Join our community of SUBSCRIBERS and be part of the conversation.
To subscribe, simply enter your email address on our website or click the subscribe button below. Don't worry, we respect your privacy and won't spam your inbox. Your information is safe with us.
A Team of Engineers, Representatives from the World Bank, EU, Embassy of Sweden, African Development Bank(ADB) and Journalists, inspecting the Kariba Dam rehabilitation Project site recently
The Zambezi River Authority says the rehabilitation of the Kariba Dam is on course.
Authority Contract Engineer with the ZRA Sudden Mukuwe said earlier challenges that delayed the project have been overcome, including construction of an access road to carry a 130-tonne crane into the Zambezi River.
“The access road delayed the project. The initial proposed route had decomposing rock so we had to change,” said Mukuwe.
The safety of the dam wall is key in ensuring continued production of energy.
Should the wall collapse, thousands of people downstream will be in danger of floods.
The joint mission on the Kariba Dam rehabilitation held a meeting in Siavonga to deliberate on the project and see how it can be speedily implemented.
The meeting was one of several periodic review processes to assess implementation of the rehabilitation of the Kariba Dam Wall Project.
The rehabilitation project is being funded by the European Union (EU), World Bank, African Development Bank (AFDB) and the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA).
A sum of US$294 million has been invested to ensure the safety of the dam wall which was reportedly in danger of collapsing.
A plunge pool reshaping and construction of a Coffer dam are the two main projects being undertaken.
Funding partners expressed concern over delays and the slow pace in the implementation of the project, highlighting that Kariba is of international interest given its strategic economic position in the region.
“Two years into implementation of the project, there are some worrying delays. We will see what can be done to speedily implement it,” said EU Team Leader Adam Grodzicki.
“The project brings opportunities for everyone to work together in this complex infrastructure,” said World Bank Team Leader William Rex.
“It was treated as an emergency project and we really don’t want the emergency to occur,” said AFDB’s Elizabeth Muguti.
Zanaco’s lead at the top of Pool A of the 2019 FAZ Super Division log has been cut from three to two points following Sunday’s Lusaka derby defeat away to Red Arrows.
The Pool A pacesetters were handed their second league defeat of the 2019 season when Red 2-1 won at home at Nkoloma Stadium in Lusaka.
George Simbayambaya and Stanley Nshimbi scored Arrows while Rodgers Kola struck the target for Zanaco.
The two sides went onto the break tied at 1-1 after Simbayambaya put Arrows ahead in the 30th minute while Kola equalized three minutes before the break to score his seventh goal of the season.
Nshimbi then sealed the win on the hour mark to see 2004 league champions Arrows redeem themselves from their opening day defeat at Sunset two months ago.
Zanaco stay put at number one on 20 points, while Arrows reclaim fourth place on 13 points after champions Zesco United, on 12 points, warmed their perch on Saturday with that 3-1 home win over Green Buffaloes.
Meanwhile, Kabwe Warriors and Lusaka Dynamos stayed second and third on 18 and 16 points after a 0-0 draw in the Nkoloma doubleheader.
FAZ SUPER DIVISION
WEEK 10
30/03/3019
Pool A
Zesco United 3-Green Buffaloes 1
Prison Leopards 1-Mufulira Wanderers 0
Kitwe United 0-Nakambala Leopards 1
31/03/3019
Lusaka Dynamos 0-Kabwe Warriors 0
Red Arrows 2-Zanaco 1
POOL B
30/03/3019
FC MUZA 0-Power Dynamos 1
Nkana 1-Lumwana Radiants 2
Green Eagles 2-Forest Rangers 1
Circuit City 0-Buildcon 0
Nkwazi 0-Naspa Stars 0
President Edgar Lungu has called on the Church to pray against xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
President Lungu says the current situation in South Africa calls for the Church to pray for peace in that country.
The President said the reported xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals is worrying and needs urgent attention from all stakeholders in the region.
President Lungu who is also Chairperson for the Troika organ on politics, defense and politics has disclosed that the SADC Troika organ may convene for a meeting if the situation deteriorates.
The Head of State was speaking to journalists after concluding his three day working visit to Central Province.
Meanwhile, President Edgar Lungu has called for co-existence and tolerance between politicians and Christians.
Mr Lungu said both politicians and Christians must always pray in truth to God Almighty and accept politicians living among them.
The Head of State said both Christians and politicians are one in the eyes of God and hence they should live in harmony as children of the creator.
ZANIS reports that Mr Lungu was speaking to congregants at Don Bosco Catholic Parish in Bwacha Constituency in Kabwe today where he went to attend mass with the community.
He said it was important that politicians and Christians work together and cooperatively strive to develop the country.
And in his welcoming remarks, Don Bosco Catholic Parish Priest, Fr Michael Zhentek, said it was a great honour for him and his parishioners to pray with the Head of State at his parish.
Fr Michael said he received the news that President Lungu was going to pray at Don Bosco with happiness and took the president’s visit as blessing.
Meanwhile, in his homily taken from taken from the parable of the prodigal son in the Book of Luke 15:1-3;11-31, Fr Michael urged parents to be tolerant and forgiving to their children.
The clergy man said parents must always show unconditional love and reconcile with their children when they offend them
He said there were lot of children who were roaming the streets and selling in markets because of poverty, but urged the parents to do everything possible to bring them closer to God.
Fr Michael added that many youths exhibit arrogance and their misbehaviour results in marriages between their parents to collapse if not handled spiritually.
