Maravi

Miyanda asks Levy to dialogue over NCC

Miyanda asks Levy to dialogue over NCC
By Noel Sichalwe
Sunday November 18, 2007 [03:07]

HERITAGE Party president Brigadier General Godfrey Miyanda has advised President Levy Mwanawasa to convene a meeting before the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) starts sitting to resolve some contentious issues with stakeholders.

In response, President Mwanawasa through his special assistant for legal affairs Darlington Mwape acknowledged receipt of the letter, and accepted Brig Gen Miyanda's congratulations for his honourary doctorate degree and that he appreciated the advice.

"His Excellency Dr Levy P. Mwanawasa SC is in receipt of the letter of 4th instant. The President accepts your congratulations and appreciates your advice which he has duly taken into consideration," Mwape stated.

According to a letter dated October 4, 2007 addressed to President Mwanawasa, Brig Gen Miyanda stated that there was need for serious dialogue to discuss peripheral issues that might not be handled when the NCC starts sitting.

"I believe that if you are open to diverse opinions, even those that seem novel and give them serious consideration, you will succeed in bringing together this desperate nation," Brig Gen Miyanda said.

"The purpose of this letter is to take advantage of some of your widely publicised pronouncements while abroad about your belief in dialogue. Here at home, we still have issues about the National Constitutional Conference Act that can only be resolved by dialogue and hence require dialogue directly with you and not through the media."

"Since you are for dialogue, I pose the question: 'whom should you dialogue with at times such as this? I sincerely believe you should dialogue with those who disagree with you. For it is my humble view that genuine and purposeful dialogue presupposes a discussion and engagement with those whose view are contrary to yours. How can it be dialogue if it is with those who have said yes, yes, yes a hundredfold?"

Brig Gen Miyanda stated that in the political context, dialogue connoted a desire to resolve disputes and that the current and urgent dispute was the NCC.
He noted that so far, there has been no dialogue in the strict sense of the spirit of desiring to resolve a dispute. He stated that what had taken place were monologues or soliloquy of various interest groups.

Brig Gen Miyanda observed that many people seemed to have dialogued but that what had taken place was on radio programmes, answering press queries, reacting to people's statements and addressing rallies.

He stated that most people had been involved in soliloquy and that calling others cannibals for disagreeing with one's views could not be serious effort to dialogue.
"Since you are keen on dialogue then, I urge you Mr President to call those who are in disagreement with you to discuss with you their grievances or disagreements," Brig Gen Miyanda stated.

"This is not a contest in popularity. Come to think of it Mr President, would you see this as a game of numbers as some ministers are now making out? Would you agree to reduce constitution making to mere majority numbers? If a million people say or submit that the whole nation must adopt stealing as a way of life, are you going to join that group simply because they are many? Are you Mr President not on record having said that as long as you are President you will not sanction the death penalty although that is currently a constitutional provision? This shows how when one has the conviction on a matter of principle, one is never intimidated or cowed by numbers."

He told President Mwanawasa that if his position was to be inclusive, dialogue with those who did not agree with him was imperative and urgent. He said time would not be a good reason on the issue though it could be a good excuse.

Brig Gen Miyanda observed that the dialogue needed was to resolve issues external to the NCC that included matters that could not be resolved even if the NCC had assembled or formed a quorum.

He stated that the real agenda of the conference was complex and technical that could make or break the young and fragile nation. He noted that it was important that those attending were aware of the full ramification of the gathering. Brig Gen Miyanda said it was imperative that the peripheral matters were discussed before the conference could begin.

"This I dare say cannot be resolved by resorting to Section 17 which a lot of people are made to believe will help us get out of the current quandary. Section 17 refers to internal or housekeeping arrangements and not the departure from the mandate granted by the Act. In fact this very section gives a rigid time table of days, timings and occasions on which the conference can transact its business.

As you are no doubt aware, even the Law Association of Zambia have said through their president that the NCC has no mandate to correct or amend the NCC Act. In fact they do not even have the mandate to raise issues to do with any inadequacies of the Act."

Brig Gen Miyanda stated that it was not too late to engage those who disagreed with government position. He told President Mwanawasa that even as he might have assented to the NCC Bill, which was now an Act of Parliament, it was not too late to discuss with those contesting some aspects of the Act.

"If after the exchange you are still not persuaded, then so be it. I pray that such a meeting be called by the President to harmionise the positions. The advantage of this approach is that you will only remain with contentious issues that are in the body of the Mung'omba document," Brig Gen Miyanda stated.

"Yes even in the Oasis Forum and indeed the Zambia Centre for Interparty Dialogue ZCID, there may be those not agreed on all issues as even members of those organisations. But it makes sense to reduce the number of disagreements and narrow them to substantive issues."
He informed President Mwanawasa that some of his ministers had stated that those who were not happy with the process would meet in court.

However, Brig Gen Miyanda argued that meeting in court should be the last resort since the results damaged relationships and made dialogue acrimonious.

"I pray that you are sufficiently magnanimous to have a fresh look at the objections to the NCC Act and call for a meeting with those disputing some aspects of it. The Heritage Party would be ready to engage in such a meeting with you," Brig Gen Miyanda said.

In the letter, Brig Gen Miyanda had also congratulated President Mwanawasa for his recent honourary doctorate bestowed on him by Harding University of the United States.

Labels: GENERAL MIYANDA, NCC

posted by MrK @ 6:24 AM