The Islamic Supreme Council of Zambia has cried foul over being left out of the 20 member technical committee appointed by President Sata to draft the new constitution.

Council Secretary General, Sheik Shaban Phiri says the Technical committee is not representative of all religions, which may be a threat to national unity.

He said that Muslims must be represented on the committee on account of their contribution to the country’s economic growth through the many businesses run by Muslims. Sheik Phiri has since disclosed that the council has written to President, Sata requesting for a redress of the matter.

And a clergyman has welcomed the appointment of a technical committee to draft a new Constitution but bemoaned the exclusion of the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ), a major church mother body.

Luapula Anglican Diocese Bishop Robert Mumbi said in an interview it was good that the committee had been appointed to immediately begin working on the new Constitution. Bishop Mumbi said he was impressed with the legal representation in the committee but said the President should still consider including the EFZ.

President Sata on Wednesday announced the appointment of a 20-member committee that included the Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) and three bishops from the Catholic Church. “It may send a wrong impression that one major Church mother body is left out when there was no such intention on the part of Government,” he said.

And Bishop Mumbi said the committee should not be restricted to completing its task within 90 days because this might compromise its work quality. He said Zambians expected a Constitution that would stand the test of time and he hoped the public would be allowed to look at, and give comments on the draft before it was referred to Parliament or to a referendum.

And the Zambian People’s Pact (ZPP) said it was happy with the composition of the committee because most of the members had been part of the Constitution-making process in the past.

ZPP national secretary Peter Sinkamba said the committee, led by former chief justice Annel Silungwe, was solid enough to come up with a Draft Constitution that would be acceptable to the people. Mr Sinkamba said focus should be on the review of past constitution commissions from 1991 in order to come up with a Draft Constitution after 90 days.

Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) president Musa Mwenye said in Lusaka yesterday that the plan to use a technical committee followed by a referendum and thereafter enactment of the Constitution through Parliament without further debate, was the best route.

“The appointment of the 20-member technical committee was only done yesterday (Tuesday) publicly. I must say that we are studying the composition and I can’t give a conclusive position on the composition,” he said. He said LAZ would support any measures that would lend credence to an all-inclusive and comprehensive constitutional review process.

Southern African Centre for Constructive Resolution of Disputes (SACCORD) executive director Lee Habasonda said while his organisation welcomed the appointment of the technical committee, there were, however, too many lawyers on the working group.

“The Constitution-making process is not just about law, it is also about socio-economic and political factors,” he said. “We also do not think that it is good for the minister of Justice to be part of discussion and process. To improve checks and balances, the minister should be involved when the draft is given to Cabinet,” he said.

UPND secretary general Winston Chibwe said the technical committee was not regionally all-inclusive and was tilted towards the Northern Province. Mr Chibwe said there was need for the president to reconsider his nomination of three Catholic bishops on the working group so that other Church mother bodies could be represented.

Zambia Land Alliance director Henry Machina said the committee of experts should critically look at the Land Chapter of the Draft Constitution and ensure that it provided protection to local people, particularly those who held customary land. “Our major concern is the displacement of rural communities who depend on land for survival by large-scale investors, often with inadequate or no compensation,” he said in a statement.

And the National Restoration Party national secretary John Phiri said there was need for the Patriotic Front Government to include youths in the Constitution-making process because it had the civic responsibility to do so.

[MUVITV/Times of Zambia]

CHINGOLA residents have expressed happiness at the court judgement that went in their favour against Konkola Copper Mines (KCM).

The Lusaka High Court last week ordered KCM to pay K10 billion as general and punitive damages to 2, 000 Chingola residents who suffered consequences of the company discharging effluent from its mining operations into Kafue River, the source of their water. The man who led the law suit, James Nyasulu Chimkowora said yesterday that he was happy that the court ruled in their favour.

Mr Chimkowora said the highest point of the judgment was not the amount of money the court had ordered the mining company to pay but the precedent that had been set. He said environmental protection laws as well as laws that empowered the general public against big industries were currently not strong. “Zambia has natural resources that require to be protected for our benefit. This is what this judgment has achieved,” he said. Mr Chimkowora said the ruling should be an example to the rest of the companies.

