Dialogue to the dialogue meeting today.
Mr. Chanda said since the two meetings the President held with leaders of the three Church mother bodies, there has been no formal invitation and program from the Church and ZCID.
He said President Edgar Lungu has engagements in Kitwe today afternoon and tomorrow morning.
Yesterday evening the Zambia Centre for Interparty Dialogue (ZCID) said it had postponed the political parties’ consultative meeting which is scheduled to take place on Friday 28th December, 2018.
In a statement to media in Lusaka , ZCID Spokesperson Jackson Silavwe said the decision to postpone the consultative meeting was arrived at when the board met at an emergency assembly today, 27 December, 2018.
Mr. Silavwe noted that the meeting was supposed to be preceded by a preparatory meeting between the three church mother bodies (CMBs) and the ZCID.
He added that the meeting was to further agree on the agenda, memorandum of understanding (MoU) and the structure of the national dialogue.
Mr. Silavwe pointed out that this meeting was unfortunately avoided by the three church mother bodies without explanation.
“The decision to postpone the meeting is taken to allow time for the CMBs and the ZCID board to generate a consensus agenda for the same meeting. It is imperative to have a known and concise agenda that has the confidence of all political stakeholders to eliminate any possibility of failure of this important national exercise,” he explained.
He said the postponement has also been necessitated by the need for the three CMB and the ZCID board to conclude negotiations on the MoU and the structure of their national dialogue process.
Mr. Silavwe said the ZCID members and the nation at large will be updated at the earliest possible time when the meeting will be held, noting that the centre deeply regrets any inconvenience caused.
These churches offer NOTHING and are there for their own publicity.
You and I know, nothing will come out of this.
They are more preoccupied with politics than they are with what the Church and God asks of them.
I smell they nonsense from this far end in Scotland.
I wish you a Happy New year Ladies and Gentlemen.
I hold a PhD
Thanks
BB2014,2016
Lungu is busy, mwebantu!
@Mushota, have you heard of a countries called Zimbabwe and Syria. If yes, ask yourself how these countries were reduced to basket case and rubble respectively. Intolerance, greed and failure to coexist are the main ingredients of what has become of the above mentioned. So don’t be simplitick in your approach.
Dialogue should be between ZCID whatever and those apostolic churches. This is a mess.
The church leaders should focus of spreading the Gospel than wasting much of their time doing politics!!Nothing positive will come out of this nonsense called dialogue because all Zambian politicians only want to enter state house at all costs!!
Please church leaders,leave politics to the politicians!!
What has become of PF again? They were the ones insinuating that UPND et al, are scared and antagonizing dialogue process, and now the same PF are avoiding it like the plague. Why today you say it offers nothing when you were crying for it?
I do not know the necessity of this thing so called “dialogue”. It really is pointless and people in the country have moved on. For this dialogue to mean anything:
1. Lungu should accept not to seek a third term,
2. The ruling PF should accept not to interfere in any future petitions tabled after a GE,
3. The ruling PF should accept to allow the opposition to campaign in urban areas.
The courts have guided that Lungu is in his FIRST TERM, Full stop. Don’t you know how to count? 1,2,3,4,5…
@Danielle- There is no need to condescend (big word I know). Lungu is not in his first term and that is why it is baffling you asking me to count. Lungu has stood for 2 elections already. How stupid can you be that you feel someone cannot be replaced. Lungu has failed as president and cannot reasonably point to anything positive he has done for Zambians. Lungu should not be standing. And let me tell you- If HH were to win the 2021 elections, the first count that the same constitutional judges would place against Lungu would be running for a third term. The same judges.
I totally agree with you points 2&3Third term infact provedes the opposition an agenda item to bring out the selfish character of the one who wants to go for a third term, if there is one!Just strategize nicely and make a tender meat to eat!So called big opposition party must come out and publicly denounce the tripartite bantustans arrangements employed for many years or else we shall be in trouble if it wins.There Will be disagreements after they form a government!This is a free and polite advice I have given you so called big party!!
This is one way of siphoning money from treasury. What is there to dialogue about? It is just a group of people coming together with an objective of getting allowances. Let us forget about this dialogue thing. It is a sheer waste of time and energy. Zambia is not at war for us to be spending time dialoguing. It is just a platform of appeasing politicians and to create an impression that there is no peace in the nation. I can be pleased if there can be dialogue to reduce the tax burden from an employees payslip. All this issue of dialogue is an academic exercise. The nation needs serious issues to debate on other than dialogue of appeasement. The whole issue of these dialogue is centred on electoral system which will never alleviate the suffering of the common people. Waste of space and…
According to the statement from the church mother bodies this meeting is more of preparatory in nature. Party General secretaries would have handled this without involving the party presidents especially the republican president. Hakainde and his fellow desperate clowns can also attend since they have very little to do. By the way, Inquiry on privatization should be an agenda item
A bunch of Useful Id*iots
THE BIGGEST ***** IS YOU THRIVING ON HATE, LIES AND GREED.
What is the main agenda of the so called national dialogue?
No matter what you do if you fail to condemn your cadres, violence will always be there. There’s one opposition president who has never castigated his members for engaging in political violence. If Musenge thinks sitting with all these Bishops will make his party win elections, he’s wasting his time. The church has somewhat lost its sting because double dealings and an abated dishonesty.
What’s the point of going ahead without the travelling circus, the non entity and debarred thief is part of the problem so wait for to come back from his gymnastics so that the moron can attend
Lungu knows the dialogue will work against him and his thugs and thieves. He will try to back – peddle even throw spanners in the works to cripple or frustrate the process. His administration does not want to have light to be shined on their maladministration, ineptitude and thievery hence his playing “hide and seek” with the dialogue exercise. he will run, but he will not hide; the clock is ticking.
Sage
I foresee Lungu being in the forefront when he finally smells the coffee that he cant be sold as presidential candidate, right now he is being misled and when the time comes he will be alone,when his handlers realise that he cant be sold as a candidate the people misleading him will be nowhere near him and dialogue in his perspective will be about avoiding prosecution, for now i will sit back and watch the circus…
The president is very busy, until such a time when the organisers are serious th3 president will not attend.
You can not announce that the meeting in postpond and in the following day at the meeting is going ahead…shame…!!!
Mr St Sweet Angus. Mr.Lungu is not seeking for the third term. He is entitled to stand in 2021. His eligibility is not supposed to be an agenda item of the dialogue. If you think this dialogue will discuss Lungu’s eligibility, You’re waiting your time.
There is a very big difference between being eligible to stand and being a candidate that can be sold,if PF think Lungu can be sold they are in for a big shock.If they think they can rely on electoral malpractices and win they should think again.Lungu has failed,Chagwa agwa not even abusing the processes can save him,PF better think of getting somsthing they can sale…
Am just worried that one of the party presidents seems to avoid public engagements such as debates, interviews, (with BBC, Voice of America) etc , press conferences…….
ZCID board already causing confusion, the Church Mother body be cautioned, you may be sleeping with the devil.
How come politicians don’t bother about the POA while in govt?
Musenge is a typical case here. He said nothing about the POA when he served in govt. Sata was another example of an ex-minister who fell on his own sword when the motor vehicle theft Act he had bullishly helped to usher it in came to haunt him. We can say the same about Kambwili who championed all manner of nonsensical policies under the aura of political power and it surprises no one that today he suffers many sneezes as a result of his own f@rts that he spewed while in power. And the list goes on.
Question is: What r0tten brains were pushed into the skulls of this species called politicians?
Its quite ironic that people are talking about lungu being sold in 2021 yet the same people are questioning his eligibility