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Zambia coach Aggrey Chiyangi is anticipating a 2019 AFCON Group K qualifier reunion in the quarterfinals at the 2019 COSAFA Cup South Africa will host from May 25 to June 8 in Durban.
Zambia enjoy a preliminary round group stage bye at the COSAFA Cup and await winners from Group B that contains Malawi, Seychelles , Namibia and Mozambique.
Mozambique and Namibia were Zambia’s recent adversaries in their unsuccessful 2019 AFCON Group K qualifiers.
Zambia lost 1-0 home and a way to Mozambique in Group K but draw 1-1 with Namibia in Windhoek but won 4-1 at home in Lusaka.
“It is a very good group because we are only playing in the quarterfinals and I believe amongst the teams that are in that group, I am looking at playing against Mozambique or Namibia,” Chiyangi said.
“Unless otherwise but that is what we anticipate.”
Meanwhile, Zambia kicked off its pre-2019 COSAFA Cup training camp on May 6 with a weekly three-day get-together in Lusaka at Nkoloma Stadium in Lusaka.
Chiyangi’s team for now comprises of a provisional 24-member home-based team.
However, call-ups from Nkana and Buildcon have been excused from the first week of training due to the two sides league engagement on Wednesday in Kitwe.
FILE: Combined Choir of political parties that have ruled Zambia at the jubilee festivities: MMD, PF and UNIP
Outspoken Movement for Multiparty Democracy MMD Youth Prince Ndoyi says the country has only two political parties describing the rest as personal projects formed out of envy, ambition and frustrations by power hungry individuals.
Ndoyi observed that while UNIP and MMD were formed by the masses as political movements the other political parties today are personal projects disguised as political parties hence the reason the country is witnessing tribal and regional politics.
He said the PF are in power today because their founder president succeeded where others are failing, branding their personal projects as national projects.
“There are only two political parties in Zambia UNIP and MMD, the rest are personal projects borne out of envy, ambition and frustrations.
At least the late Michael Sata succeeded to brand his personal project PF as a people party.
“MMD was a revolutionary movement that came after men and women felt UNIP was going astray with its nonsense of a One-Party-State. Likewise UNIP was also born as a collective to attain our liberation from the shackles of colonial enslavement. No one during these movements had a personal claim on leadership or presidency.
“With regards to UPND it was born after a certain wealthy Bauleni Ward Chairman was blocked from standing against FTJ. PF,Heritage and these others on the other hand are actually products borne out of personal egos after they were overlooked in the line of succession,” he said.
Ndoyi added that even the newly formed National Democratic Congress and Democratic Party are family projects which Zambians should be weary of unless otherwise.
“NDC,DP and these other mushrooming parties are all as a result of ambitions not being met, no wonder you hear after some time some actually close their shops and head back to their mother party for instance Lusaka Mayor Miles Sampa had Democratic Front and Eric Chanda Had 4th Revolution Movement but where are they today? Back in the boat,” he said.
He has since advised young people to stop following their leaders blindly because the consequences of doing so are that they would be destitute once their leaders decide to go back to their political parties.
“The disastrous consequences of following such movements is that you are likely to be political destitutes once your leader is forgiven or given what he or she wanted in the first instance….for instance while Eric Chanda is today writing an application to the PF SG for readmission, what’s the fate of his supporters who genuinely believed in him and actually even voted for him? Look at GBM!
“It’s always politically smart to attach yourself to a cause than an individuals cause coz while it’s easier for these “Rebels” or “Prodigal Sons” to be forgiven and readmitted in the mainstream leadership it’s not always the case with the followers as you find your space occupied by someone else,” he said.
He further strongly warned the Zambian people to develop political foresight and to stop being easily excited with anything.
“Zambians must not be easily excited by people who want to take advantage of their misfortunes with the economy and the current leadership, so as to ascend to leadership when in fact they don’t care about the people but themselves and their ambitions. True revolutions and movements anywhere in the world are not created by political leaders but the people and a true revolution naturally finds its own leaders.
On the issue of the MMD, which many consider to be the mother of Democracy in the country, Ndoyi said the leadership of the party is working tirelessly to bring it to its former glory.
“And let every one know, including our former president Dr. Mumba that whether they wish us well or ill, that as a party we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of our once mighty movement that brought enormous development to this country second to none,” he said.
The Patriots for Economic Progress says Finance Minister Margaret Mwanakatwe is motivated by the wrong reasons in her policy decision to substitute a Value Added Tax Regime for a Sales Tax regime.
Party President Sean Tembo says if the Minister had fairly and objectively applied her mind to the issue of VAT refunds, she would have come to a different conclusion in terms of what needs to be done to address the problem of large VAT refunds, other than to substitute with Sales Tax regime.
Mr. Tembo said the Minister did not objectively seek to address this matter but instead adopted a simplistic solution of substituting the current VAT regime for a Sales Tax regime.
He charged that the reason why Zambia has a problem of large VAT refunds that are currently averaging K1. 4 billion per month, and the reason why this problem of VAT refunds only arose during the current PF administration is because of a policy change in the tax framework which the PF made about 4 years ago in their quest to increase tax compliance among VAT registered suppliers.
Mr. Tembo said what added a final nail in the coffin of this policy of withholding the gross VAT is that most of the parastatal Tax Agents like ZESCO and ZAMTEL are cash-strapped so when they withhold the gross VAT from a VAT registered supplier, they do not remit that gross VAT to ZRA.
He said additionally, the absence of the input-output principle in a sales tax system will mean that sales tax will be a cost at every stage of the value chain.
Mr. Tembo said this will collapse certain low-margin sectors such as the petroleum sectors where average margins are as low as 3 percent.
