Maravi

Fruitful presidents’ summit

Fruitful presidents’ summit
By Editor
Monday June 25, 2007 [04:00]

It is said that many hands make light work. If many people share the workload, it becomes lighter. It is also said that dialogue is the lifeblood of democracy. Where there is no dialogue, even a simple issue will be complicated. That is why a democratic political order must be based on the majority principle, especially in a country where the vast majority have been systematically denied their rights.

It is from this background that we would like to commend President Levy Mwanawasa and all the other political party leaders who saw the need to meet at Mulungushi International Conference under the auspices of the Zambia Centre for Inter-party Dialogue to reach consensus on the many challenges facing the country, including the constitution-making process. It was surely a fruitful gathering of our political leaders.

This Saturday event showed that when people are ready to meet and negotiate and ultimately agree on a common position, nothing would be impossible. They can move mountains merely with their will. People depend on each other for success in the same way there is mutual dependence in the act of hand washing. It is said that hands wash each other.

If Levy had realised a long time ago that no matter how powerful he can be, there is nothing he can achieve all by himself, a lot of progress could have been recorded in the constitution-making process.
There had been many abortive meetings between Levy and the various stakeholders in the constitution-making process mainly because Levy wanted to talk down to these stakeholders, he wanted to show them that he knew and they did not and that his will would carry the day. That is why he was even able to dare everyone that the government roadmap on the adoption of the constitution was final. And because of this rigid stance, Levy saw all those who opposed him on this score as his enemies. Levy was not ready to compromise on this issue.
And consequently, the catastrophic results were visible for all to see. No meaningful progress was recorded on this simple issue of adopting a new constitution for ourselves. Straightforward matters were complicated all because Levy was under the mistaken view that striking a compromise in this matter would undermine his own position.
We hope the words of justice minister George Kunda that Zambians must now put the debate on the adoption process behind them and concentrate on giving themselves a constitution that would stand the test of time are well-meaning. We say this because there have been several occasions when the government has failed to live up to its pronouncements. It has shifted goal posts on many occasions. Kunda says Zambians, under the Constitutional Conference or anything they will choose to call the assembly, will assemble to agree on the contents of the new constitution before it is enacted. This has always been the wish of Zambians and we hope the government will not at some point come up with another definition of a constitutional conference.

The issue of a good constitution is cardinal to the country in as far as good governance is concerned. This is why Zambians are thirsty for a constitution that will be stable in order to stand the test of time. And this is why we feel that the government, as a key participant in this process, should build on the spirit of togetherness which was exhibited at the Mulungushi summit last Saturday and embrace more stakeholders to ensure that maximum consensus is reached.

We say this because the group that agreed to move the constitution-making process forward was mainly composed of politicians. But politicians are not the only stakeholders in this process, important as they are. There should be deliberate efforts by this group that met on Saturday to link up with the civil society who may include the Church, the labour movement and the student movement and strategise to move together as one force. This will be the quickest way of reaching the much talked about consensus. No one group should be seen to domineer or to be in charge of the process. All the participants must feel a sense of ownership and belonging if meaningful consensus has to be achieved.

There is also need for clarity on a number of issues. There is no need for ambiguity, especially on the part of the government. Indeed, our people should remain vigilant until a legitimate constitution is put in place. They should continue to demand that their wishes, aspirations and desires prevail, and not the desires and aspirations of a sitting President and his followers.

A lot of time has been lost in the past on the issue of the Constitution. Now that all the stakeholders seem willing to move and work together for progress, we hope this spirit will be sustained for public good. There is no need to let peripheral matters stand in the way of fundamental issues in this process. After all, insignificant things need no compromise.

Labels: EDITORIAL, GEORGE KUNDA, OASIS FORUM

posted by MrK @ 4:52 AM