Thursday, March 28, 2024

All Stakeholders do Agree that the Constitution Needs Amendments, but why the cry

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By Antonio M. Mwanza PF Deputy Media Director.

We all agree that the Constitution in its current form has several lacunae and inconsistencies; equally, all stakeholders do agree that the Public Order Act needs to be amended and that its application must be revised, further all of us do agree that the Electoral Process Act needs to be amended and the powers of the Electoral Commission of Zambia must be enhanced.

This is the position of all stakeholders, from the Clergy, the Civil Society, the Academia right through to the Politicians. There is no argument about this issue.

Why then is it that those who have been crying the loudest about the lacunae and inconsistencies in our constitution; those who have been crying to the high heavens, condemning the police and their application of the Public Order Act; those who have been accusing the Electoral Commission of Zambia to be a toothless and compromised institution lacking integrity; those condemning and accusing the Judiciary of being corrupt and our laws of being archaic and draconian are the ones in the fore front boycotting and viciously fighting the proposed legal reforms namely the Constitutional Amendment Bill No.10, Public Order Bill as well as The Electoral Process Bill?

Why is it that those who have been crying foul about the now famous 14 days period to hear a presidential petition; those who every day claim that the Constitutional Court should not be the first and final court of appeal; those blaming the police of not according them the right to hold public meetings under the guise of public order are refusing to amend and reform the same laws and institutions which they claim are draconian, undemocratic, biased, corrupt, moribund and compromised are refusing to sit on the table and argue their case?

Well, those that have boycotted and are fighting the Government’s decision to accord all stakeholders a platform and opportunity to reform the law and institutions of governance are doing so to score cheap political capital, they are playing to the gallery of their financiers; but are they really being honest with themselves, are they really being patriotic to this nation, do they mean well by politicking instead of providing leadership by coming on the table of ideas, debate, pursued and vote to ensure our laws and institutions are reformed?

These are the same people who fought night and day against the Referendum on the Bill of Rights, a Bill that was seeking to enhance and entrench the social and economic rights of our citizens; the right to food, the right to shelter, the right to health, the right a decent job among others. Today, these same people after misleading their followers are moving from one court to the next claiming that their rights are not being respected, the same rights they campaigned against. Preposterous!

Who really benefits if the status quo with regards the Constitution, the Public Order Act and indeed the Electoral Process Act is maintained?

It is time for all Zambians, especially the youths to stop following politicians blindly. Youths must take time to read and analyze for themselves, the content of Bill 10, the Public Order Bill and the Electoral Process Bill before they rush to condemn these proposed pieces of legislation. Don’t just follow what your political leaders have told you; read for yourselves.

The proposed Bills are meant to enhance our democracy, entrench our rights and make our institutions more effective and more accountable to us.

Yes, we may not agree on everything contained in the Bills but surely there are a lot of progressive clauses in the proposed Bills that will surely enhance participation, accountability, transparency and good governance for all of us.

To those who are playing politics, I want to remind them that, yes, for the sake of expediency, you can play politics and boycott and fight the processes to reform our laws and institutions but reality will finally catch up with you and it will hit you badly.

Come 2021 we don’t want to hear cries ati, “bandibida ma voti”.

Make hay while the sun is still shining. It is not too late for you to abandon your ostrich-approach and come to the table and make submissions and debate the Bills.

27 COMMENTS

  1. I don’t necessarily agree with most of what this young man is saying, but hey, I am happy to hear from him as opposed to Sunday Chanda, he is sober, calculated and one feels the urge to dialogue with him, not argue.

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    • I had so much respect for this guy..until he sold is life to the PF…I could not believe it that he had joined the thieves…I can’t speak for the Zambian’s, but I will speak for my family.
      I just want to say that the PF is the worst thing that has happened to the country. They have brought so much confusion, corruption, lawless un educated thugs….etc…I remember when I was little seeing my parents enjoy a quiet day watching news at 19 hours and in the morning reading the Post News paper..these rats came in and ruined everything…My parents did not have a lot of money but they were very happy with life…now they can’t even watch the news it’s propaganda for PF degenerates thrives. I can’t believe it that they are going around applauding all the development they have done…but…

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    • The devil is in the detail bwana Antonio. Your Bill 10 has a lot of ‘evil’ stuff that you have attached to the good proposals that most people agree to. You want to trick people that you are concerned of the flaws meanwhile the bigger picture is your self-preservation. You PF are not sincere to amend the constitution that is good for the people. it is for your own benefit.

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  2. Insteading of making the amendments that people want you want to squeeze in other things into the constitution that’s why they oppose. Just stick to the changes that people actually want and you will see how the bill will be passed with no problems.

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  3. Speak for yourself Antoni!
    The Lacunas are in your head!
    We can’t be changing the Constitution every 5 years to suit the selfish desires of a few selfish individuals! We have said no to Constitutional Dictatorship!
    Stop reasoning with your stomach for once! There is nothing urgent that needs changing in the Constitution! The problem is not the Constitution but PF’s Lawlessness and misapplication of the Law! That is the reason someone signed the Constitution with eyes closed against the advice of Stakeholders then. What you call stakeholders now are PF functionaries and surrogates! Zambia does not belong to PF!

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  4. This chap has no moral scruples. Its frightening what “once upon a time promising leaders” are saying nowadays just to secure a pay cheque. All that comes out of his mouth are lies, dammed lies!

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  5. ALL. What is the meaning of the word ALL especially followed by ” why cry”. why don’t we use Benba or Tonga and Chewa kansi.