Minister of Finance Margaret Mwanakatwe (l) His Excellency Zambia High commissioner to South Africa Emmanuel Mwamba (c) and Secretary to the Treasury Fredson Yamba follow the proceeding during the Zambia South African Finance and Investment Forum at Southern Sun
The Zambian High Commission in South Africa says no Zambian has died from the recent wave of anti-foreigner attacks in that county.
Zambia’s envoy in South Africa Emmanuel Mwamba said his office has noted with concern social media reports and articles claiming that Zambians have been affected or killed by recent xenophobic attacks.
“We have also noted that people are circulating some of our old reports where we reported Zambians who were shot or killed or in a particular case where a mob attacked and killed a Zambian,” Mr Mwamba said
He clarified that these deaths were and are not related to the xenophobic attacks that occurred in Springfield Durban last week.
“Kindly exercise responsibility and caution with the use of social media during this period as this may act to inflame emotions and anger as old pictures and old videos have the capacity to stir fresh anger,” he said.
He emphasized that this is not in any way to underplay or undermine the indignation and outrage for any xenophobic attacks.
“As Africans we have made it clear that this unacceptable and infringes on fundamental rights of foreign nationals as life that of a local or foreign is sacred,” he said.
He added, “Our structures from the Zambia High Commission, Zambia Association in South Africa(ZASA) and the Zambian Catholic Community in South Africa are all working together to check on our community. The High Commission is also in touch with the Police.”
“And please note that the recent attacks occurred on Monday in Springfield in eThikweni Municipality in Durban. No other areas in the rest of South African have recorded similar attacks.”
He disclosed that 250 people were displaced and identified as mostly Malawians.
“We also had a case of seven foreign trucks that were burnt to ashes near Mooi River Toll Plaza in Durban. As African Diplomats, we have called for an urgent meeting with government authorities.”
“We are glad to announce that The Minister of International Relations and Cooperation and the Police Minister Hon. Bheke Cele will meet us Monday 1st April 2019 to address our concerns about the lives of foreign African nationals living in South Africa and the recent xenophobic attacks that occurred in Durban. We are also encouraging anyone who is affected or any family members that are in distress to get in touch with us.”
SUBMISSIONS BY THE UNITED LIBERAL PARTY TO THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE NATIONAL DIALOGUE BILL 2019
Professor Muna Ndulo (Cornell University) And Professor Chaloka Beyani (London School of Economics and Political Science) in September 2013 wrote a paper entitled “APPROACHES TO DEVELOPING A NEW CONSTITUTION FOR ZAMBIA”
The paper they wrote was before the enactment of the amendments assented to in 2016. Quite a number of the conclusions they arrived at have therefore been overtaken by events.
As ULP we still intend to borrow heavily from their paper and adopt a number of their suggestions due to the changed circumstances with what was prevailing at the time they wrote their paper.
In their paper they gave the following background as it was in 2013 (our comments and observations are in bold,
I. Background:
1. Zambia has been engaged in several efforts to try and develop a new constitution in the context of both demands for a more democratic constitution and the need to rebuild Zambian political institutions which have been distorted by political manipulation over the years. Both the ruling party and opposition parties and civil society broadly agree on the need for a new constitution. They, however, differ on the process to be employed in developing a new constitution and on the content of the constitution. A new constitution for Zambia must provide important safeguards to ensure public accountability, responsiveness to the electorate, participation of the people in governance and the devolution of power to local communities.”
2. Zambia has had several constitutions: the 1964 Independence Constitution, the 1973 Constitution and 1991 constitution. There have also been several major constitutional amendments in particular the 1969 and 1996 amendments. In addition, there have been a number of constitution review commissions including: the Chona Commission in 1972; the Mvunga Commission 1991; the Mwanakatwe Commission 1991; and the Mungomba Commission of 2003. The other major Constitutional amendments since then are the Constitution Ammendment Acts No. 1 and 2 Of 2016.
3. Following the Mugomba Commission, the Mwanawasa Government held the 2008 – 2010 Constitution Review Conference. The Mungomba Commission was a result of civil society organizations demands for a comprehensive review of the 1996 constitution. President Mwanawasa appointed the Commission in 2003. The Mungomba commission prepared a draft constitution and recommended that the constitution be adopted by a constituent Assembly. The Mwanawasa government was opposed to the constituent assembly idea and sought to ensure that this did not happen. This was largely because the Mwanawasa government sought to control the constitution process to ensure that the outcome was to its liking.
4. In 2007 following a meeting of all political parties represented in Parliament, it was resolved that instead of a constituent Assembly, a National Constitutional Conference be convened to deliberate on and adopt the Mungomba draft constitution. The process was boycotted by a number of political parties (including the current governing party, churches and civil society. The boycott was however not by all the churches and NGOs and was able to proceed even without some of them.
5. In August of 2010 the National Constitutional Conference presented its final report. The draft constitution that came out of the process sought to amend parts of the constitution while leaving intact the Bill of Rights section of the constitution in order to avoid a referendum which is required to amend chapter three of the current constitution. The draft failed to gain the necessary parliamentary majority required to amend the constitution.
6. Of all the previous drafts, the most progressive draft, and one that appears to have the most support, is that which resulted from the Mungomba Commission. It should, therefore, form the basis of the future constitution of Zambia. The approach to the making of a new constitution for Zambia must build on the past. It must be participatory and be guided by dialogue, debate, consultation and participation. Additionally, it should be guided by diversity, inclusivity, autonomy, accountability and legitimacy. The process must be empowering to civil society.
