Oasis Forum to pressure for new constitution

Oasis Forum to pressure for new constitution
Written by George Chellah
Tuesday, August 04, 2009 2:13:03 AM

THE Oasis Forum has stated that it will embark on a series of countrywide activities to put pressure on the NCC and the government to conclude the constitution review process this year.

In a joint statement issued yesterday, which was also signed by all affiliate organisations that include, the Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC), Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) and the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ) among others, the forum stated that the need for a new constitutional order in Zambia was indisputable.

They stated that Zambians had invested heavily in the process and time was ripe to conclude this long journey.

"Oasis Forum will embark on a series of countrywide activities to put pressure on both the NCC and government to conclude the constitution review process as soon as possible," they stated.

The forum stated that the majority of Zambians anxiously awaited the conclusion of the constitution review process, which had been ongoing for a period of time now.

They stated that from February 2003 when the Mung'omba Constitution Review Commission (CRC) was appointed to December 2005 when the CRC subsequently presented its draft report and constitution to the late president Levy Mwanawasa, people's expectations for a new and durable constitution continued to be high.

The forum noted that National Constitution Conference (NCC) started its work on December 19, 2007 with several promises of timely deliberation and conclusion of the adoption process.

They stated that the NCC was touted by government and its proponents as not only a suitable compromise but a cheaper and representative option but that the Oasis Forum opted to stay out of it for various reasons that had been publicly communicated.

"From December 2007 to date, we have taken a strategic position to stay away from publicly commenting on the work of the NCC. However, this has not meant that we have not been observing, listening and analysing the process of the NCC. Time has come for the Oasis Forum to publicly comment on the whole constitution reform process."

They stated that a consultative meeting was held on July 24, 2009 at Mulungushi International Conference Centre with participants drawn from all the nine provinces and that these represented different interest groups.

"The consultative meeting reaffirmed as follows; that the Oasis Forum is a relevant channel for mobilising public interest on the constitution review process. The forum remains 'true' to its name and will continue to be a spring of life particularly in the midst of despair or doubt by the general populace on the progress being made on this matter, the circumstances that led to the Oasis forum staying away from the NCC, have not changed and there is no compelling reason for the forum to change its position on this matter. However, while the forum will not participate in the NCC, it remains committed to engage in all necessary activities aimed at bringing about a new and durable constitution at the earliest opportunity," they stated. "The NCC, through its plenary sittings has only concluded discussions on reports from four out of eleven committees. This slow pace of the NCC is a source of concern and it is clear that the several promises made by government and the NCC itself to conclude the adoption process within 2009, will not be met. The position presented by His Honour the Vice-President - Mr George Kunda in Parliament that the NCC will conclude its work in 2010, is a major setback to the whole constitution review process and confirms the political machinations to unnecessarily delay the enactment of a new constitution. It will indeed be sad for our democracy for the 2011 elections to be held on the basis of the current constitution. Zambians should not be taken for yet another ride as the case was in 2006 when the MMD government indicated that the new constitution could not be concluded before the 2006 elections. Come 2011, what will be the justification for not concluding the constitution review process eight years after commencement?

"Further, this new development to extend the mandate of the NCC to 2010, confirms a lack of sensitivity on the part of government to the several areas of need in the country. Colossal amounts of money are being paid to the NCC delegates and in the current economic environment, it should be in government's interest to save as much as it can and divert this to other meaningful national development projects. It is a pity that the NCC has become an endless exercise whose added value to the work of the Mung'omba CRC remains questionable. The pace of the NCC is starting to slow down which is leading to all forms of delays, which hopefully should not be ploys to compromise the quality of the final product."

They demanded that the NCC should conclude its work within 2009 in order to allow for the preparations of follow-up activities such as the referendum to take place.

They stated that as a matter of urgency the government should start preparing for a referendum, which was unavoidable.

"The Zambian people should be sufficiently informed on the ongoing deliberations in the NCC. More efforts should be made to inform and sensitise the people on this process especially in the rural areas," they stated. "The final product should include the settled issues that were key recommendations in the Mung'omba CRC such as 50 per cent plus one requirement for winning the presidency, a running mate for the president, ministers from outside Parliament, direct election of mayors etc."