By Sakwiba Sikota
Now that we are going to be getting the proposed amendments to our laws as debated and arrived at the NDF, it is important that all Zambians look at them soberly and with the best interests of the people in mind.
One may not agree with all of the suggested changes but the answer is not to throw the baby with the bath water. A reasonable and sober approach demands that we look at each proposed change and to identify the baby; those that are without any controversy. No one with goodwill should politic about these issues.
Upon introduction of the bills in Parliament they undergo various stages of enactment. At those various stages there are opportunities to debate and persuade others to your viewpoint. There is also the possibility of putting forward amendments to the legislation. I have been in Parliament before and I am very much aware that even if you come from a party that does not command a majority in Parliament, with skillful and competent debate you can get your amendments to be adopted.
There is also the final reading of any bill and if at that stage you are still not happy with the changes that may have been adopted you can bite against the bill. Do not throw out the baby with the bath water before attempting to embrace and adopt the baby.
There are several “babies” born out of the NDF.
Do not throw out the baby electronic registration and disappoint the many Zambians in the diaspora who under the NDF would be entitled to electronically register to vote without having to undertake a costly trip back home.
Do not throw out the baby electronic voting and disappoint the many Zambians in the diaspora who under the NDF would be entitled to electronically vote in the general and presidential elections without having to undertake a costly trip back home.
Do not throw out the baby seeking to give notice of a public demonstration or March and disappoint the many seeking public processions and meetings, as the NDF makes it clear that under the Public Order Act you do not need a permit and instead all you need do is to notify the authorities.
Do not throw out the gender and youth activist baby and disappoint the many who wish to see greater participation from marginalized groups as would be facilitated by the NDF Introduction of a mixed proportional representation system that mitigates against disadvantaging groups like women and youth.
Do not throw out the thrifty baby who seeks to lessen wastage of public resources and disappoint the many who would prioritize expenditure in social and productive areas as would be facilitated by the NDF Introduction of a mixed proportional representation system that mitigates against multiple and costly bye elections.
Do not throw out the baby who seeks reduction of tension and costs and disappoint the many who think we spend too much time politicking and campaigning who would happily find that the NDF Provides for coalition government to save on costly presidential run off. We would only have a run off if the parties failed to be mature enough to talk amongst themselves with Zambia rather than self being the motivator. Just look at how Mauritius has been one of the fastest and consistently thriving economy with coalition government after coalition government over the decades.
Do not throw out the baby and disappoint the many who lose Presidential Elections and disappoint the many losers who the NDF Provides for a longer period for conclusion of Presidential election petitions. Believe me, that no matter how many times one loses the Presidential race, they never get used to it and the election petition route may be the answer or at least help ease the pain.
Do not throw out the baby who says Zambia is a Christian Nation and disappoint the many Christians who have further recognition of our Faith.
Do not throw out the baby and disappoint the many who seek greater freedom of assembly and speech by denying them the proposed benefit under the proposed Public Order Act which would compel the police to give an alternative date within a maximum prescribed period of time for the holding of the event. This would have greatly benefitted the Civil Society Constitution Agenda (CISCA) protestors who wanted to protest against the NDF but the police told them they could not. I hope they will seek to protest and lobby for this law to be changed as proposed by the NDF!
Do not throw away the above provisions and disappoint the many like the youth, the women, the marginalized, those in the diaspora, those seeking stability and the many seeking better use of our resources who would benefit from the matters highlighted above.
Do not throw out the baby and disappoint the many.
Do not try to blackmail us into unwittingly endorsing a 3rd term for ECL
Are Zambians different from the people?
Can you imagine if this guy was UPND president? The party would have been sold off to the highest bidder. What a sell out
Mr Sakwiba Sikota as usual is very treacherous and untrustworthy. He is using slippery language to fool the Zambian people. We run a presidential system that do not provide for a coalition Govt, what you proposed is only meant to entrench the corrupt PF party in power for much longer in case they lost the majority vote. A re run of presidential election is necessary to vote for popular president to avoid conflicts. Money for elections should be there as long it is not pilfered by politicians with long fingers.
Absolutely disingenuous and treacherous by the supposedly respected and learned a
lawyer. Zambia runs a presidential system that does not provide for a coalition Govt. The NDF proposal is only meant to entrench an unpopular party in power. A presidential election re run is necessary if the 50+1 is not met and not expensive as it is only once in 5 years.
Actually Sakwiba is not a lawyer but an imposter. His major at university was history and Law was a minor
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife Meghan will head to southern Africa later this year for their first official overseas tour as a family since the birth of son Archie.