It must be realized that developing an effective procedure to prevent the manipulation of a constitution making process is a considerable challenge-one that would be helped by clearly articulating the principles and mechanisms that govern the process. For example, the 1993-1996 South African constitution making process articulated a set of principles that were to guide the process. Such articulation of principles enhances the process’ quality and increases the possibility of success. The National Dialogue Bill being considered in the memorandum to the bill and in sections 1 and 3 sets out principles to guide the process and objectives of the Bill.
7. The making of a new constitution in Zambia will require a legitimate, transparent, and agreed statutory framework setting out the process, principles, mechanisms, accountability and timelines.
The Bill being considered brings this in line with having a legitimate, transparent and agreed statutory framework setting out the process. The reason why the National Dialogue that the Church Mother Bodies and ZCID failed to make traction and even take off is because, amongst other reasons, that there was no statutory framework for it. The proposed Church Mother Bodies proposed dialogue process does not meet what Professors NDULO and BEYANI set out as being important requirements for success of such processes. Comparable experience shows that the process will take much longer than 90 days. A newly elected Narc Government in Kenya in 2002 had promised a new constitution within 100 days. This timeline was not met and an ill- conceived process, on which Zambia’s previous National Constitutional Conference appears to have been modeled, was initiated and failed to deliver. Devastating political consequences followed as a result in 2007/2008. In the circumstances of that crisis, a well thought out process established extensive consultations led by an independent Committee of Experts operating under a statutory framework with proper safeguard delivered a new constitution in 2010. The constitution was adopted in a referendum by an overwhelming majority. The experience of Kenya being able to lessen the time when a well thought out process was enacted so that there was a statutory framework. This is what this Bill seeks to do.
8.This time round, Zambia is well placed to avoid the type of constitutional crises that happened in Kenya in 2007/2008 by building on past constitution making processes described above with a well-managed process that should start within 90 days of the tenure of the new Government. The process in Zambia can start well before the 90 days suggested because quite a number of things which were being envisaged to be done have already taken place. In addition the executive must be commended for having so quickly brought this bill to give statutory backing to the process. The process can start with the passing of this Bill. The country is also well placed to avoid political confusion and manipulation of the constitution making process as in the case of Zimbabwe at present. There are also important lessons to learn from the failure of the immediate past National Constitutional Conference in Zambia.
II Suggested steps
a. It is suggested that there should be no more review commissions to collect views of the public. The Bill also recognizes this and there will be no more review commissions.
The views of Zambians on the future constitution for Zambia have been adequately canvassed through several previous commissions indicated above. There is no need to go into this again. The Bill recognizes this and it is surprising that the Church Mother Bodies in their failed Dialogue program were suggesting a lengthy three year process of going round the entire country district by district to collect views over a matter that has already has so many views gathered.
In light of several previous Commissions already referred to above, what is required now is a Committee of Experts of no more than 7 persons to review the previous constitutional proposals and lead the process of making a new constitution for Zambia. This was recognized in 1991 when a Task Force was appointed to review past constitutional proposals and prepare a new constitution. Unfortunately, the Task Force had no legislative basis and it was discontinued due to political expediency and another Commission was appointed instead. The idea itself was correct, but it lacked a legislative and legitimate base to implement it. The idea now will have the legislative and legitimate base for implementation. Other proposed processes do not have this legislative legitimacy and are bound to fail. The Bill envisages the Secretariat will be small group of experts to review the past constitutional proposals and submissions made to the Ministry of Justice. After the ten days deliberations the small group of experts will do what Professor NDULO and BEYANI envisaged.
b. Members of the Committee of Experts should be persons known for their expertise in constitution making. It is desirable that the committee include two non-lawyers preferably political scientists. The committee must be representative in terms of gender and diversity. It would be useful to include 2 non Zambians on the committee. It is always useful to have the expertise of external experts to bring in comparative experience. This will help to gain a comparative understanding of constitutional practices and experiences from elsewhere. Persons who have participated in previous constitution making exercises should not be members of the Committee of Experts. The proposals set out in this paragraph can be considered when members are being appointed to the experts committee. The Committee should be appointed by the President subject to ratification by Parliament. Prospective Zambian members of the Committee of Experts should be scrutinized and vetted by a Committee of Parliament. The difficulty we have with this proposal is the time delay it will cause.
c. The Committee should adopt its own rules of procedure. It should also be able to engage experts on specialized issues that need to be addressed in a constitution. One of the mandates of the Expert Committee should be to look at all past Zambia constitutions. The Committee should identify areas of agreement and disagreement. The working document of the Committee should be the Mungomba draft. As earlier pointed out this appears to be a draft that is generally accepted in Zambia as forming a good basis for a future constitution of Zambia. The Committee should come out with a draft Constitution of Zambia within a stipulated time frame. The Bill you are considering seeks to do just as suggested with the addition of the recent amendments and subsequent submissions by various stake holders.
d. The draft Constitution should be submitted to a select Committee of Members of Parliament for reaction. The Parliamentary Select Committee should not be too large. It should be representative of all political parties in proportion to their representation in Parliament. The Committee of Experts should dialogue with the Parliamentary Committee on the draft. After the dialogue with the Parliamentary Committee, the Committee of Experts should come up with a draft which takes into account the dialogue with the Parliamentary select committee. All the time remembering that the basis of discussion should be the Mungomba draft. The basis should be of all the various submissions including the Mungomba Draft. It must however be taken into account that we have since had the 2016 ammendments and the three years of its operations have highlighted certain areas that need streamlining and therefore the starting point is the 2016 amendments and submissions stakeholders have made over the same. The responsibility for drafting the new constitution should remain that of the Expert Committee. The idea of a Parliamentary Select committee is to ensure parliamentary participation in the process.
