-The National Constitution Convention has resolved that the new constitution should be adopted through a National Referendum to allow for a national consensus.

The decision came following the recommendation from the thematic working group on General Principles of Governance which proposed that the document be adopted via a national referendum.

But Request Muntanga noted that the whole process has no legal framework and that the mode of adoption could have been known if there was a legal framework to specify how the process would be carried out.

Mr Muntanga said the Technical Committee should be clear on issues of legal framework which mandates them to work on the document.

But Former Speaker of the National Assembly Amusa Mwanamwambwa supported the proposal to adopt the constitution via a National Referendum and further proposed that the referendum be held within a timeframe of 90 days after the document is submitted to the President.
And Pastor Luchile from Luapula noted that what is important was the mode of adoption which is the referendum and not necessarily the issue of legal framework.

He said a referendum will cheer all Zambians as they will participate in adopting their document.

Contributing to the motion on the floor, Heritage Party President said there was need to give the technical committee and the drafts to go through the document and rush them into submitting it so that it is quickly subjected to a referendum.

Gen Muyanda said even the Zambia people needs time to read the document before they vote in a referendum adding that the whole process is time consuming just like a general election hence the need not to rush.

And Katele Kalumba suggested that Parliament should enact legislation on the mode of adoption of the document immediately after it is submitted to the president.

The house unanimously adopted the referendum as a mode of adopting the new constitution but did not specify the timeframe within which it should be adopted.

The mode of adopting the new constitution has been a hot issue since the time the constitution making process started and many organisations and institutions have called for a referendum as the best way of adopting the document.

When the National Convention opened on Wednesday this week, the topic of deciding the mode of adopting the constitution and the legality of the whole process were raised and some delegates almost divided the convention which had then just assembled.

The constitution national conference has adopted Article 18 of the draft constitution which provides that a Zambian Citizen can acquire dual-citizenship.

Article 18 (1) in the draft constitution states that “A citizen shall not lose citizenship by acquiring the citizenship of another country”.

The proposal was widely supported, though some delegates from the Government wondered why a Zambian should acquire citizenship of another country.

But the majority of the delegates said the constitution was not only for now but was mainly for the children who would find themselves in situations where they would need dual citizenship.

The Government has been on record of not supporting the Dual Citizenship clause.

Last year when President Michael Sata addressed Zambians in London, he said that amending the law to allow dual citizenship has its consequences. Mr Sata said that if the law was changed, there will be more Zambians and jobs will be taken away by other nationalities living in the country.

In response to a question from a Zambian living in England during a dinner hosted for him at the Zambian High Commissioner’s residence. Mr Sata advised Zambians living abroad to return home and compete for jobs with their compatriots.

The President also said that he has a duty to protect the majority of Zambians especially poor citizens.

The Vice President Guy Scott also expressed a similar sentiment of not being in support of the Dual Citizenship clause. Addressing Zambians living in Western Australia at Edith Cowan University in Perth when he addressed in 2011, Dr Scott said that although the issue of having dual citizenship among Zambians could be important and helpful to some, government was worried that other people might misuse it for dubious activities.

“The issue of dual citizenship was important but we are worried about the misuse it will bring. But it would be important that you are entitled to that,” he told Zambians in Perth.

And during the provincial Convention, Government Ministers rejected the inclusion of the Dual Citizenship clause. Leading the charge during debates, Chief Government spokesperson Kennedy Sakeni said that the clause should be rejected on patriotic and nationalist grounds.

Debating on the motion, Mr Sakeni urged Zambians to critically look at the issue of dual citizenship and ensure that it was not allowed in Zambia.

“AS Zambians, let us critically look at the issue of dual citizenship and take the interest of the nation at heart. Why do people want to be citizens of other countries in the first place,” Mr Sakeni said.

His sentiments were echoed by Labour Deputy Minister Ronald Chitotela who argued that dual citizenship would make it difficult to extradite Zambians who committed crimes if they moved to other countries where they had citizenship.

“Let us denounce dual citizenship because even countries like United Kingdom are having difficulties to extradite criminals,” Labour Deputy Minister Ronald Chitotela said.

With the adoption at the ongoing national convention, the Dual Citizenship clause stands a good chance of being included in the final Draft Constitution to be ready by the end of June.

Dr Canisius Banda, the man heavily linked with the position of UPND Vice President says he has not been approached by the party over taking up the role.

In an interview, Dr Banda said he is still a committed member of the MMD and serving as Chairman for Health.

Some online media reports have reported that Dr. Banda will officially be unveiled to the media next week as the UPND Vice President, in a move most analysts view as a positive step towards stemming perception that the UPND is a tribal party.

But Dr Banda said that he may consider such an appointment if it came through after serious consultation with family, friends and the community.

“Leadership is not about self. It is about the people that you seek to serve, so I will consult if am formally approached,” Dr. Banda said.

Dr. Banda said he entered politics to serve the Zambian people and pay back for the education he obtained using Zambian tax payers money.

“Today I’m a Master of Public Health and I never went to private school, I was educated by the Zambian tax payer in public schools and I will be available if called up to serve the people,” he said.

He said opposition parties need to strengthen their collaborations in order to protect democracy which he said is under threat in Zambia.

Republican Vice President Dr Guy Scott says the country lagged behind in terms of development because of the massive corruption that was perpetuated by the former government of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD).

Dr Scott said huge sums of money which was meant for development in the nation landed into wrong hands by ruthless leaders who looted the funds for their selfish motives.

Dr Scott said this yesterday during a vigorous campaign trail to drum up support for the Patriotic Front (PF) candidate Eillen Imbwae in Kanshishi, Manjolo, and Mumbumbu wards in the newly created Mitete district in Likulu West constituency in Western Province.

The Vice president said corruption is a cancer to the nation because the vice retards development.

And Dr Scott has urged traditional leaders in the nation to help the PF government in fighting corruption.

He said it is high time government curtails and bring sanity in the nation because Zambians are expecting a lot from government.

He said Zambians should not worry under the PF government because President Sata is the father of democracy in the country and won’t tolerate corruption.

Dr Scott also promised the people from the three wards of relief food should they face the deficit of the staple food in the constituency.

He said having worked under the MMD government during the Chiluba regime he knows very well the resources of the nation were not applied appropriately hence the reason why the President Sata and him left the party to form the PF.

He further stated that the ruling party is the engine of development and warned the electorates in Lukulu not to vote for the opposition candidate on April 23, 2013.

Dr Scott said it is only the ruling government which is able to secure development in the country because they have resources to develop the nation.

The Vice President also told the people of Lukulu West that the PF administration will ensure that development is taken closer to the people of Mitete district.

And PF candidate for the Lukulu West By-elections Eilleen Imbwae said the PF is the only party which is able to uplift the living standards of Zambians.

Ms Imbwae said once voted as MP she’ll ensure that she works tirelessly for the electorates in the area.

She further appealed to the electorates to give her 100 per cent votes on April 23, 2013.

Ms imbwae who spoke in Luvale to the electorates said people shouldn’t experiment with leaders who won’t work for them but only satisfy themselves.

ZANIS