He added that this will also bring about uncontrolled inflation that may degenerate into hyperinflation and subsequently collapse the entire economy.
Rufunsa District Commissioner, Judith Chama has expressed concern at the increased number of Road Traffic accidents that have continued to occur along the Great East Road.
Mrs Chama says the increased road accidents are detrimental to progress, adding that there is need for stringent measures to be put in place in order to avoid these accidents.
The DC expressed concern after visiting the accident scene at Manenekela yesterday, where 69 passengers travelling in a Zambia-Malawi bus Registration number ABM 3490 escaped death.
Mrs Chama said the number of accidents happening on the Great East road were worrying as a week rarely passes without an accident been recorded, with some being fatal.
The DC has since called on members of the public to take responsibility and be cautious of other road users, in order to avoid such incidences.
The Zambia-Malawi bus accident happened around 16:00 hours on Sunday, involving a Mozambican truck loaded with Sulphur overturned on Saturday night, after failing to negotiate a bend.
The Driver of the Zambia-Malawi bus, Freagah Sakeyo aged 46 confirmed that he had 69 passengers on board, who could have lost their lives had he not been careful on the road.
He said three passengers however sustained some injuries and were rushed to Mpanshya St. Luke’s Mission Hospital.
Health personnel at Mpanshya St. Luke’s hospital confirmed receiving
the injured and said two have been discharged, while the third person is still under hospital care.
And police sources have revealed that more than 100 accidents have been recorded from January 2019 to-date.
Acting Lusaka District Commissioner Gertrude Chasaya has warned public service workers that are allegedly engaging in corrupt activities of instant dismissal if caught in the act.
The Acting Lusaka District Commissioner’s warning comes in the awake of reports alleging that some officers are charging the public for service delivery.
Mrs. Chasaya reiterated that the Lusaka District Administration will not shield any public service worker found engaging in corrupt activities and related vices from being arrested by security wings.
Mrs. Chasaya further reminded the civil servants to familiarize themselves with the General Orders and Code of Ethics so that they know what is expected of them.
“President Edgar Lungu’s administration abhors corruption and related vices in the provision of services to the public. Corruption is a serious crime, once you are found practicing it, you get arrested as well as lose your jobs with immediately”.
“If such an action keeps on taking place, then Zambia will have a lot of aliens consequently most businesses will be taken over by them and the Zambian people would become poor, ” said Mrs. Chasaya
Mrs. Chasaya said the country’s state security would be questionable if it becomes easy for any foreigners to easily own citizenship because any person can be sent to spy the country.
Apart from the issue of corruption, the DC urged the general workers to be hard working in terms of cleaning the offices as well as the work premises. She further told all the workers to be smart at all time when reporting for work so that they may look presentable.
Mr Chasaya also warned Heads of Government Departments (HoDs) and other public service workers in the district that she will not hesitate to institute disciplinary action against them for poor service delivery.
Mrs. Chasaya said her office has noted with dismay the apparent laxity by some public service workers in the execution of their duties thereby making the public to complain.
The Acting Lusaka District Commissioner sounded the warning during a General departmental meeting with some HoDs and support staff last week morning.
She further warned that reporting late for work and knocking off early from work will attract sanction.
“I have also noted that there is a lot of careless talking and disrespect for authority and this behavior should come to an end”, Mrs. Chasaya observed.
Kabompo District Senior Agriculture Officer, Solani Mweemba says the district preliminary crop forecast figures for the 2018/2019 farming season shows a 19 percent decrease of maize production compared to the 2017/2018 season.
Mr. Solani said that the decrease in maize in the final crop forecast is attributed to the prolonged dry spell experienced in the month of March, this year.
He told ZANIS in an interview last week that the final crop forecast which covered all 21 camps of the district revealed that sweet potatoes and beans crops were the worst hit by the dry spell resulting into a 40 percent yield reduction for sweet potatoes and 100 percent in beans.
Mr Mweemba added that rainfall started a bit late by mid November 2018 and as at 28 February 2019 the district had recorded some prolonged dry spells in the month of March 2019 with only 59 mm of rainfall recorded compared to 244 mm recorded during the same month the previous season.
He further said some disturbing rainfall of 127.7 mm was recorded in April 2019 which caused rotting of maize cobs especially the early planted crops.
Mr Mweemba stated that the total rainfall recorded from October 2018 to April 2019 was 915.6 mm as compared to 1126.3 mm during the preceding farming season.
He said a total number of 254,126 by 50 kilogram bags of white maize production are expected as compared to 344,715 by 50 kilogram bags of produced in the 2017/2018 season.
Munali area Member of Parliament Professor Nkandu Luo during the donation ceremony
Munali area Member of Parliament Professor Nkandu Luo has empowered the women of Kalingalinga Ward with a hammer mill. This extraordinary gesture comes in line with her earlier promise to the women of the constituency.
The women of Kalingalinga Ward 31 were so delighted to receive the brand new mill and vowed to put it to good use.
“I have strong interests and passion in a number of issues, most importantly, empowering youths and women of Munali Constituency,” Said Professor Nkandu Luo.
If it wasn’t for you people of Munali Constituency, there will be no me. So these echelons of power are through you and I have to show you that I value your support therby empowering you all.
Women are prime movers of the society so empowering you entails empowering the nation.I am handling over this communal hammer mill for you women, and don’t forget to take care of it.Guide it with your full strength.
Professor Nkandu Luo has also pledged to bring a police station in Kalingalinga, seeing that there only police posts exist. ‘And next time l will focus on youths and then women again,’ Said professor Luo.