e. After the Parliamentary Select Committee’s reaction to the priliminary draft constitution, the Committee of Experts should come out with a final draft to be submitted to the public for public comment. The public review should be well structured and of limited duration. It should last no more than one month. Public participation at this stage increases the public’s understanding of the process.
f. After the public review, the Committee of Experts should come out with a final draft Constitution to be presented to Parliament for Enactment. Subsequent to the enactment, the constitution should be submitted to a referendum for adoption.
g. To avoid a prolonged process, the process must be subject to reasonable time frames which should be clearly stipulated and made known. The process and the time frames must be enacted into law. The Bill in section 14 stars out the duration of process and submission of draft bills. There is no doubt that the select committee of parliament that will be set up will call on the committee of experts to submit to it and make any clarifications and emphasizes that may be required.
III. Steps to be Taken to Implement the Process:
The following practical steps are suggested as the way forward:
a. A clear and public expression of political will and commitment to making a new constitution should be made by the new Government, with process earmarked to begin within 90 days of the Government being in office; The Executive has adequately expressed this and even the tabling of the Bill is clear expression of this.
b. Steps should be taken within 90 days to begin to build political and civil consensus on the desirability of a new constitution making process; The steps towards this have already been done and the Siavonga Protocol which was signed off by all major political parties is clear demonstration of this consensus. In the schedule to the Bill is a list of ninety individuals and organizations who have interacted with the Ministry of Justice over the same lending credence to the desire stated in the Siavonga a Protocol. These were undertaken from early last year and now the next steps need to be undertaken. This is inspite of the fact that there are those who do not seem to want this process to go ahead inspite of having signed off to it. Let those who want to obstruct this noble process put themselves on record as standing in the way of achieving the people’s wishes.
c. Preparation and adoption by Parliament within 90 days of a statutory framework (legislation) to govern the new constitution making process. This is for reasons of legitimacy, transparency, accountability, and regulation of the process; The Bill presentation puts us well ahead of this suggestion.
and
d. The statutory framework or Act must be designed in such a way as to guarantee success of the constitution making process. To this end, it should specify the objectives to be achieved, (the objectives are identified) establish an independent Committee of Experts as a legal body to spearhead the constitution making process, provide for the composition and functions of the Committee, lay down the principles which will govern the making of the new constitution, The principles are set out in the Bill indicate the method to be used by the Committee, specify the timelines in which key stages of the process must be accomplished, and narrate the roles of the Parliamentary Select Committee, and the Parliament. The Bill sets out the timelines and accomplishment targets.
IV. Methodology to be Employed by the Committee:
Following consultations on these proposals, a draft statute should be prepared with objectives, principles, structures, method, and timelines. The proposed structures, method and timelines are as follows:
a. The Committee of Experts will review past constitutional proposals made by the Mvunga, Mwanakatwe, and Mungomba Commissions as well as the National Constitutional Conference and identify areas of consensus and areas of no consensus. The Committee will then make proposals on how to resolve issues of no consensus and apply international best practice to resolve these issues. The timeline for this would be three months. The addition to this should be the recent ammendments and the submissions made to the Ministry of Justice since then.
b. A draft of the proposals made by the Committee would be released to the public, with formal and simplified versions distributed in all the Districts. The public would then have one month in which to comment on the draft proposals made by the Committee and to send their views to the Committee. The Bill in Clause 14(7) envisages this.
During this period the Expert Committee should encourage seminars and workshops to improve people’s understanding of the draft constitution. The Committee would have a further two months to incorporate the views of the public into a draft constitution. The Forum may adopt this and utilise Clause 8 to regulate its own procedure. The Forum has therefore been given sufficient latitude to do as it sees fit.
c. Thereafter, the draft constitution will be presented to the Parliamentary Select Committee on the Constitution. That Parliamentary Committee would have 3 weeks in which to consider the draft constitution and refer it back to the Committee. Within one month of receiving the views of the Parliamentary Select Committee, the Committee of Experts will finalize a draft constitution which will be presented to Parliament for enactment. Parliament will have 28 days in which to enact the constitution. Any amendments to the draft constitution proposed by Parliament will require an affirmative vote of 65% of the Members of Parliament present and voting in Parliament. The same vote will be required to be met if the draft constitution were to be rejected by Parliament. The new constitution will stand enacted if the dissenting vote in Parliament failed to reach the 65% threshold.
d. In the event that the draft constitution is rejected by Parliament, the latter will present to the Committee of Experts one week after the expiry of 28 days the reasons for rejecting the draft constitution. Committee of Experts will within two weeks of receiving the reasons from Parliament convene a meeting with the Parliamentary Select Committee to consider those reasons and revise the draft constitution accordingly and refer it to Parliament for enactment. Parliament shall enact the draft constitution as presented within a week of receiving it. The proposals in this paragraph can be considered administratively and there is nothing preventing this in the Bill.
e. The Attorney General will publish copies of the proposed constitution for distribution throughout the country and the Electoral Commissions and the Committee of Experts will conduct civic education on the proposed constitution until the referendum. The referendum should be held within two months of the enactment by Parliament of the proposed constitution. The Electoral Commission will conduct the referendum and decide on the symbols for the ‘yes’ and ‘no’ campaigns. The Committee of Experts will lead the conduct of civic education in the period leading to the referendum and will be assisted by the Electoral Commission. The provisions in the Constitution that need a referendum will have to wait for another time as logistically it would not be feasible to hold a referendum. There are issues such as the census that need to be held before and referendum. We can not postpone Ammendment to the other parts of the Constitution as we have seen that there are urgent matters that need to be resolved before the next elections such as;
Time within which Election Petition must be heard and determined.
