Justice Minister George Kunda says government’s position on the national constitution conference is irreversible and will go ahead with the process of the holding the conference.

Mr. Kunda says the act is now law and its implementation has commenced and will
not allow any obstacles to hinder its progression.

He says government has already given in to many demands from those with
dissenting views.

Mr. Kunda said this in Kafue today when he officiated at the swearing in ceremony
of Kafue District Council Chairman Goodson Sansakuwa and Vice Chairperson
Margaret Jeffries held in the council chamber.

He said the majority of Zambians have overwhelmingly accepted the conference
and are in support of government.

Mr. Kunda wondered why some non governmental organizations want to boycott
the National Constitution Conference, NCC despite government bowing down to
their demands.

He said everything was in motion and submission of names of persons to sit on the
conference has started.

Mr. Kunda urged the council to nominate one suitable councilor from Kafue whose
name should be submitted to the ministry of local government and housing for
onward submission to the secretary to cabinet.

The minister explained that councilors from each district will debate and bring out
issues in the NCC which will deal with local governance.

He urged the council to secure copies of the NCC Act and have them circulaed to
members of the public so that they understand the process.

And Mr. Kunda congratulated the two civic leaders for  having been elected into
office and urged them to work hard for the betterment of Kafue.

He urged them to spearhead the Make Zambia Clean and Healthy Campaign
programme in the disrict as this is the wish of the Republic President Dr. Levy
Mwanawasa who launched the campaign early this year.

Mr. Kunda also called on the council to employ qualified staff if service delivery in
local authorities is to be effective and efficient.

He said any officers found unqualified should be removed from positions that
require qualified persons.

The Minister also warned that government will not this year release cosntitutional
development funds to councils which fail to account for past funds dispersed to
districts.

He said government has since released K30 billion for constituencies to the ministry
of local government and housing.

And Kafue District Council Chairman, Goodson Sansakuwa assured the minister
that councilors in Kafue were in full support of government and the constitutional
making process.

He said councilors will ensure that they  use the NCC for airing out their views on
developmental issues affecting Kafue.

Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa has warned the opposition and civic groups that they will face treason charges if they reject his government’s plans to amend the constitution, state media reported on Wednesday.”President Mwanawasa says people daring his government over the National Constitution Conference (NCC) will be arrested for treason,” ZNBC radio said.

In 2004, Zambia launched a constitution review commission that toured the country collecting views and recommended that the constitution should be adopted by an assembly of eminent people before being passed by parliament.

But leaders of political parties, including the ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD), have agreed instead to present a bill to parliament to amend only selected parts of the constitution, a move rejected by the opposition.

“Any more nonsense bordering on malice, they are going to be arrested and charged with treason. As you know, treason is not bailable,” state television quoted Mwanawasa as saying.

Mwanawasa was elected for a second term in 2006 in a vote foreign observers declared largely fair and transparent. But the opposition said the election was fraudulent.

ECONOMIC SUCCESS

Critics question Mwanawasa’s commitment to democracy, saying his government has failed to give ordinary Zambians a say in drafting a new constitution, a process that had been scheduled to start in August and one that will take a year to complete.

“The president wants to make it impossible for those with contrary views to discuss the contents of the constitution because he wants his views and the government’s views to prevail over the people’s views,” said Chileshe Mulenga, head of the Institute for Economic and Social Research think tank.

“What this entails is producing another constitution that will lack legitimacy as has been the problem in the past. Mwanawasa’s constitution will be like a castle built on the sand. It will lack legitimacy.”

Mwanawasa, who built his reputation as a lawyer for the former opposition, has made Zambia a rare African economic success story. But his policies have come under growing scrutiny.

Despite securing a huge debt relief package and major investments from China and India, Mwanawasa has battled a growing public perception that he has done little to benefit most of Zambia’s 11.5 million people.

Zambias copper industry — its economic lifeblood — is booming. Yet 65 percent of Zambians live below the World Bank’s poverty threshold of $1 per day.