Kalingalinga ward 31 councilor Kasongo Chomba has equally thanked the women for displaying extraordinary patience during the time they were waiting for the hammer mill. As he echoed an identical message to Professor Nkandu Luo. The sage has gone on to thank President Edgar Lungu for appointing her as a Minister and to serve as Munali Member of parliament.
In conclusion the women thanked area member of parliament for the generosity and love she has towards her constituency.
Housing and Infrastructure Minister Hon. Ronald Chitotela
GOVERNMENT through the Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure Development has emphasized on the need to have decent housing for all traditional leaders across the country.
Speaking on Saturday when he paid courtesy calls on Senior Chief Mushota and Chief Munkanta of the Chishinga people in Kawambwa District, Housing and Infrastructure Minister Hon. Ronald Chitotela said government will ensure that the development that is being rolled out across the country is all inclusive without leaving anyone behind.
He reiterated President Lungu’s commitment to uplifting the living standards of all Zambians without leaving anyone behind.
The Minister said Patriotic Front government is desirous to see it that there is decent Housing for the all traditional leaders in the country.
He said President Lungu is enthusiastic to seeing to it that palaces across the country are attended to as soon as possible
“President LUNGU and the Patriotic Front government remains committed to ensuring that all traditional leaders’s living standards are uplifted across the country hence efforts being done through the Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure and the Ministry of Chiefs and Traditional Affairs to see to it that all palaces across the country get upgraded”
He stated that government appreciates the excellent contribution the traditional leaders have been making especially in issues of Governance.
Hon Chitotela assured the Chiefs that the palaces will will be completed soon and that the construction works of new palaces will soon commence.
Government says it will this year work on 2,000 kilometres of feeder roads covering all chiefdoms in Northern Province.
Northern Province Permanent Secretary Charles Sipanje said the rehabilitation of feeder roads in the province is aimed at making the areas passable and also opening up places for agriculture production.
Mr. Sipanje said priority will be given to dilapidated roads that lead to chief’s palaces, schools, health centres, and areas which have high concentration of people.
He said the World Bank has offered to fund the rehabilitation of 600 kilometres of roads while the Zambian government will fund the remaining 1,400 kilometres of roads.
The Permanent Secretary said the areas were identified after government sent a team of engineers to access the state of feeder roads in the province where it was discovered that 5,600 kilometres is in deplorable state.
He however said due to limited funds, government will prioritise the rehabilitation of 2,000 kilometres of roads this year.
Mr. Sipanje said this when he called on Paramount Chief Chitimukulu at his residence in Kasama yesterday.
The PS has however assured the Paramount Chief that government will ensure that the contractor who will be awarded the contract also sub-contracts youths led companies in the province.
He said 50 local companies in the province have since been identified as sub-contractors of the projects.
Meanwhile, Mr. Sipanje also disclosed that his office will this month call for an agriculture indada to discuss challenges that the province is facing in the agricultural sector.
Mr. Sipanje said the indaba will discuss among other issues input distribution for both conventional Farmer Input Support Program (FISP) and e-voucher to see which mode the province can adopt.
He indicated that at the moment the province is divided with half of the districts implementing FISP while the other half is implementing e-voucher.
And Paramount Chief Chitimukulu has commended government for the planned rehabilitation of the feeder roads in Northern Province.
The traditional leader has however cautioned government to be strict with the local contractors that will be sub-contracted to ensure that there is no shoddy works are done on the feeder roads.
He observed that most local contractors are a disappointment as they exhibit poor workmanship adding that government should ensure that they look for capable contractors.
In Zambia, there is the constant talk of the need to discuss the implementation of the Public Order Act. I have been trying to fathom what there is to discuss about this Act. The incomprehensibility of the discussion in the public sphere is heightened by the fact that the Act in issue is unconstitutional and therefore invalid. What is there to discuss about an unconstitutional act save for repealing it? Although, I am conscious that I might be speaking to the deaf, it helpful to comment on the issues surrounding the Public Order Act for the sake of posterity and those who are genuinely interested in learning about the this Act. It is imperative that the collective consciousness of the Zambian society is wakened to the inherent perilousness of allowing the shrinking of the common public space under any guise including the implementation of an unconstitutional colonial relic – the Public Order Act.
For the avoidance of any doubt, the right to assemble is a constitutional right, provided for and guaranteed by Article 21 of the Zambia Constitution. The Constitution – the Supreme Law of the land – gives life and meaning to any other piece of legislation. The supremacy of the Constitution is also an elementary principle of constitutional democracy. As the former Chief Justice of South Africa observed in S v. Makwanyane, “All constitutions seek to articulate, with differing degrees of intensity and detail, the shared aspirations of a nation; the values which bind its people, and which discipline its government, and national institutions; the basic premises upon which judicial, legislative and executive power is to be wielded; the constitution limits and sets the conditions upon which that power is to be wielded.” Thus, Parliament and indeed any other branch of government, cannot have more power than that granted to it by the Constitution. Parliament cannot make legislation which violates the basic foundations and aspirations of the Constitution and such legislation would be unconstitutional and invalid.
Hence, the Constitutional Court of South Africa in, South African Prosecution Authority, Democratic Alliance v. The President of South Africa and Others, quoting Justice Mahomed words to the International Commission of Jurists, had this to say: “…. The legislature has no mandate to make a law which transgresses the powers vesting in it in terms of the Constitution. Its mandate is to make only those laws permitted by the Constitution and to defer to the judgment of the Court, any conflict generated by an enactment challenged on constitutional grounds. If it does make laws which transgress its constitutional mandate, or if it refuses to defer to the judgment of the Court on any challenge to such laws, it is in breach of its mandate. The Court has a constitutional right and duty to say so, and it protects the very essence of a constitutional democracy when it does. A democratic legislature does not have the option to ignore, defy or subvert the Court.” What this means is that it is within the exclusive domain of the Courts to determine the constitutionality of any legislation. In other words, powers of legislative enactments do not include the powers of legal interpretation.