He said the judgment should not be seen as being against investors but as one that improved the welfare of the country. Another beneficiary of the judgement Esson Simbeye of Musuku Road in Kabundi central said this should serve as a wake up call for all the companies in the mining and other industries.

Reverend Simbeye said even if the money for compensation was not enough, the judgment had set a good lesson and raised hope for the residents of Chingola. The National Restoration Party (NAREP) on the Copperbelt said the judgment should serve as a warning to other companies to be sensitive to the rights of people that may be negatively affected by their operations.

Party provincial spokesperson David Chikwanda said the High Court decision was a step in the right direction as it was sending a warning signal to other companies to ensure that their operations did not negatively affect the people in nearby communities. “As NAREP, we welcome the High Court decision, although we believe that K5 million for each affected resident cannot be adequate compensation for the damage that the pollution has caused in the lives of the people, however, we believe that this is a step in the right direction,” Mr Chikwanda said.

The Zambia Institute of Environmental Management (ZIEM) said the judgment was a major milestone in the enforcement of environmental protection laws in Zambia. ZIEM chief executive officer Morgan Katati said in a statement in Lusaka yesterday that his organisation welcomed the judgment by the Lusaka High Court although it felt the K10-billion compensation
was inadequate in comparison to the long-term ecological impact of the pollution of Kafue River.

Mr Katati said following the judgment it was his hope that other mining companies would take a leaf especially those operating above the ambient air and water standards.

[Times of Zambia]

An opposition political party has requested president Michael Sata to include the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia on the technical committee appointed to draft the new constitution.

The Zambia for empowerment and development -ZED- which made the request says the Evangelical fellowship represents a large constituency of voters.

ZED president Fredrick Mutesa has also said the twenty member committee of experts in its current form is not balanced.

He was speaking in an interview with ZNBC news in LUSAKA on Thursday.

Dr Mutesa has observed that the last constitution making process under the MMD failed because of controversy surrounding the composition of the commissioners.

President Sata on Wednesday appointed the technical committee to draft the new republican constitution within a 12 months timeframe.

[ZNBC]

The Law Association of Zambia has dropped plans to sue the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation -ZNBC- for breaching the ZNBC Act and the Republican Constitution.

LAZ President Musa Mwenye says the council in June was concerned by the manner ZNBC operated, breaching the Act as evidenced in its unfair news coverage.

Mr. Mwenye says LAZ is now satisfied that ZNBC has improved its news coverage.

He said the association is also happy that the Ministry of Information has made it public not to interfere in the operations of the public media.

Mr. Mwenye was speaking at a joint media briefing between LAZ and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in Lusaka on Thursday.

He appealed to government to speed up the process of enacting the Freedom of Information Bill.

Mr Mwenye says the Freedom of Information law is a very important weapon in fighting corruption.

At the same briefing Information and Broadcasting Minister Given Lubinda praised LAZ for not proceeding with legal action against ZNBC .

Mr. Lubinda says the professional conduct that ZNBC has started exhibiting is testimony to the new government’s policy of non interference in operations of the Public media.

The Minister said President Michael Sata has made it clear that he will not interfere in the operations of ZNBC and other public media houses.

Mr. Lubinda has asked other institutions and the public that have cases with ZNBC to consider withdrawing them in order to save the government from paying tax payers money in litigation cases.

And ZNBC Acting Director General Victor Nyasulu has assured the public that ZNBC will Endeavour to operate professionally.

[ZNBC]

JUSTICE Minister Sebastian Zulu has said the new Constitution to be drafted by the newly-constituted team of experts will not cost more than the K300 billion the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) consumed.

No allocation has been made in the 2012 Budget for the new Constitution but Mr Chikwanda told Parliament that the Government would use other avenues to secure funds to enact the document, whose process has started within the 90 days of the Patriotic Front (PF) in Government.

He said the roadmap to be taken on the Constitution-making process would be determined by a team of experts that has since been instituted and it would be the same body that would be able to state how much the exercise would take. “The cost will be determined after this team of experts is constituted but it won’t be like what the NCC spent,” Mr Zulu said in response to an oral question by Kamfinsa Member of Parliament (MP) Moses Chishimba (PF). The parliamentarian asked what the roadmap for the making of the new Constitution was and how much money would be spent on the Constitution-making process.