By Shapi Shacinda(Reuters)

A LUSAKA magistrate’s court has heard that former State House aide Richard Sakala allegedly instructed the Zambia Privatisation Agency (ZPA) to transfer all parastatal houses to the Presidential Housing Initiative (PHI).

Former Indeco Estates managing director, Kalumyana Silumesi 56, was testifying in the case in which Sakala is charged with a Lusaka resident Nelly Chungu, of obtaining execution of a valuable security by false pretences and forging of a deed of transfer.

Sakala is accused of inducing George Chanda who was Chief executive officer at Indeco Estates with an indenture of assignment relating to stand number 6955 in Longacres, in favour of Helen Mumba Waine between August 16, 1999 and December 21, 2001 with intent to defraud.

It is alleged that Sakala pretended that the Government had decided that the stand should not be purchased by Joritus Enterprises which had already paid K140 million because it was involved in the construction of the PHI.

Mr Silumesi told Magistrate, Sharon Newa that at the time, he lived at number 5 Kapumpe area which belonged to Maamba Collieries and that later, he received a letter from ZPA that Maamba collieries was sold to a company called BENCOM.

He was informed that the Government policy was to sell houses to sitting tenants and that the house he was living in and a Guest House in Olympia Park were chosen to be part of the sale to BENCOM.

Mr Silumesi told the court that he went to ZPA where he saw the chief executive officer, John Cruickshank who informed him that they had instructions from Sakala who was then PHI chairman, that all parastatal houses should be passed on to PHI.

He claimed that he did not see Sakala because PHI was not a legal entity and that he later confided in his friend Peter Machungwa to help him get a house, which he promised to do but stated that he was not comfortable with Sakala.

“Machungwa later came and said he had bought the property at K24 million using Emmanuel Chibwe’s name. I was disappointed and let down and he informed me that he was expecting the Taskforce on Corruption to approach him as the matter was being investigated and that if I was approached, I should say I knew Chibwe,” he said.

The court heard that at the time Mr Silumesi was Indeco managing director, a Mr Emmanuel Nyirenda was board chairman until 1999 when Sakala assumed chairmanship.

Mr Silumesi said later he was informed by Sakala that his contract was terminated and that was how he handed over to a Mr George Chanda.

In cross examination by Sakala, Mr Silumesi said ZPA evicted him from the house and not PHI and that the house was vacant and that he applied for it through ZPA and not PHI.

He maintained that Mr Cruickshank told him that he received a letter from Sakala saying the property should be transferred to PHI and was told it belonged to PHI.

Chungu did not cross examine the witness. The matter comes on November 8,9 and14 for hearing.

VICE President Rupiah Banda has paid glowing tribute to organisations and individuals that have risen above personal interests to be part of the Constitution-making process via the National Constitution Conference (NCC).

Mr Banda said in Lusaka yesterday that even as he commended those who had opted to participate in the Constitution making, it was hopeful that NGOs and Church organisations which have indicated unwillingness to participate would change heart.

Mr Banda said boycotting the NCC was not a solution and urged those who had opted to stay away to reconsider their positions and join the rest of the country and participate in the NCC in order to provide Zambia with a Constitution which the country desired.

Mr Banda who was speaking when he welcomed Dr Mwanawasa from the United States of America at the Lusaka’s International airport yesterday assured the President that the Constitution-making process was progressing well.

He told Dr Mwanawasa that the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ), the House of Chiefs and a lot of Churches and citizens recently voted to be part of the historic process and commended them for their stance.

He further congratulated Dr Mwanawasa for being bestowed with a doctorate degree in law saying the honour had brought the country pride.

He encouraged him to continue to work hard as he has done in the past six years as the fruits of his labour were there for all to see.

He said the young people of Zambia were humbled that he decided to dedicate his doctorate to them.