According to the Zambian Constitution, the power to interpret legislation and the Constitution is vested in the courts. No organ of state, not the Minister of Home Affairs, not the Minister of Justice, not any piece of legislation, and certainly not the Police can give a binding interpretation of the constitutional right of Assembly. It is for the Courts to do so. This aligns with the fundamental nature and purpose of the rule of law, separation of powers and constitutionalism. Those who argue otherwise portray a lack of adequate grasp of constitutional theory and constitutionalism. No meaningful constitutional democracy can encourage the disappearance of the right of Assembly of the citizens. It is even worse to imagine that the right is dependent on the good pleasure of the Police, the Parliament or any other organ of government. It is the Assembly of the people/citizens that forms a nation. Even the smallest spheres of community assemblage is a necessary corollary of the right of citizens to assemble, associate and form relationships in order to pursue common aspirations which includes the idea of nationhood.
The Public Order Act is ordinary legislation passed by Parliament which cannot override the Constitution – the supreme law of the land. As the Chief Justice of South Africa, Mogoeng Mogoeng observed in the Economic Freedom Fighters Case: “.just as roots do not owe their life to branches, so are the powers provided by national legislation incapable of eviscerating their constitutional forbearers into operational obscurity.” In my view, the Public Order Act in its present form is unconstitutional, invalid and void. It has survived in Zambia mostly because the judiciary has failed to come out unequivocally to uphold the right to free Assembly embedded in our Constitution as evidenced by decisions in the following cases: Law Association of Zambia v. The Attorney (2015) and Resident Doctors Association of Zambia v. The Attorney General (2003). The Public Order Act restriction of the right to Assembly is in direct conflict with the fundamental rights of citizens which are entrenched and guaranteed by the Constitution. It offends the conception of a constitution in a democracy. The Zambia Police often abuse the Act and use it to prevent the opposition parties from holding meetings to explain their platforms to the Zambian public.
To further develop my argument relating to the unconstitutionality of the public Order Act, I would like to once again highlight the importance of the Freedom of Assembly in a democratic society. After that, I shall show how unconstitutional the Public Order Act is. I thereafter show the universal support for my position by referring to progressive judicial interventions elsewhere around the world. As already mentioned Freedom of Assembly is fundamental to a healthy democracy. It enables us as social beings to form organizations with others, to express our political and other views, and to collaborate with like-minded people. It enriches political dialogue. The right to freedom of Assembly serves as a vehicle for the exercise of many other civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. The rights are essential components of democracy as they empower men and women to express their political opinions, engage in literary and artistic pursuits, and other cultural, economic and social activities, engage in religious observances and other beliefs, form and join trade unions and cooperatives, and elect leaders to represent their interests and hold them accountable. Democracy is both deliberative and participatory. Its meaning and development are inexorably tied to the deliberative and participatory limbs. To remove the deliberative and participatory content of democracy under the guise of public order is simply a rough amputation. The pains are deep, and the challenges are inherently tricky. No healthy democracy, therefore, can afford the luxury of citizens who are quarantined in their homes —with no meaningful capacity to engage the state through free assembly and other forms of citizens’ participation.
The public sphere belongs to citizens. Only slaves – not citizens – are forced into pens and kept away from the public sphere. It is the fundamental nature of democracy that the public space belongs to the public – hence the idea of a republic (res publica). By the citizens’ collective ownership of the public, they pay taxes to maintain it and indeed pay those who are given limited functions within that space. In so doing, the citizens do not divest themselves of that inalienable right to assemble. They do not give powers to public office holders to put them in enclosures from wherein they as citizens will timorously be peeping out through crevices to imagine what their functionaries are doing. To suggest otherwise is to turn the democratic sphere into a slave colony and not a constitutional democracy. Thus, no state functionary can in a democratic society validly appropriate that public sphere let alone expropriate it from the citizens through the purported implementation of any public order act.
Furthermore, the right to Freedom of Assembly is guaranteed in all the major international and regional human rights conventions. It is guaranteed in article 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It is also reflected in article 8 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; article 11 of the African Charter of Human and Peoples Rights to name a few. Zambia subscribes to these international covenants and treaties. Granted this right can be subject to specific limited derogations which are prescribed by law and for purposes reasonably foreseeable and necessary in a democratic society—article 21 (2) of the Zambian Constitution – in the interests of national security or public safety, public order, the protection of public health or morals or the protection of the rights and freedoms of the others. These derogations are to be narrowly interpreted. The UN special rapporteur on freedom of Assembly and Association emphasizes the point that only “certain restrictions may be applied, which means that freedom [freedom of Assembly] is to be considered the rule, and its restriction the exception. States cannot undermine the very existence of the attributes of these rights when restricting them.” Also, General Comment No 27 (1999) of the Human Rights Committee stated that “in adopting laws providing for restrictions, states should always be guided by the principle that the restrictions must not impair the essence of the right… the relation between right and restriction, between norm and exception, must not be reversed.” In simple language, the ultimate value and norm is the freedom to assemble, and the limited derogation is only an exceptional – and at best interim – measure to preserve such things as public health in times of public health emergencies. To make the interim aspect of the right to assemble the defining aspect of the right is to defeat its primary intent and purpose.