Who acts as President during Election Petition.
Relationship between Supreme Court and Constititional Court.
Administration of Public Order Act during Elections.
Electoral Commission of Zambia powers to handle elections.
There are many other areas that need to be streamlined and cannot wait until after the election. It surprises us that some people do not understand this and have been asking why the Bill of Rights is not part of the initial process. }
f. If passed by the referendum, the proposed constitution will be published as the Constitution of Zambia and will be promulgated by the President within two weeks of being adopted by referendum. ?{ The referendum does not come into play in view of the current circumstances in this Bill. }
g. If not passed by the referendum, the Committee of Experts, and the Parliamentary Select Committee, will convene a meeting chaired by the Committee of Experts within two weeks after the referendum to consider the way forward in making a new constitution for the country. The referendum does not come into play in view of the current circumstances in this Bill.
We wish to comment on what the Church Mother Bodies submitted. This Bill clearly states that it is looking at the Siavonga Resolutions. It does not say that it is stopping anyone from seeking to reconcile parties or individuals. If the Church Mother Bodies are able to convince the stakeholders that they are honest and not compromised, they may take up the issues they feel have not been covered under this Bill.
This Bill recognises that there are certain issues that need to be urgently dealt with. It is only people and organizations that do not recognise or understand this urgency who want a cross country lengthy and expensive process. They should take a leaf from what Professors NDULO and BEYANI stated, “We do not need to have a wasteful unnecessary rerun of the constitutional review commissions” (our own paraphrasing)
The Church Mother Bodies ask the question why they have not been recognised under the Bill. It is surprising that a Church should feel hurt and have a bruised ego because it is not mentioned in a Bill. All those who contributed to the process are mentioned in the schedule but the same Churches are not happy with that either.
The efforts they are making in promoting reconciliation are not what is covered in this Bill. They can peruse reconciliation. They probably be able to convince people that they are well placed to do this if they start by reconciling amongst themselves. Various Churches have questioned whether the three CMBs are well placed for this.
There is a saying that if you want to know how a hippo lives ask the crocodile. The Church leaders of other denominations are the crocodiles as they live in the same spiritual waters. The only one who can better tell you how a hippo lives better than a crocodile is a fellow hippo. Bishop Sydney Sichilima is a fellow hippo and he has said he was leaving the Church Mother Bodies to preserve the integrity of the UCZ. He also suggested that certain opposition parties had undue influence over the three CMBs. The hippo has told you how the other hippos live.
The allegations by Bishop Sydney Sichilima in the first week of March 2019 have not been denied by the CMBs. There has been a deathly silence on their part. In law silence in the face of a serious allegations can be inferred as admission of guilt.
If a man accused of killing A and B is silent, and in fact there is evidence that he killed A and C, his silence may amount to an assent to killing A and a sign that he is conscious of his guilt of killing C.
We should ask ourselves why are the CMBs silent in the face of these serious allegations? Until this issue is cleared up the CMBs have no right to seek to advance the Constitutional process.
The reconciliation they seek to champion must start within their own ranks for outsiders to have confidence in them.
The Church Mother Bodies had certain concerns when they came before the Select Committee as set out below. Our comments are in brackets
“Thirdly, the bill does not provide a guarantee for the protection of the contents that will be generated by the proposed National Dialogue Forum (NDF), because it will be subjected to further parliamentary deliberations and scrutiny.
( The Parliamentarians under our Constitution are the ones who deliberate all laws (including the Constitution) and pass them. Unless you ammend the Constitution you cannot avoid this. This is elementary constitutionalism which we assume the CMBs are conversant with. )
Fourthly, we are seriously concerned with the proposed provision that all the members of parliament shall participate in the NDF deliberations and yet have undue privilege at the end of the NDF process, to alter the agreed contents…… We find this anomaly to be against the rules of natural justice, where in this case, the same people who will participate in the initial discussions will be the ones again to scrutinise the same contents (Bills). ( The reason to have them as part of the participants is so that there is buy in from them and when the Constitutional and other Bills go before the House, there will be no changes as they would have bought into the process. Apart from this, the parliamentarians are the people who represent the people of Zambia more than any other grouping or set of people. The CMBs have totally misunderstood the Rules of Natural Justice and they do not apply in this case. )
Fifthly, we are concerned, as a matter of procedure with the simultaneous handling of the constitutional refinements together with the other laws which must derive from the constitution as a supreme law. We find this to be extremely strange. The Forum will under Clause 8 decide in what Order they will look at the various laws. In anticipation of the changes to the Constitution they will then propose certain changes to subsidiary legislation. Quite a number of the provisions of the law such as the Public Order Act can be amended even without changes to the Constitution.
Sixthly, learning from other jurisdictions, it is best practice, especially in constitutional making process, to put in place an independent committee of experts that would review and refine all the submissions of the NDF before they are taken to parliament for enactment. This way the constitution will avoid having inconsistencies and lacunas. The Bill envisages this.