And a pupil from David Kaunda National Technical High School, Gideon Muzamba said Zambian youths celebrated with Dr Mwanawasa on his being awarded a doctorate degree and accepted the gift dedicated to the young people.

He said the youths would cherish the honour given to them by working hard so as to uphold the moral fibre of justice in the nation.

“May your spirit of fighting all shades of injustice in our nation be sustained by the youths of Zambia in your honour. We want to assure you that we will rise as youths of Zambia to your level of doctorate and beyond to be called professors,” he said.

Government is determined to enact a new constitution or make substantial amendments to the current one on the basis of what the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) will decide, Minister of Justice George Kunda has assured.

“The conference will also decide on whether the whole constitution should be put to a referendum. The NCC is structured in a democratic manner and participants will have a wide latitude on how to proceed,” Mr Kunda said.

He said this at the Zambia Institute of Mass Communication in Lusaka in a major statement to a four-day media workshop on advanced political reporting on the constitution-making process.

“The new constitution or part thereof will have to be enacted by Parliament eventually and later consented to by the President, whether or not it passes through a referendum,” he said.

Mr Kunda said it was not too late for those who had boycotted the NCC, like the Oasis Forum, to come along and participate because the process was all-inclusive.

He said should the Oasis Forum stick to their boycott, Government would accept their democratic right and proceed with those willing to participate.

“We shall get there and enact a new constitution,” he said.

He said the quorum of the NCC would be 50 per cent of the total membership and, therefore, any proposed boycott by any member would not render the process invalid.

Mr Kunda said the majority of the invited stakeholders were willing to participate and had since given Government an overwhelming response on the nomination of their representatives to sit on the NCC.

He said the Oasis Forum’s shifting of goal posts was amazing and wondered whether the organisation and its supporters had a genuine intention to improve the constitution.

“Some of these people, from our assessment, are using the constitutional review process as a political agenda because they have no other meaningful political agenda to pursue,” he said.

He said it was now time to move forward and stakeholders must focus their arguments on contents of the draft constitution rather than the composition of the NCC.

He said claims by some stakeholders that the NCC’s composition was skewed towards Government were an afterthought, as they did not raise such issues before the parliamentary committee that fine-tuned the proposed Bill.

He said the NCC’s composition, as finally enacted, followed what the Mung’omba Constitution Review Commission (CRC) had recommended, except that some adjustments had been made to improve the composition.

Mr Kunda said while Government had accepted establishment of the Constituent Assembly to adopt the new Constitution, the CRC’s recommendations that its decisions should be final and legally binding was in conflict with Articles 62 and 79 of the current constitution and, therefore, not acceptable.

“Of course, the CRC contradicted itself when it observed that the CA would have legislative authority but at the same time recommended that its decisions should be final and legally binding,” he said.

Mr Kunda said the CA was an institution normally used to make or adopt a constitution in emergent states, especially after a revolution, grant of independence or dissolution of an illegitimate system of government.

He said the neutral term “Constitution Conference” which the government had settled for accommodated those who had been advocating an indaba, national convention or the CA.

“Our position as Government is that the NCC which we have opted for has the same characteristics as the CA proposed by the CRC,” he said.

He said the NCC Act was the only legal basis for constitutional review and would guide the nation in enacting a new constitution.

The NCC would deliberate on the CRC draft constitution and make decisions on various aspects. He urged potential NCC members to study the draft constitution and report.

Mr Kunda urged journalists to be objective and avoid sensational reporting on the constitutional review as recklessness or misinformation could cause irreparable damage to the process and the nation.

“The manner in which journalists present their stories and views greatly influence public perception or opinion on any subject,” he said.

“The constitutional review process is a sensitive and emotive subject which requires a high standard of ethical reporting,” he said.

Government expected journalists to be motivated by genuine national interest and the desire to promote the country’s democratic dispensation.

He emphasised the importance for journalists to embrace divergent views in their reporting.