The couple will visit South Africa, Angola and Malawi and also undertake a working visit to Botswana at the request of the Foreign Office, Buckingham Palace said on Thursday.
Sakwiba you are not a patriotic Zambian. You have let this country down. You have let your forefathers down. You have let the blood that was shed during the fight for independence to lose it’s value. What Judas did to Jesus does not come close to what you are asking to do.
That’s what happens when you’re told to stay in the meetings and contribute to national issues. You refused and gave useless reasons why you should not attend the NDF and now what was proposed is slowly getting adopted into you start complaining and calling Sakwiba as useless. Really? You refused to attend the NDF now you’re complaining. You guys don’t mean good for the country and l don’t think a normal people should join your party. You’re a bunch of enemies of progress. Please PF go ahead and adopt what was suggested at NDF. Upnd can go to international court other report to trump. Shame on you
Very nice written article. People please read
What is Sakwiba Sikota doing to convince those who disagree wth him? Is he able to meet them in person? Nelson Mandela once said you make peace wth your enemies so that they become your friends. Why is it that it’s non-Africans who mostly appreciate the Mandela example and often citing his example in leadership lessons in business sch?
@ #2
I did read this crap and I am at loss why anybody who loves Zambia should referred to it as “nice article”. Can you please correct your contribution and called “nice CRAP article”
Growing up, this guy used to command respect across the broad spectrum of society. He used to be a voice to the voiceless before he joined politics. Am not sure if he still commands that respect.
We are asking to you government that let this amendment will not mislead some stakeholders and public for bringing deputy ministers
EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS WITHIN OURSELVES BORDERS ON TRUST IF THAT TRUST IS BETRAYED, EVERYTHING THAT SAYS WILL BE LOOKED AT WITH SUSPICION, THE CON CORT WAS INITIALLY A GOOD IDEA BUT DO YOU THINK THE ORDINARY ZAMBIAN WOULD BANK ON IT NOW?, YOUR GUESS IS AS GOOD AS MINE, AND WHY IS THAT SO, IT IS BECAUSE OF THE ACTIVITIES OF PF NOT THE INSTITUTIONS, SO EVEN THE NDF IS LOOKED AT WITH SUSPICION NOT BECAUSE OF THE INSTITUTION BUT BECAUSE OF PF, IF THIS NDF WAS UNDER MWANAWASA, IT WAS GOING TO BE ACCEPTED BY THE LARGER MAJORITY ALL BECAUSE OF THE TRUST THAT PEOPLE HAD IN MWANAWASA BUT DO PEOPLE TRUST THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION? DEEP DOWN YOUR HEART, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT ANSWER, YOU EVEN KNOW WHY PEOPLE DO NOT TRUST THIS ADMINISTRATION YET YOU SEAT THEIR WITH A STRAIGHT FACE AND LIE THROUGH YOUR…
ZAMBIA, WHAT WENT WRONG???????
Sir, how about the baby on removal of the retired staff from payroll immediately after retirement.Sir do you know that young Zambians are being retired in national and public interests in their thirties or forties based on hearsay,imaginations and illusions.How do you feel when elderly citizens gather at cabinet office and nobody shows up to address them?We should not allow legal jargon to sooth the cruelty of persecuting citizens.Routinely we have seen biased recruitments and promotions based on tribalism across all sectors but coumaflagged with labelling citizens from some regions as opposition members.Shame on all you
And Mr Learned lawyer, what about the The bounce baby boy of bringing back the position of deputy ministers to deplet government coffers? Please Sakwiba give us the freedom to abort babies whom we are not prepared to receive
Up to now, i’m still lost. NDF, was it a constitutional review commission or National Dialogue gathering?
It was PF and affiliated Brief Case Associates gathering in support of Endemically Corrupt Leader and against Rule of Law
It was a Chigololo on our constitution under the guise of Dialogue!
Mr Sikota, who mandated the NDF to change the constitution? You cannot achieve a correct end using a crooked method.
Sakwiba is a big joke. It’s fun how seemingly dull lawyers make it big in Zambia. Sakwiba sounds like a mad person telling people that our parliament can do something sensible without it being for the benefit of the PF. Was this guy born yesterday or what? Hasn’t he seen how the PF has abused parliament to favour their agendas instead of the nation? Is Sakwiba still hungry for money or what? Please Sakwiba this country deserves better. The PF has stolen too much money. Can we for once be serious? What’s wrong with Sakwiba’s generation that everyone in it wants to be remembered for having stolen a lot of money from our country?