IV. Concerns on the Contents
Firstly, the preamble clearly suggests that there will be no changes to the Bill of Rights by way of a referendum. We feel that the bill of rights is too cardinal to leave out in this process because the Bill of Rights is essential to enjoying our rights under the constitution and every other law in Zambia.
The amendments have to be done step by step. The Bill of Rights are important but to change or amend them you need to have a referendum. This is a lengthy process. An understanding of the Constitutional provisions would lead anyone with an understanding of how the various parts can be amended realise that Part Three requires a lot of things to be in place before it can be amended.
There are also certain parties and Churches who campaigned against the last referendum and the Bill of Rights may be sabotaged by people who wish to boycott all well meaning attempts at reform. Look back into history.”
There are some reports that this process is to give the current President a seven year term. The Bill provides for no such thing. We as ULP would oppose any such proposal, but glad,y we have not seen it in the Bill.
We therefore fully support this Bill and feel that it is essential that all people of Good Will participate after its enactment and Pray for the successful and progressive amendments to the Constitution and Laws.
Pray for success and not failure and disaster.
The Document is a Submission by the United Liberal Party to the Select Committee on 27th March 2019 on the National Dialogue Bill 2019. The Submission was signed by the ULP president Sakwiba Sikota SC and his Secretary General
President Edgar Lungu has threatened to dissolve Kabwe Municipal Council (KMC) amid numerous complaints of poor service delivery.
Speaking during a meeting with the Kabwe Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) held at Tuskers Hotel in Kabwe last evening, President Lungu said KMC has disappointingly failed to serve the people to its expected abilities.
The head of state said the information he has indicate that most of the councillors in Kabwe are involved in illegal lands allocation.
He said he will personally investigate the happening at KMC and will not hesitate to get rid of people who are liabilities.
Meanwhile, President Lungu said government sees the private sector as partners in the development of the country.
He said this is so because government can only achieve reasonable and decent taxes when many businesses are thriving.
And Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has announced that will this year it host a Financial Expo.
KCCI president Christabel announced this during the `Meet the President Business Chat` with President Edgar Lungu and KCCI help at Tuskers Hotel in Kabwe last evening.
Ms Ngongola said the initiative is aimed at trying to bring just finance, business skills and the much needed financial liquidity.
She said the event will be held at a date to be fixed by the Governor of the Bank of Zambia who is expected to grace the occasion.
Meanwhile, Ms Ngongola has called on government to come up with deliberate policies that will help bring investors to Central Province and Kabwe in particular.
She told President Lungu that the cost of developing Kabwe would be lower than the cost of expanding Lusaka.
She stressed that the central location and proximity to Lusaka and Copperbelt should be able to attract much needed investment benefits.
Ms Ngongola stated that the chamber acknowledged government’s decision to relocate the Head Quarters (HQ) of the Zambia Correctional Service (ZCS) and Zambia Railways Limited (ZRL) back to Kabwe.
South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Hon. Lindiwe Sisulu with Zambia’s Foreign Minister Joseph Malanji with Ambassador Emmanuel Mwamba
South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Hon. Lindiwe Sisulu will tomorrow Monday meet SADC Ambassadors and High Commissioners accredited to that country regarding reports of xenophobic attacks that have re-emerged in some parts of that country.
According to a statement released to the media by Mrs Naomi Nyawali, the First Secretary Press and Public Relation at the Zambian High Commission in Pretoria South Africa, the meeting which has been described as urgent ,follows concerns raised by the diplomatic community after violent attacks on foreign nationals particularly those from the SADC region.
Zambia High Commissioner to South Africa His Excellency Mr Emmanuel Mwamba says the Dean of diplomatic community in South Africa Ambassador. Bene Mpoko would lead the diplomatic corp.
Mr Mwamba says the meeting will be aimed at trying to diffuse raising tensions between local South Africans and foreign nationals.
He noted that over 250 foreign Nationals have so far become victims of violent attacks which occurred in durban Kwa-Zulu Natal province.(KZN).
He says 7 foreign trucks were burnt near Mooi River Toll Plaza in Durban.
Mr Mwamba has however emphasised that no Zambian national has so far been a victim of the recent attacks.
He has since cautioned Zambians nationals living or travelling to that country to take extra precautions by avoiding certain places snd areas where there are public protests until the matter was adequately addressed
File:A peasant farmer drying his agriculture produce in Mongu
By Parkie Mbozi
ON SUNDAY I came back from a part of southern African where it rains almost daily, and is therefore very green. Having left our country in February while it was raining normally, I was expecting a very green and wet ecosystem on my return. For some reason, none of the people I was regularly in touch with ever mentioned how dry and hot it had become back here. As a researcher on the subject, I read online newspapers on a daily basis. However, none of the ‘newspapers’ ever reported the severity of the drought in Zambia. I can’t blame them. According to traditional media logic, you report the agenda set by the news markers, often the leaders.
So, you can understand how shocked I was upon alighting from the aircraft to find that the country was actually dry and hot. I was shell shocked, if you see what I mean. I couldn’t believe it seeing the maize along airport road so dry that you can literary set it ablaze. Not even my two commercial farmer neighbors on Great East Road are spared. The soya and the maize, which looked so promising when I was leaving, are all destroyed. Almost total write-offs.