Kalomo MP Request Muntanga (UPND) in a follow-up question wondered how the Government would draw the funds for the exercise which has not been provided for in the Budget but Mr Zulu said “The minister of Finance knows how to source such funds even when not in the Budget.”Muchinga MP George Kunda (MMD) asked the minister to confirm that the Constitution-making process would gobble more than a general election to the tune of K300 billion since it entailed the holding of a referendum. Mr Zulu in response said in as much as it was true that a referendum would have to be held, it would be premature to determine the cost of the Constitution-making process.

Lunte MP Felix Mutati (MMD) wondered whether it would not be prudent now that the activity of the Constitution had been known to make provisions in the Budget as it is debated for the cost of the exercise to be known, to which Mr Zulu said the proposal would be considered. Monze MP Jack Mwiimbi (UPND) asked the Government to state categorically and inform the Zambians that the pronouncement by President Michael Sata to deliver a new Constitution within 90 days had now been buried, to which Mr Zulu said the process had started within the promised period.

Siavonga MP Kennedy Hamudulu (UPND) wondered why it would be premature for the minister to state how much the exercise would cost when he had indicated it would not be more that what the NCC spent. Mr Zulu in response said the process would not take more than one year like the latter did and so it would be less costly.

Nalikwanda MP Geoffrey Lungwangwa (MMD) stated that it was a presidential directive that the Constitution should be ready within 90 days and so the minister was abrogating the directive but Mr Chikwanda said he was not aware of the directive.

Meanwhile, the Government has considered the complaints raised by the people in Luapula Province regarding the seizure of the breast milk substitutes which were being sold in violation of the law.Minister of Health Joseph Kasonde told the House in a statement that the Government had taken into consideration that there was only one outlet for the breast milk substitute products which was Shoprite Mansa.

“The ministry has decided to suspend the exercise for now and decided to call a stakeholders’ meeting this week to discuss the issue and chart the way forward,” Dr Kasonde noted.

[Times of Zambia]

Former Mines Minister Maxwell Mwale has pleaded not guilty to one count of failing to account for property believed to have been stolen or unlawfully obtained.

Mr Mwale took plea this morning before Lusaka Chief Resident Magistrate, Joshua Banda.

It is alleged that on October, 18, 2011, Mr Mwale jointly with others had in their possession 261 bicycles which were reasonably suspected to have been obtained unlawfully.

Meanwhile, Mr Mwale has been released on bail.

Chief Resident Magistrate Joshua Banda has granted Mr Mwale a K30 million bail in his own recognition.

Mr Mwale has also been ordered to give two working sureties in their own recognisance.

Earlier, Defence Lawyer Sakwiba Sikota and Sunday Nkonde applied for the bail saying that their client is facing a bailable offence.

ZNBC

ZAMBIA does not need a “stand alone” budget to formulate a new constitution that will stand the proverbial test of time when enacted, chief Government spokesperson Given Lubinda has said.

Mr Lubinda said this in an interview on Tuesday following concerns from sections of civil society that the 2012 national budget has remained silent on a new constitution.

“We are not going to enrich people through the constitution review process like what the MMD government did. The enactment of a new constitution does not need a stand-alone vote in the national budget,” he said.

Mr Lubinda said funds will be provided to enable the committee of experts that will be appointed to carry out its work and make recommendations on the constitution review process.

But Southern African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (SACCORD) executive director Lee Habasonda said it would have been better for Government to clearly show the amount of money it intended to spend on the governance process.

“As a matter of commitment, it would have been better to show it in the budget. Although it will be in the yellow book, it should have been mentioned when Minister of Finance Alexander Chikwanda presented the budget to Parliament,” Mr Habasonda said.

He argued that it is not all about the amount of money that will be spent on the enactment of the new constitution but a matter of commitment to the governance process.

Mr Habasonda said Government should have clearly indicated, as a matter of commitment, the amount of money allocated to institutions like the Human Rights Commission, Electoral Commission of Zambia and the enactment of a new republican constitution.

But Mr Lubinda insists that Mr Habasonda must not lose sleep as the PF government has put everything in place for the crucial document.

[Zambia Daily Mail]