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  6. We are not opposing the constitution amendment in its entirety. We are only concerned with some bad clauses contained in the bill 10 which is before parliament. Remove the bad clauses and we are good to go.

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  7. Upnd is a sinister party with ulterior motives. Their sponsors are shadowy characters and organisations that have no interest in the welfare of Zambians but their resources. Nice take, Antonio.

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  8. You really think we are stupid. Approach the amendment thing in an all inclusive manner and you will get most people on board. Why must you win on this at all costs? What is at stake here? Why the urgency? Since when have you been so concerned about the Public Oder Act that you have been abusing?

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  9. Why do we limit to PF and UPND, ECL or HH? is Zambia going to vanish if these two are not there? Look outside the box and find a progressive young man to lead mother Zambia to economic and political emancipation

  10. Why are Zambianscwasting time talking about politics and two crony politicians ECL and HH? it does not have any other youth or elderly kid to lead?

  11. Mwebantu -2 July 2015
    PRESIDENT LUNGU WILL BE FLUSHED OUT OF STATE HOUSE LIKE ‘A COMMON THIEF’ – ANTONIO MWANZA;
    The Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) says Republican President Edgar Lungu will be flushed out of State House like a ‘common thief’.
    FDD Spokesperson Antonio Mwanza says President Lungu’s administration was playing with fire over the petition filed in the Lusaka High Court seeking an extension on his term of office.
    He stated that under the provisions of the current constitution, President Lungu’s mandate will expire in 2016 and his tied to the life of Parliament.
    “So which law will Edgar Chagwa Lungu use to postponed the 2016 Presidential elections? Edgar Lungu is playing with fire and he will be burnt. Edgar Lungu, being a lawyer by profession is fully…

  12. Mwebantu
    · 2 July 2015 · Edited ·
    PRESIDENT LUNGU WILL BE FLUSHED OUT OF STATE HOUSE LIKE ‘A COMMON THIEF’ – ANTONIO MWANZA;He stated that under the provisions of the current constitution, President Lungu’s mandate will expire in 2016 and his tied to the life of Parliament.
    “So which law will Edgar Chagwa Lungu use to postponed the 2016 Presidential elections? Edgar Lungu is playing with fire and he will be burnt. Edgar Lungu, being a lawyer by profession is fully aware that he cannot go beyond 2016 without holding a Presidential election because that will be contrary to Articles 34, 35 and 88.” Mwanza said.

  13. Zambia Reports
    9 June 2017 ·
    Antonio Mwanza Weighs in On Edgar Lungu 2021 Bid Debate

    With the debate for President Edgar Lungu to stand for the third time in the 2021 elections raging, FDD spokesperson Antonio Mwanza has added his weight to the subject.

    Mwanza has noted that no one should be shocked that this debate has refused to die as President Lungu was the architect of the debate.

  14. Amalabishi yeka yeka, iwe Antonio Mwanza. Bill 10 or no bill 10, eligibility or no eligibility the bottlm line is that you have messed up the economy and our lives. And it is clear that you can only make it worse if given another five years. So why not just hand over to more capable people if you really have any morals and values to talk about? Why cling to power?

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  15. Antonio 4get about the critics stop wasting time on something which is straight forward.It is like asking or wanting to know if the dog passing is male or female.

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  16. “…. These are the same people who fought night and day against the Referendum on the Bill of Rights, a Bill that was seeking to enhance and entrench the social and economic rights of our citizens; the right to food, the right to shelter, the right to health, the right a decent job among others…It is time for all Zambians, especially the youths to stop following politicians blindly….Don’t just follow what your political leaders have told you; READ FOR YOURSELVES… “

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  17. Wise words and observations, Antonio. I had a discussions with some colleagues last week who were condemning bill 10 but when I challenged them if they had read it, none of them had! They were victims of political hysteria as are a lot of people. Sangwa’s intention is to lie to Zambians that ConCourt is incompetent so as to subvert this institution, when his preferred candidate loses elections, they can then cry foul due to these reasons and cause anarchy in the country.

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  18. The opposition to the constitutional amendments are not the ones needed, constitutional amendments to increase presidential powers and hinder perceived opponents are not what we wanted

  19. Wait a minute! I thought the country had an amended constitution in 2016 which ECL, republican president, great leader of this great nation, commander in chief of the armed forces and PF party president, signed with eyes closed at a USD2million function in Disaster stadium.

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  20. The best is stop these amendment. Shelf the bill 10 and forget about it. The current Constitution is just fine.. let’s now talk about nuclear energy and how to strengthen the kwacha

  21. FDD deputy President Antonion Mwansa has abandoned his two man party and joined Parttriotic fools for a lot of pennys and plots

  22. Antonio mwanza, the bill 10 proposes among other things to amend article 50 which provides for a challenge in the nomination of a candidate to remain only with the proviso to challenge the results. Why should such a progressive article be amended. Clearly this is meant to insulate an individual arising from the Concourt judgment. The argument from John Sangwa although he has been vilified and called all sorts of names is that the Concourt tactically changed the Dan Pule and his likes’ question from: “whether his Excellency president Edgar Changes Lungu will have served two full terms for purposes of Article 106 (3) as read with 106 (6) of the Constitution of Zambia at the expiry of his current term” to: ” whether in terms of Articles 106( 3&6) the president’s term that ran from 25th…

  23. January 2015 to 13th September 2016 and straddled two constitutional regimes can be considered as a full term”. The argument is not with the term as a term is 5 years. They tactically rephrased the question by removing president Lungu as a person. What they chose to determine was the presidential term and not exclusion clause of “HOLDING OFFICE. No where in that judgment does it say EDGAR CHAGWA LUNGU qualifies!!

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