The following day I travelled to my village farm in Mungule. As I was driving along the 35-Kilometre stretch from the so-called 10 miles, what I saw was not any different from what I had already seen back in Lusaka east. Not a single field has green or fully matured maize. Here and there you see some green cotton and sunflower. However, these crops are not grown on a large scale and certainly not by a lot of farmers.
“Not a single farmer will have a harvest this year. No-one will even taste green maize. It is all gone,” one villager told me. Another one said to me, “Last year (2017/19 season) we had a dry spell but towards the end, we had good rains which resulted in some harvests. This year, we have had no rain since February.” A village headman was more worried about water for the animals. “This is March but the stream (Chuunga) is already ‘breaking up,” he lamented.
Earlier during the day, I met a CEO of one of the largest milling companies, which has depots across the country. As I expressed my worry about the impending price hikes in stock feed prices as a result of what I had seen so far, he said to me that his firm does not expect maize from about half of the country. Sadly, parts affected include districts in Region II (Lusaka, Central and Eastern provinces), which often get normal rains. He said farmers in Choma told him that they are actually more worried about not having enough water for themselves and their animals than about food security. That’s serious! To my mind, the fact that about half the country will not even have enough to eat is a national disaster. I think we have a disaster even worse than what is being experienced in Zimbabwe and Mozambique due to Cyclone Idai. If the national harvest falls below the national annual requirement, money has to be found from the already (evidently) stressed coffers to source food from other parts of the world. That’s a huge national undertaking. Those who were old enough will remember the infamous yellow maize fiasco of 1992/3. It takes a lot of time and effort to successfully undertake such a national operation.
Then on Tuesday I had time to tune to one of my favourite radio stations, Parliament Radio. I tell you what, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing from Parliament. The MPs were debating ‘morals’ and ‘values’. Really? Half the country faces imminent starvation in the next few weeks when last year’s harvest runs out, our Parliament is made to debate ‘morals’ and ‘values’? The National Assembly exists primarily to make laws. So I wondered, what laws are expected on morals and values? Is this a top priority and an emergency right now? When will the house of laws and the people’s representatives deal with the eminent national crises? When will the executive get first-hand information on the situation on the ground in order to respond informatively? Soon you will hear they have adjourned sine die.
Is it just ‘ba some of us’ who have our priorities wrong or living in the wrong world? Strange times indeed!
The author is media and communication scholar, research fellow and PhD candidate based in South Africa.
President Edgar Lungu says talks with Chinese government through its embassy and his administration over the re-opening of the Zambia-China Mulungushi Textiles have advanced.
Speaking at Neempark Lodge in Kabwe during a meeting with the clergy last evening, President Lungu stated that he is pushing to expedite the operationalizing of the textile factory before the next general elections period.
The head of state said his administration is determined and continues to implement a number of projects as it is the responsibility of government and not to woo political support as purported by some people.
President Lungu said government will continue to review programs such as the Farmer Input Support Program (FISP) to improve service delivery.
He warned that civil servants frustrating the FISP programme will be arrested as he expects the 2019/2020 farming season to show a lot of improvements.
And speaking during the same meeting Road Development Agency (RDA) National Chairman, Samuel Mukupa said government is rolling out roads throughout the country.
Mr Mukupa however said the resource envelope for the country could not accommodate all roads across the country at once.
He also said government through the agency has also invited other stakeholder to participate in the road sector under the Public Private Partnerships (PPP) or contract financing.
He said government has received favourable response from people who would want to invest in the road sector.
Earlier Bishop Banda New Christian Life Church, on behalf of the clergy in Kabwe petitioned President Lungu and his administration to look at the state of roads, quicken the re-opening of the Zambia-China Mulungushi Textiles and considered tax w
President Lungu with South African President Cyril Ramaposa
President Edgar Lungu has expressed deep concern over reported xenophobic incidences going on in the Republic of South Africa.
However, Special Assistant to the President for Press and Public Relations, Amos Chanda, told journalists in Kabwe that no Zambian has been attacked in the current xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
Mr Chanda revealed that the reports reaching Zambia so far are that South African nationals are targeting Malawians in the xenophobic attacks that have rocked that country in the last few days.
He said in retaliation, Malawian nationals yesterday set a South African bus, a situation which he described as ugly occurrence.
Mr Chanda said President Lungu, as Chairperson for Troika, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) organ on peace, defence and security, has since called SADC Chairperson and Namibia’s President, Hage Geingob to express his concern.
He said President Lungu has urged President Geingob to rally solidarity in support South African authorities to deal with the problem as soon as possible so that peace and security is restored immediately.
Mr Chanda said President Lungu wants to ensure that the problem is sorted out soon so that SADC retains its exemplary character as a peaceful bloc in the African Union.
He said the President Lungu and President Geingob will soon engage their South African counterpart, President Cereal Ramaphosa, in the shortest time possible to deal with the matter so that it is brought under control.
He said so far, the Ministry of International Development and Cooperation in South Africa, through its Minister, Lindiwe Sisulu, will soon convene an urgent meeting for selected SADC members, among them Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi, Botswana and Namibia.
Mr Chanda said president Lungu does not want to see citizens of one country to be averse to the citizens of other countries within the SADC region.
He added that the High Commission in South Africa was working closely with the South African Department of International Relations to ensure that the Zambian community in that country was safe.
Concerned at the incidents of xenophobia in S/Africa, Pres. Lungu has telephoned Namibia Pres. Geingob, the chair of SADC, to rally regional solidarity to support S/Africa deal with this ugly stain on the region. SADC Organ chair also concerned at retaliatory action from Malawi.