How do you justify the bringing back of Deputy Ministers? How do you justify the abolishment of executive Mayors? Another kokai brain. May be he hasn’t recovered from the beating he got from Tonga goons at the instigation of Hichilema. When a freemason deals with you, you go crazy
@Ayatollah BUT SIR WHERE WERE YOU WHEN THE NDF WAS HELD? IF YOU HAD A BETTER IDEA YOU COULD HAVE FOUND YOURSELF AMONG THE DELEGATES. GIVEN LUBINDA MADE SEVERAL PERMUTATIONS VIA WHICH YOUR VIEW COULD HAVE STILL FIND ITS WAY AT NDF. IT WAS GOING TO BE TABLED, DEBATED AND ACCEPTED OR REJECTED. YOU CHOSE TO STAY AWAY. WHO ELSE DID YOU WANT TO SPEAK WHAT YOU WANTED? YOUR IDEA WAS IN FACT TABLED, DEBATED AND A UNANIMOUS DECISION WAS ARRIVED AT DEMOCRATICALLY. SOME DELEGATES WHO HELD YOUR POSITION WHERE IN ATTENDANCE. BUT UNFORTUNATELY FOR THEM, THEY FAILED TO CONVINCE THE MAJORITY. AND AS DEMOCRACY WOULD HAVE IT, THE MAJORITY RULE. PERIOD. THERE IS A CHANCE THAT IN PARLIAMENT YOUR VIEW COULD STILL BE ADOPTED IF THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE PEOPLE IN PARLIAMENT WILL BE CONVINCED. OTHERWISE, IT…
Sakwiba Sikota was tricked under his very eyes he lost Lubinda to PF by trickery hw can he tell us to trust PF he understands PF very well than we do .
Sir, did you mean throwing away that B.U.S.T.A.R.D born outside the correct Constitution making Wedlock?
We know you desperately want a Deputy Minister position but don’t forget the legitimate submissions from the people!
I now agree with those who blocked you from taking over the reigns of UPND! They read you very well! Wise chaps!
The re-introduction of the position of deputy minister is among the babies to be thrown out together with water.
THIS GUY HAS DELIBERATELY LEFT OUT CONTENTIOUS ISSUES ON THE LIST OF HIS TO BE BORN BABIES.
1. WHAT ABOUT REMOVING RETIREES FROM THE PAYROLL WHEN THEY HAVE NOT RECEIVED THEIR BENEFITS? SO TO YOU SIR THE MAJORITY OF THE SUFFERING RETIREES ARE NOT BABIES TO BE DISAPPOINTED.
2. INTRODUCING COSTLY DEPUTY MINISTERS FROM TAX PAYERS MONEY IS A NOT A BABY TO DISAPPOINT SINCE YOU ARE LIKELY TO BE A BENEFIT FROM THE APPOINTMENT.
Dear Wa hesu Sikota Sakwiba
Tumeliso. Haiba muna ni kutwisiso musike mwa bapalisa batu ndate. Mina muca nibona hamuce ni kunwa. As for us we have made up our minds to trash the NDF cr@p because anything done with malice cannot have good intentions. If you, Mr Sakwiba were given a bottle of a your favorite drink and you were told that it was laced with lethal levels of hydrogen cyanide mwakona kunwateni?
If you can’t genuinely answer my last question just forget. I and like minded people are tired of you guys and feel used by you polytricktians (politicians) for personal gains.
THIS GUY HAS DELIBERATELY LEFT OUT CONTENTIOUS ISSUES ON THE LIST OF HIS TO BE BORN BABIES.
1. WHAT ABOUT REMOVING RETIREES FROM THE PAYROLL WHEN THEY HAVE NOT RECEIVED THEIR BENEFITS? SO TO YOU SIR THE MAJORITY OF THE SUFFERING RETIREES ARE NOT BABIES TO BE DISAPPOINTED.
2. INTRODUCING COSTLY DEPUTY MINISTERS FROM TAX PAYERS MONEY IS NOT A BABY TO DISAPPOINT SINCE YOU ARE LIKELY TO BE A BENEFICIALLY OF THESE APPOINTMENT.
3. IF YOU MEAN WELL TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT THESE CLAUSES INSTEAD OF MUTING OVER THEM.
Some people think this is like eating groundnuts. No. This is a segregation process where each entry is examined for fitness then passed or rejected. The Bemba saying that “one bad nut can cause you to spit out everything in the mouth” does not apply here. Our friends in the so called alliance have been reduced to Yes men and women due to dictatorial tendency from the leader who wants to portray that no one else is sensible enough to do sensible things. Even then some understood the importance of being party to the NDF. I think the men and women who attended are the same people whom you want to understand you for what you want. They analyze you input and make sense out of it if there is any. Do not throw away baby with the water.