Mwanawasa is insincere over constitution - Oasis Forum
Mwanawasa is insincere over constitution - Oasis ForumBy Brighton Phiri, Noel Sichalwe and Nomusa Michelo
Wednesday May 23, 2007 [04:00]
Oasis Forum spokesperson Musa Mwenye has said President Mwanawasa is insincere and untruthful over the constitution-making process. And the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) has stated that President Mwanawasa does not have all the wisdom in the constitution-making process.
Reacting to President Mwanawasa’s declaration that he would not vote for the constituent assembly, Mwenye said President Mwanawasa’s statement confirmed how inconsistent he was over the constitution-making process.
“President Mwanawasa indicated that he was to go by the will of the people when he appointed the Constitution Review Commission (CRC) and when the CRC presented its draft report to him, he supported the people’s call for the new constitution to be adopted through a constituent assembly,” Mwenye said.
“President Mwanawasa’s statement is a complete shift from his earlier position. We are not surprised with President Mwanawasa’s shift. We are comforted by the fact that the presidency is not a monopoly because he is one person. His vote, important as it may be to him, is not a determining factor.”
Mwenye said President Mwanawasa lacked the political will to assist Zambians come up with a constitution of their choice.
And UPND president Hakainde Hichilema asked President Mwanawasa to humble himself and do the right thing for the Zambian people.
“The right thing for President Mwanawasa to do is to facilitate the earliest delivery of the new constitution,” Hichilema said. “Let the people be given the new constitution now instead of issuing digressing statements. The writings are very clear on the wall, our people want the new constitution now.”
He said UPND would not lose its focus of fighting for the wishes of the people because of President Mwanawasa’s attempts to dilute the crusade for the new constitution.
Hichilema urged Zambians never to relent over their desire for a new constitution because it was an important document that would address issues affecting their lives.
“If all of us see the dehumanising conditions under which our people live, we should have all been working day and night to save life,” Hichilema said. “I am just from Kapoche where I visited Nyanje clinic, one could easily see death in the eyes of the innocent children because the hospital has no incubator.”
He said the new constitution would help prevent wasteful expenditure of public resources.
“We will save money from frivolous and wasteful expenditure on by-elections,” he said.
Hichilema cautioned President Mwanawasa against misunderstanding UPND’s politeness over national issues.
Constitutional lawyer Patrick Matibini said concerns over government’s delay in enacting a new constitution were legitimate.
Matibini said it was clear from the Willa Mung’omba CRC that the majority Zambians made submissions demanding the new constitution to be adopted through a constituent assembly.
He said the adoption of the constitution through a constituent assembly was by definition and nature the most democratic way of enacting a constitution.
Matibini said a constitution was a peculiar law of the land because it created government and respected the social contract with people.
“It is inconceivable in my view at this juncture whether we should at all be debating the adoption of the constitution through a constituent assembly,” Matibini said.
“The issue now should be putting in place mechanisms, legislative or otherwise that are necessary to the establishment of a constituent assembly. We have gone past the debate of whether or not we should adopt the new constitution through a constituent assembly.”
On President Mwanawasa’s statement that he would not personally vote for constituent assembly, Matibini said the President had a democratic right to vote for whatever he wanted.
“Complaints about delays in enacting a new constitution are genuine considering that the Mung’omba CRC report was tendered last year. So the concerns are legitimate,” he said. “You know the first sitting of the National Assembly didn’t have an opportunity to consider the legislative piece that could have facilitated the adoption of a new constitution through a constituent assembly.”
And Mwenye, in response to queries from parliamentarians, said history had always shown that people would always have their will to get a new constitution regardless of the time spent because they held the power.
Chairperson of the parliamentary committee on legal affairs governance, human rights and gender matters Jack Mwiimbu wanted to know LAZ’s recommendation on President Mwanawasa’s statement that he would vote against a constituent assembly.
“People have left the Office of the President, and some have left dishonourably, the plea to the President is that at the end of the day, this constitution will be enacted, he can be given credit for it or he can decide to divest his opportunity to receive credit for enacting a constitution,” he said. And presenting the submission to the committee, Mwenye called for the urgent enactment of the constituent assembly Bill to pave way for a constituent assembly. He said the contents of the constituent assembly Bill should be agreed upon by all stakeholders.
Labels: CONSTITUTION, CRC, HAKAINDE HICHILEMA, MWANAWASA, OASIS FORUM
posted by MrK @ 8:20 PM
2 Comments:
I don't understand why Mwanawasa is proving illusive over our constitutional making process. The only thing that comes to my mind is a feeling that he wants to see the legacy of MMD for the next 3 decades. His actions at the moment are a great derailment to our young democracy. He has reverted to leadership of threats and intimidation for those who are fighting a noble cause.
Being a lawyer I thought he understands law at it's best and that freedom of speech and assembly are a right not a privilege. People are tired of politics even when it is not necessary. Zambia needs a constitution which will reflect the aspirations of the majority of Zambians and not merely what politicians think.
Lawrence,
Maybe this goes being securing the MMD party legacy. If a different party came to power, it would be obvious they would prosecute all the MMD to the maximum of the law.
I think that is behind the intransigence on having a popular constitution.
Also, if there is a proper separation of the powers of state, then we will never again see these opportunities for corruption.
If the civil service, parliament, civil society organisations and the press all had their rights spelled out in the constitution, there would be huge obstacles to the kind of corruption that the MMD has come to rely upon for their operations.
His problem is that he came to power in a corrupt way (through Chiluba) and he has certainly used corruption to run the party. These oil deals are just the last thing.
Maybe there should be a blanket amnesty for the MMD, if they gave up all their perks and opposition to a sound constitution.
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