“…But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead.” (Philippians 3:13, ESV)
Forget What Lies Behind
Many people don’t fully understand what it means to forget the past. One definition of the word “forget” is “to disregard intentionally, or to overlook.” You have to intentionally disregard your past so that it doesn’t keep you from moving forward. That means the good and the bad. If we’re not careful, even our past victories can keep us from rising higher if we get too comfortable where we are. God wants to take us from glory to glory, but if we don’t let go of the old, we’ll never be able to embrace the new. It’s time to forget what lies behind. Put it away once and for all. When you release it, it’s an act of your faith. Focus all your energy on moving forward. Trust that God has new levels of victory, peace and favor. Trust that He’s working behind the scenes on your behalf. As you forget what lies behind and press forward, you will see the abundant life the Lord has in store for you!
A Prayer for Today
“Father in Heaven, I choose to forget the past today. I don’t want anything to hold me back from the future You have prepared for me. I choose forgiveness and ask that You help me, by Your Spirit, to press forward in every area of my life. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.”
A 35 year old Tanzanian national has been crashed to death by a Tanzania Zambia Railway Authority (TAZARA) goods train at Nakonde in Muchinga Province while one has suffered multiple body injuries.
Nakonde District Commissioner Filed Simwinga has confirmed the incident to the Zambia News and Information Services (ZANIS) in Nakonde yesterday.
Mr. Simwinga said that the incident happened around 13:30 hours yesterday when the duo while riding a motor bike were trying to cross the rail line into Chiyanga at the Zambia Tanzania border.
The deceased has been identified as John kandonga while the injured victim has not yet been identified but is also believed to be a Tanzanian national.
An eye witness told ZANIS that the duo while riding on a motor bike failed to stop at a railway crossing despite seeing an approaching train which was also honking.
The eye wittiness added that the rider and his passenger of the motor bike ignored the warning of the train and proceeded to cross the rail line and were hit and dragged for a distance of 150 meters with the motor bike trapped under the train.
The body of deceased is lying at Nakonde district hospital mortuary awaiting post mortmain and repatriation to Tanzania.
Motor bikes in Nakonde are mostly used by cross borders to and fro Tanzania.
President Edgar Lungu has directed that a review should be undertaken to assess performance of persons who should remain in positions or not, for failure to deliver services to the people of Zambian.
People Lungu said officers who have failed to perform should own up and declare that they had failed to work.
The Head of State’s comments come in the wake of the spilling effluent he found in the Kabwe Central Business District as he took part in the Keep Zambia, Clean, Green and Healthy Campaign.
He said the officers should take responsibility and own up whether it was the lack of equipment or incompetence instead of taking the blame game on each other.
Mr Lungu said he would be glad if people did not have working tools because in that manner he would be able to ask them why they were failing to procure working tools.
He said it was frustrating to note that people tasked with the responsibility only showed the zeal and enthusiasm to work when he was around.
‘I know that when I go back people will take it as business as usual, it can’t be like that. You have to take a review of who should remain in position and who should not, ‘’ he said.
Lukanga Water and Sewerage Managing Director Kapusana Mushani and Kabwe Mayor Prince Chileshe were all at pains to explain to the Head of State as to why they had allowed such a situation in the wake of cholera.
And Central Province Minister Sydney Mushanga said he had taken responsibility on behalf of Kabwe Municipal Council and that he would ensure that people who have been charged with the responsibilities to serve the Zambian people in different capacities deliver on their responsibilities.
Mr Mushanga said he would not wait for the Head of State to come from Lusaka to come and ensure that people come and perform their duties diligently.
The Provincial Minister has since assured the President that the situation would not repeat itself.
Earlier, the President took part in an early morning jogging exercise.
Lumwana Radiants stunned hosts Nkana 2-1 at Nkana Stadium in Kitwe to collect their debut league win over the 12-time Zambian champions.
It was also a historic result for Lumwana who beat Nkana for the first time since they were promoted in 2016 and did it in style away at Fortress Wusakile.
Nkana had prior to the shock home defeat won four and drew three matches against the perennial relegation battlers Lumwana.
Musonda Siame put Lumwana ahead in the 25th minute but Nkana forward Fred Tshimenga equalized from the penalty spot in the 55th minute.
Jacob Phiri then struck in the 86th minuteto hand second from bottom Lumwana their second league victory of the season and one for the history books.
Lumwana, though, stay second from bottom tied on 9 points with Nkana who are just above them at number eight after suffering their second league defeat of the 2019 FAZ Super Division Pool B campaign.
Lumwana and Nkana have played ten and seven games played respectively but the latter enjoy a better goal difference.
Defending champions Zesco United dismantled ailing Green Buffaloes 3-1 on Saturday afternoon at home in Ndola to return to winning ways in Pool A of the 2019 FAZ Super Division season.
The victory marked Zesco’s first league home game since February 16 when they drew 0-0 with Pool A leaders Zanaco at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola.
Jesse Were, Clement Mwape and Lazarus Kambole were all on target in the 10th , 45th and 79th minutes respectively to also give Zesco their first league win since beating Nakambala Leopards 2-0 on February 6 at the same venue.
Zesco are fourth on 13 points after the win from seven matches with three games in hand.
The defending champions are seven points behind Pool A leaders Zanaco who only play fifth placed Red Arrows, who have 10 points, on Sunday in a Lusaka derby at Nkoloma Stadium.
Buffaloes stay third from bottom at number eight on 8 points from ten games.