I would now like to show that that Sections 5, 6 and 7 as amended by Statutory Instrument No. 1 of 1996, of the Public Order Act, Chapter 113 of the Laws of Zambia requiring notice on the pain of criminal punishment are unconstitutional, void and invalid. The draconian and undemocratic nature of the said amendment is self-evident in many respects, but I shall draw attention to a few here. For instance, section 5 (4) provides that any person intending to assemble or convene a public meeting, procession or demonstration shall notify the Police in writing of such intent fourteen days before the meeting. Section 5 (5) states that the notice required under subsection (4) shall contain an undertaking by the persons intending to assemble or convene a public meeting, procession or demonstration that order and peace shall be maintained through the observance of the following conditions: (a) that they have been informed by the Police that the site for the meeting has not already been granted to another convener for the holding of a public meeting, procession or demonstration; (b) that the route and the width of the route is suitable for the holding of processions in accordance with the width and route specifications for such purposes as specified by the Minister by statutory order;(c) that marshals of a number sufficient to monitor the public meeting, procession or demonstration are available and shall co-operate with the Police to ensure peace and stability; (d) that the commencement, duration and destination of the public meeting, procession or demonstration shall be notified to the Police; (e ) that the public meeting, procession or demonstration shall not create a risk to security or public safety, a breach of the peace or disaffection amongst inhabitants of that neighborhood; and (f) that the conveners of the meeting, procession or demonstration have been assured by the Police that at the time of the proposed activity shall be held, it will be possible for it to be adequately policed.
Section (6) provides that where it is not possible for the Police to adequately Police any particular public meeting, procession or demonstration, the regulating office of the area shall, at least five days before the date of the public meeting, procession or demonstration, inform the conveners of the public meeting, procession or demonstration in writing the reasons for inability of the Police to Police the public meeting procession or demonstration and shall propose an alternative date and time for the holding of such public meeting, procession or demonstration and (7) provides that whenever the Police notify the conveners of a public meeting, procession or demonstration that it is not possible for the Police to adequately Police any proposed public meeting, procession or demonstration, such public meeting procession or demonstration shall not be held.
On the face of it, it is clear that the state has wholly expropriated the people’s public sphere through the Police. The full amplitude of powers and arbitrariness granted to the Police is horrifying when looked at in the light of the potential abuse it can be used to meet out to citizens. The dubious nature of the law is manifest in the amalgam of undertakings which citizens must undertake in the light of the provisions of Section 5 (5) of the amendment. The amendment, therefore, is a textbook exemplar of an unconstitutional amendment. Although section 5 introduced after the Christine Mulundika case Supreme Court Judgment (1995) has changed from requiring a permit to requiring notification; the conditions attached to the notification are such that in substance section 5 requires a permit and is therefore unconstitutional.
To further clarify this, it is essential to draw attention to the ordinary meaning of the operative words of the law in issue. The Oxford English dictionary defines “permit” as “an official document granting authorization.” In contrast, it defines notification as “to make known.” The amended section 5 outlines numerous conditions for the holding of an assembly, and the applicants have to wait for police authorization before they can proceed to hold the Assembly. Section 5 gives the Police absolute power of determining whether or not an assembly, meeting or procession should take place. The Constitution does not envisage this scenario—that an individual whoever that might be should be made the sole and unquestionable determinant of what is reasonably justifiable for the entire citizenry of Zambia regarding the exercise their rights of Assembly. The Constitution does not in any way intend that the enjoyment of the rights and freedoms enshrined by it in articles 20, 21, and 28 be conditioned or contingent on the opinion of an official of the executive arm of government. A law which confers a discretion on a public official without indicating with sufficient precision the limits of that discretion does not satisfy the quality of the “law” contemplated in article 21 by the requirements of prescribed law. Indeed, to imagine that the citizens will vest such vast and potentially wild powers in the Police will be to suggest that they have predetermined their liberties and freedom. Such bondage is not reasonably foreseeable in any constitutional democracy.
Legislations requiring a permit before an assembly can be held and criminalizing failure to obtain a permit, have been universally condemned as unconstitutional and a violation of the right to Assembly. In a recent analysis of similar legislation, the Ghanaian Supreme Court held in New Patriotic Party vs. Attorney-General (2004) that “restrictions, as are provided by article 21(4) of the 1992 Ghana Constitution, may be necessary from time to time and upon proper occasion. But the right to assemble, protest or demonstrate cannot be denied.” The Ghana Supreme Court nullified section 12 (a) which gave a police officer an unfettered discretion to stop and cause to be dismissed any meetings or processions in any public place in contravention of sections 7 and 8; and section 13(a) which made it an offence to hold such procession, meetings and public celebration without permission.
Interrogating similar legislation, the Court of Appeal in Nigeria, in Inspector-General of Police v. All Nigerian Peoples Party and Others (2000), after holding the permit system under the Nigerian Public Order Act unconstitutional, stated: “constitutions should be interpreted in such a manner as to satisfy the yearnings of the Nigerian Society. The Court observed that the “Public Order Act should be promulgated to compliment section 39 and 40 of the Constitution in context and not to stifle or cripple it. A rally or placard-carrying demonstration has become a form of expression of views on current issues affecting government and the governed in a sovereign state. It is a trend recognized and deeply entrenched in the system of governance in civilized countries. It will not only be primitive but also retrogressive if Nigeria continues to require a pass to hold a rally. We must borrow a leaf from those who have trekked the rugged path of democracy and are now reaping the dividends of their experience.”
In the case of In re Munhumeso (1994), the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe held that powers placed in the hands of the Police are arbitrary where (a) there is no criteria to be used to regulate the authority in the exercise of its discretion, (b) the regulating authority is not obliged to take into account whether the likelihood of a breach of peace could be averted by attaching conditions such as time, duration and route, and (c) it allows refusal of a permit even on the slightest possibility of breach of peace. In a recent South African case Constitutional Court appeal, Mlungwana v The State (2018) the Court upheld the trial court’s decision that a statutory provision criminalizing the convening of more than 15 people without notice was inconsistent with the constitutional right to freedom of Assembly. It held that the statute by requiring notice before a gathering limited the right to freedom of Assembly and had a chilling effect on those who sought to exercise their freedom of assembly.
