Maravi

It’s a circus

It’s a circus
Written by Editor

The revelations by delegates at the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) that some members have been signing for allowances without attending the sessions are unsettling. We say this, more so, because this involves taxpayers' money. In short, this is outright theft of public funds and those involved should be arrested and prosecuted.

The NCC was established through an Act of Parliament as a forum to debate and adopt proposals to alter the Constitution as proposed in the Mung'omba draft constitution. The setting up of the NCC followed the people's recommendations to the Mung'omba Constitution Review Commission that the constitution should be adopted by a constituent assembly, constitutional conference or any other popular body that would represent the views of the people.

We should not forget that it is not a secret that the government ignored the people's views over the constituent assembly and that was the more reason why many people opposed the setting up of the NCC. But the government was adamant on the matter.

Reluctantly, some sections of the Church, political parties and civil society organisations accepted government's proposal to set up the NCC but feared that the bill that sought to set this constitution-making body, which was formulated on Zambia Centre for Interparty Dialogue Roadmap, advocated for piecemeal amendments of the Constitution and reserved the right of Parliament to debate and amend the recommendations of the constitutional conference. The stakeholders felt that the bill was retrogressive as it merely limited the NCC to making recommendations to the Minister of Justice.

However, the government ignored the people's wishes and went ahead to take the NCC bill to Parliament. The bill sailed through Parliament and president Levy Mwanawasa accented to it, making it law.

Stakeholders such as the Non-Governmental Organisations Coordinating Council (NGOCC), the Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC), the Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ), Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ) and the Patriotic Front (PF) boycotted the NCC. Nonetheless, the NCC - with about 496 members then, was set up. At the time, we made it very clear that the NCC was not for consensus building or a negotiated approach to constitution review. We said it was simply a mechanism for the deception of people. We had a problem with composition of the NCC and we stated that there would be no real participation by the people but that what would be there would be the MMD's participation, its dominance or hegemony over the whole process.

The NCC then commenced its sittings on December 19, 2007 and the rest, as they say, is history.

However, it is shocking to learn that some delegates at the NCC are opting to just sign for allowances without attending the sessions. They are robbing the people in broad daylight.

According to the Yellow Book, the government this year allocated K50 billion for constitutional and electoral reforms (NCC) - determination of persons eligible to vote in the referendum (NCC).

Now going by that allocation of taxpayers' money, it is actually unthinkable that someone can decide to embark on a money-making venture from a process that is supposed to give birth to a new constitution for our country. This is theft and it should be stopped. This money can go a long way in alleviating the suffering of our people. This K50 billion, if ploughed into profitable ventures, can change many lives, especially among our people in rural areas who lack even the basic health services.

This is what happens in a country when values are lost. This is what happens in a nation when principles are sacrificed on the alter of political expedience.

It is very clear that some of our people at the NCC do not deserve to be there as they do not understand the importance of the task they have been given to carry out. It is a very dangerous sign and all well-meaning Zambians need to get concerned. The Constitution is a very important guide by which people are governed. A good constitution should actually be inscribed in the hearts and minds of all our people. But this is an issue that our commissioners at the NCC are playing with. To some, it is a money-making venture and nothing else.

And going by the revelations, who can they blame when they are called all sorts of names by well-meaning Zambians? Who can the NCC blame when they are told they are a just a bunch of people who do not even understand the enormity of task before them? Who can they blame when they are told that their whole exercise is a circus? No one.

These revelations of people just going to steal and taking off without contributing to the deliberations, however trivial, actually lend credence to all the concerns and statements made against the NCC. And as community development minister Michael Kaingu has correctly observed, our people "might not be able to get a constitution that will stand the test of time". They have just been robbed by vultures of a good opportunity to have one.

This country has had four constitution review commissions since independence - the Mainza Chona, the Mvunga, the Mwanakatwe and the Mung'omba - and the wishes of the people have never changed. Our people long for a document that affirms their wishes and aspirations, how they want to be governed. It is actually a pity that most of their recommendations, like the 50 per cent plus one threshold for one to be elected president and the involvement of Parliament in debt contraction, continue to be butchered by people who are more interested in self-preservation and short-term personal interest.

At the rate we are going, it is very clear that the country will embark on another constitution review commission after this government of Rupiah Banda. Why can't we learn something from our sister nation South Africa?

South Africa's post-apartheid Constitution has been hailed as one of the best models, because in addition to civil and political rights it guarantees social and economic rights such as healthcare and education.

Despite having experienced years of apartheid, South Africa has effectively used reconciliation and consensus to formulate a people-driven constitution, through a constituent assembly that our MMD government is very much afraid of.

We can also learn from French history and its peoples as far as the constitution is concerned although it is important to bear in mind that France is an old country.

It experienced the absolute power of a monarchy and its independence was less peaceful than Zambia's in 1964.

United States is another good example of a country which has a constitution which was completed in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787 and the new government it prescribed came into existence on March 4, 1789, after fierce fights over ratification in many of the states.

Although the American Constitution has changed in many respects since it was first adopted, its basic principles and requirements for ratification remain the same.

Examples are many. It is the will that is lacking. And it is up to us as a country to build our own political institutions. As long as we continue with the mentality of wanting to rob the country of its resources, raping our people, we will not get anywhere.

It is extremely important that those who are trying to write a constitution for us rise above personal and other narrow or petty interests. Obligations to the people of Zambia should take precedence over loyalty or commitment to the self, to a political party, to a leader in power.

At no time and in no circumstances should those who are trying to give us a constitution place their personal interests first; they should subordinate themselves to the interest of the nation and the masses of our people.

They should proceed on all issues from the interests of the people and not from one's self interests or from the interests of a small group and to identify their responsibilities with the people at all times.

Labels: NCC

posted by MrK @ 1:35 PM