“Such a method of communicating makes it easy for a reader to make a good decision on what the issues are in the constitution-making process, thereby enhancing the exercise of a person’s freedom of choice,” he said.

Mr Kunda said although various media organisations had their own unique policies, the common factor should be pursuit of truth, justice and fairness.

“As a lawyer, I must also add one requirement, that is, in whatever we do as journalists, we should be conscious of the laws of Zambia and the rights and liberties of the people we report on,” he said.

He said media reporting should not be targeted at the elite and that it was necessary for the media to reach people in all types of different settings and orientation.

“This includes persons in rural areas, the illiterate and other vulnerable or disadvantaged populations,” he said.

Daily Mail

At least 15 persons were tragically killed and 13 more left with multiple injuries after the bus in which they were travelling from the Zambian copper mining town of Chingola was involved in a head-on crash with a freight truck, the police said here Sunday.

Spokesperson for the Zambian police, Crispin Kapela, said the accident happened Saturday evening, but a full report on it was only made to police headquarters Sunday morning.

Altogether, there were 28 persons on the passenger bus, and the driver and his conductor were among the dead.

“What happened was that two trucks carrying goods were in a convoy from Kitwe (south of the accident spot) and heading towards the town of Chingola when the driver of the truck behind the other tried to overtake, and in the process came head-on upon the bus that was driving in the other lane,” Kapela said.

With little space in which to manoeuvre the bus driver was left stranded until the two vehicles crashed into each other.

Kapela said the injured were immediately ferried to various hospitals and clinics in the nearby copper mining town of Chingola, where they are now receiving treatment.

He blamed the truck driver for having ignored standard road safety regulations concerning overtaking on major roads, adding the bus was on its right lane when the truck crashed into it.

Mr Kapela said the driver, Abudi Rashidi, of the truck would be charged with causing death by dangerous driving.

A clergyman in Lusaka says the National Constitution Conference (NCC) is a catalyst to unity in the nation as opposed to dividing it.

Zambia Hope International president, Adamson Musonda, says bickering on the mode of enacting the new constitution will not help Zambia.

Pastor Musonda notes that the NCC is the cheapest way to the constitution making
process.

Pastor Musonda was speaking in an interview with ZANIS in Lusaka today.

He further called upon some civil society organisations, political parties and
pressure groups wishing to ‘shun’ the NCC to consider participating because the NCC
has provision to accommodate all concerned issues to the constitution making
process.

And Pastor Musonda has called on government to dialogue with the key stakeholders in
addressing the constitution making process, adding that  dialogue is the remedy to
addressing the aspirations of the Zambian people.

The NCC has been received with mixed feelings and some key stakeholders are pulling
out of the constitutional making process, saying this would dilute the legitimacy of
adopting the new constitution that will stand a test of time.

The Oasis Forum, which comprises a number of civil society and church organisations,
and the opposition Patriotic Front (PF) have since pulled out of the NCC, alleging
that some of the important issues in the constitution making process have not been
addressed.

Defence minister, George Mpombo has called for an end to political differences among politicians in Mazabuka in Southern Province to foster development.

The minister said political differences have  frustrated development because
politicians spent their energies on attacking each other instead of initiating
programmes meant to uplift the living standrds of the poor people.

Mr Mpombo said councillors, Members of Parliament, Town Clerk and District
commissioner  should  work as a team to open up development.

He observed that Mazabuka district has great potential for an economic boom but
regretted that its potential has not been exploited.

The minister was speaking in Mazabuka during the installation ceremony of Mayor
Edmund Cheelo and his deputy, Alfred Kawale.

He said the electorates are not interested in squabbles but development.

Mr Mpombo also advised the councillors to offer constructive criticism and avoid
undermining the mayor if he has to perform his civic duties well.

He said destructive criticism will only retard development.

And speaking earlier, Mayor Cheelo assured the minister that his council will
continue providing required services to the residents.

Mr Cheelo also informed the minister that his council has a vision to attain city
status by 2015.