The United Nations Human Rights Committee’s decision in Kvenmaa v. Finland (1990) dealt with a situation where the Finish government arrested the complainant for convening a public gathering without notice to protest a visiting head of state. The Committee held that the notice requirement amounted to a restriction of the right to assemble in article 21 of ICCPR. It stated that: “freedom of Assembly is a fundamental right in a democratic society and as the right to freedom of expression, is one of the foundations of such society.” The European Court of Human Rights has similarly held that “the right to freedom of Assembly is a fundamental right in a democratic society and, like the right to freedom of expression, is one of the foundations of such society.”
In the US case of Shuttleworth v. Birmingham (1969), the Court found that the city commission’s power to refuse permission for a procession on such vague criteria as “public welfare, safety, health, decency, and public morals” was unconstitutional and concluded that this created an avenue for arbitrariness. It struck down the legislation, similarly, in Gregory v. The city of Chicago, (1969), the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the First Amendment rights of peaceful civil rights protestors over the overzealous actions of Police attempting to quell anticipated civil disorder. The law was criticized for prohibiting lawful and constitutional activities and for not being narrowly tailored. In Shuttleworth, the Court stated that the test required for the restricting law is an objective one and should not depend on the subjective view or opinion of a police officer. This was also the view of the Tanzanian Supreme Court in Pumbum and Another v. Attorney General.(1993) Equally, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Assembly, states that the exercise of the freedom of Assembly should not be subject to previous authorization by the authorities. The most a prior notification procedure should do is to facilitate the exercise of the freedom of Assembly by taking measures to protect public safety and order and the right and freedom of others. The primary duty of the Police is actually to protect citizens who may wish to assemble from any molestation.
Interestingly, what the Zambian Police is doing to the opposition parties in Zambia is strikingly similar to behaviors that gave rise to the cases of New Patriotic Party vs. Attorney General; and Inspector-General of Police v. All Nigerian Peoples Party and Others in Ghana and Nigeria respectively. In the Ghanaian case, the petitioners had been granted a permit; however, the Police later withdrew the permit. In the Nigerian case, the primary respondent being a registered political party requested the defendants to issue to their members’ permits to hold unity rallies throughout Nigeria to protest the rigging of the 2003 elections. The request was refused. Zambian opposition parties on numerous occasions have notified the Police of their intention to hold rallies or protests. The Police has offered a variety of reasons to deny them permits. It suffices to note here that most of the reasons are unreasonable, capricious and in bad faith.
The Polices hides under the fig leaf provided by Section 5 of the Public Order Act, which is nothing more than a permit system. The Police manage this arbitrary system in ways that pay no heed to fundamental constitutional duties and thus, interferes with the citizens’ right to freedom of Assembly. It, therefore, calls for a severe recollection of Zambians that Freedom of Assembly is the lifeblood of democracy. It helps create spaces for collective politics, and secondly, it is essential in democratic politics because it is only through meetings, dialogues, talking and communicative action with fellow citizens that we can critically explore the various beliefs and values which animate policy decisions. The more ideas are discussed, the better and more legitimate political decisions are likely to be. The Public Order Act in its present form is unconstitutional because it shrinks the public spaces and removes the grounds of public engagement from the citizens – leaving them on free fall and directionless in the face of politics and policies that determine their collective destiny. The Public Order Act was conceptualized in a colonial setting in which Zambians were subjects and not citizens. To elevate it in the manner now seen in Zambia is to defeat the very essence of Independence of the Zambian people. It compromises their inherent right to assemble and self-determine their path as a nation of free citizens as opposed to bondsmen and women. The law as it is presently constituted is the antithesis of a democratic society because democratic societies survive on the exchange of ideas formulated in a culture of free interaction and association. This “free market of ideas” is one of the most defining element of our nature as human beings. It therefore not only informs our dignity and rationality but gives life to our place in society – a democratic society properly so called.
When national states join International Human Rights Conventions as Zambia has doe, they assume both international and domestic obligations. They undertake to respect the rights and freedoms recognized in the conventions and to ensure to all persons subject to their jurisdiction the free and full exercise of those rights and freedoms. Three significant obligations emerge from this undertaking: (a) to respect the rights and freedoms recognized in the conventions; (b) to ensure the free and full exercise of the rights recognized in the conventions to every person subject to its jurisdiction; and (c) to prevent, investigate and punish any violation of the rights recognized by the convention.
There is, therefore, a duty incumbent upon states – like Zambia – to actively protect peaceful assemblies and a consequent right appertaining to citizens, to expect that their rights to freely assemble will be protected rather than be violated by the state. In Social & Econ0mic Rights and others v. Nigeria (2001) The African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights held that: “when a state allows private persons or groups to act freely and with impunity to the detriment of the rights recognized, it would be in clear violation of its obligations to protect the human rights of its citizens”. Similarly, this obligation of the state was emphasized in the European Court of Human Rights in X and Y v. Netherlands (1985). In that case the court pronounced that there was an obligation on authorities to take steps to make sure that the enjoyment of the rights is not interfered with by any other private person. Such obligation includes the protection of participants of peaceful assemblies from individuals or groups of individuals, including agent provocateurs and counter-demonstrators who aim at disrupting or dispersing such assemblies. The state cannot choose and pick which types of people are deserving of having their rights observed, respected, protected and fulfilled. To allow such is to create discrimination and potential foundations of social rupture and violence. To respect the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution requires that the state control its agents – nudging them unto the path of constitutionalism at all times. This is so because, the obligation to ensure the full and free exercise of the rights guaranteed by the Constitution, is broader than mere respect. It entails the active promotion, protection, preservation, and fulfillment of the enjoyment of these rights. This is even more imperative when private citizens violate the rights of other citizens to assemble and participate in democratic activities freely.
What it means is that even the state’s inaction in the face of private violations of citizen’s rights is attributable to the state. Else the state will escape liability and responsibility by merely claiming ignorance or looking elsewhere while “private citizens” violate the rights of others to assemble in a democratic society freely. Any contrary interpretation is unconscionable and a sure path to servitude —which the compatriots of this great country fought against. The state must investigate, and punish those that violate the rights of others. Private conduct becomes state responsibility if the state acquiesces to the conduct, or has allowed it to take place. Indeed, the most significant incentive for the violation of any citizen’s right is the feeling that nothing will happen. If the state or its organs look elsewhere while the rights of citizens are violated, what it means is that the state endorses the violation. In the cause of the struggle for Independence, our compatriots noted that “Zambia must be free.” All the citizens of Zambia share in that freedom and aspirations connected to it. Yes, it is not the freedom of the graveyard where everything is stiff, silent and solemn —except for the intermittent voice of the undertakers. It is the freedom to engage and be alive to democratic ideals through fundamental rights and freedoms.
The Author is a William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law International and Comparative Law, Cornell Law School and Director of Cornell Law Schools Berger International Legal Studies Program and the Institute for African Development
Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure Development Minister Hon. Ronald Chitotela inspecting the roads
GOVERNMENT has expressed displeasure over the shoddy works on the 20km stretch on the peddicle road.
Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure Development Minister Hon. Ronald Chitotela says it is unacceptable that even after being paid the money, the works done so far are not impressive.
“This is so saddening and totally unacceptable, look at the how damaged the road is within a short period of commencement of this project, potholes are all over, meaning works were badly done, we can’t accept this”
Government engaged Copperfields to upgrade the link between Luapula and the Copperbelt from gravel to bituminous standard.
The 46km stretch has been completed so far, which is from Mokambo,borders Mufulira.
While, the remaining 24kms that extends to the Levy Mwanawasa Bridge in Chembe is what Irked government as the road is full of potholes, no proper signage…
He said the Patriotic Front government under the leadership of President Edgar LUNGU promised Zambians sustainable development not development that wares-off in a blink of an eye.
The Minister has since warned the contractor that government will not hesitate to take stern action against them if works are not improved upon.
“As government we promised the people sustainable development that will stand the test of time not such, this is our message to the contractor get back on this project and re-do or we will be forced to take action. We will not hesitate to terminate this contract
It’s shocking to see this type of work this is bad and undesirable even after being given a total of K30million”
The Minister was accompanied by officials from RDA and the project Consultant.
Meanwhile, Hon. Chitotela quizzed the project Consultant for certifying the project that has been done with undesirable outcomes.
In his response the Consultant asked for more time from government and promised to have the works revisited barring all costs.
Mr Kayembe is an independent Consultant who was engaged by the Road Development Agency (RDA) after the previous Consultants contract was terminated for inadequacy.
AND, comment of on the construction of WILSON MOFYA CHAKULYA Toll Plaza along the Kitwe-Chingola Road, The Minister expressed disappointment at the slow pace at which works are being executed.
He called on all contractors in the country to execute their works as per agreement with government. Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure Development Minister Hon. Ronald Chitotela
UPND MPs taking the ‘walk of shame’ out of Parliament after the suspension was announced
Some residents of Choma have joined other districts in Southern Province in calling for their Members of Parliament to attend the National Dialogue Forum -NDF.
In Choma residents handed over a petition to Choma District Commissioner SHEENA MULEYA against Choma Central MP Cornelius Mweetwa and Mbabala MP Ephraim Bbelemu.
The residents have given Mr. Mweetwa and Mr. Bbelemu a 24-hour ultimatum to attend the NDF.
Abigail Mudenda a Choma resident says Mr. Bbelemu should immediately start attending the National Dialogue Forum because that’s what the people of Mbabala want.
Another Resident Doreen Soko has urged Mr. Mweetwa to start attending the National Dialogue Forum because the people of Choma want representation at the NDF.
And in receiving the petition, Choma District Commissioner Sheena Muleya said she will present the petition to the relevant authorities.
But Mr. Mweetwa said it is the democratic right of the residents to petition him as this is encouraging freedom of expression.
Mr. Mweetwa however told ZNBC News that he awaits to see the contents of the petition.
He also said some other residents in Choma are in support of his decision not to attend the Forum.
And Mr. Bbelemu could however not be reached for a comment because his mobile line was unreachable.
And in Namwala the situation is the same as some residents have petitioned their Member of Parliament, Moono Lubezhi for not attending the National Dialogue Forum.
The residents have accused Ms. Lubezhi of having failed to consult them before refusing to attend the forum.
ZANIS reports that One of the residents, Boyd Paze said the withdrawal of the MP’s participation at the on-going Forum without consulting them as constituents is not in their best interest.
In receiving the petition, Namwala District Commissioner Mary Sakala promised to deliver it to higher authorities for action.
And, in a related Development, Southern Province Patriotic Front -PF- Provincial Chairperson Lawrence Evans has condemned the Namwala MP for not attending the Forum.
Mr. Evans was speaking in Namwala District when he led a Party Provincial team which conducted a party Mobilization Meeting for Namwala District Patriotic Front Members.
Efforts to get the Namwala Member of Parliament, failed as her mobile phone was switched off.
Meanwhile, several residents of Mazabuka and Magoye constituencies in Mazabuka District this morning besieged the office of the District Commissioner, Jenny Chirwa to register their disappointment on the failure by their members of parliament to attend the national Dialogue Forum.
The Petitioners mostly women charged that it was unfair for the two MPs to be making personal decisions to shun the Forum disregarding the interest of the people they claim to be representing in parliament.
One of the petitioners, Charity Maambo said Mazabuka MP Garry Nkombo should not waste his time to re-contest the seat in 2021 because he has let down the people who voted for him by not participating in the Forum.
ZANIS reports that Ms. Maambo said the MPs should understand that issues of national interest override party interests.
Another petitioner from Magoye, Chitaba Shangobeka said voters in Magoye are disappointed with the opposition UPND member of parliament, Emmerson Machila for his failure to attend the Forum.
Meanwhile, Ms. Chirwa assured the petitioners that she will forward the petition to authorities in Lusaka for further action.
But when contacted, Mr. Nkombo refused to speak to ZNBC stating that the Institution is Not special.
And in Monze, some Residents are also disappointed with the two area Members of Parliament for shunning the National Dialogue Forum.
They are unhappy that UPND Monze Member of Parliament Jack Mwiimbu and his Bweengwa counterpart Michelo Kasauta have opted to abandon their responsibilities as the people’s representatives on issues of national interest.
The residents voiced out their concerns when they presented a petition to Monze District Commissioner Cyprian Hamanyanga.
Lusaka District PF Youth Chairperson Yelisa Khondowe has warned youths in the district to stop issuing disparaging remarks against top party officials or face serious disciplinary action.
Speaking after a solidarity match for PF Secretary General Davies Mwila in Lusaka, Mr. Khondowe said the party leadership at district level has full confidence in the Secretary General and will not sit back and watch people insult the top leadership.
He said he is aware that those calling for the resignation of Mr. Mwila are being sent by some selfish individuals who are indirectly fighting President Edgar Lungu.
Mr. Khondowe said the district is aware that some people in the party are sponsoring youths to rise against the party leadership so that they can take over positions.
He said the party is also aware that others with presidential ambitions want to put a Secretary General who will help them form their own structures in provinces that will bring confusion and divisions during the convention next year.
Mr. Khondowe said such desperate actions will not be entertained because the party already has a candidate in President Edgar Lungu.
Meanwhile, Lusaka district PF Youth Vice Chairperson, Yona Longe said the party has information about members of the party working against government and wanting to replace the Head of State.
Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) Commissioner General Kingsley Chanda flanked by Commissioner Domestic Taxis Moses Shuko (l) and Commissioner Customs Sydney Chibbabbuka speaking to journalists during the press conference
The Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) says Government is not going back to the old Sales Tax, but has created a hybrid of the traditional sales tax and VAT.
ZRA Commissioner Domestic Taxes Moses Shuko says the new sales tax is aimed at dealing with the economy, social protection and revenue collection.
In an interview with ZNBC News in Lusaka, Mr. Shuko said sales tax is progressive as it will protect both the business community and the interest of Zambians.
And Mr. Shuko has encouraged the business community and Zambians to visit the ZRA website and check on the exemption list on the Goods and Services tax.
He however called on the business community in the country to support the move which will enable government to collect enough resources for better provision of public services.
Four Civil Society Organisations participating at the ongoing National Dialogue on Constitutional, electoral, public order, and political parties Bills have announced the formation of the Coalitionnal Reform and Education Coalition.
In an announcement at the media briefing this morning at MISA House, Media Institute for Southern Africa Zambia Chapter, Hyde Haguta, says the Coalition is a Civil Society-driven movement whose core aim is to purely protect the content as agreed by stakeholders from this National Dialogue Forum.
The coalition has hailed the the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ), some Members of Parliament and Civil Society Organisations who had initially indicated they would not participate in the Forum but later changed thie minds by joining the historical law-reform and law-making process.
“In a democracy as we have known, rigidity of the mind has no place but we must all open ourselves up to debate even against those who share divergent views against us,” said Mr. Haguta and further observed the free, objective and passionate debate among all members of the Forum in the spirit of republicanism, motherland as stakeholders openly agreed or disagreed on various issues.
“Ministers have differed among themselves on various contentious clauses in the Bills or Siavonga resolution. We have disagreed among ourselves as CSOs who are participating in the Forum. The Honorable Members of Parliament have differed among themselves, just as we have seen representatives of Government Ministries and other statutory bodies differ among themselves. The political parties have also not been spared from having divergent views among themselves,” said Mr. Haguta.
Mr. Haguta said the differences reflect a spirit of democracy which Zambia has embraced where people must be allowed to hold and express divergence views and if anyone decided to stop this process because people are expressing divergent views, then that would amount to killing the very foundation of Zambia’s nascent democracy. Mr. Haguta said CSOs are not prepared to kill our democracy.
Mr. Haguta has since said the Coalition will caucus to arrive at consensus on the issues they shall advance and support at the Forum. The Coalition has said there is no inbuilt majority at the National Dialogue Forum and the members must thus arrive at final provisions based on the give-and-take attitude. Mr. Haguta says what is going on at the Forum is a clear indication that the interest of Zambians is being protected and secured by everyone and our democracy is maturing.
“In fact, there is currently no in-built majority at the National Dialogue Forum for us to say that matters must be resolved by way of voting to pass the Bills. We ask all members of the Forum to seek consensus in a fashion of give-and-take on what must find itself into the Final Bills,” said Haguta.
The Coalition comprises of the Media Institute for Southern Africa – Zambia Chapter, Southern Africa Centre for Resolution of Disputes (SACCORD), Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) and Chrizzina Democracy University (CDU). More members of the like-minded CSOs may be joining the Coalition.
