Maravi

SACCORD urges govt to explain referendum on constitution

SACCORD urges govt to explain referendum on constitution
By Margaret Mtonga and Moses Kuwema
Wed 23 Dec. 2009, 16:00 CAT

SOUTHERN Africa Centre for Constructive Resolution of Disputes (SACCORD) executive director Lee Habasonda has challenged the government to tell the public if the constitution will be subjected to a referendum or it will be passed on to parliament for amendment.

And Habasonda has demanded that people who are suspected to have shot Roger Chongwe should be known to the public before government compensates him. Addressing the press on Wednesday, Habasonda said the public deserved to know if the constitution would be subjected to a referendum after the 2010 population census.

“We are concerned that the referendum will require as much resources as the elections in 2011 and it is better to prepare the public on the direction that the constitution making process will take in order to avoid conflicts surrounding elections,” he said.

Habasonda said Civil Society still maintain that the National Constitution process should adopt the draft constitution.

“As Civil Society, we maintain our posture that the NCC is to adopt the draft constitution while the people of Zambia must endorse it and the national assembly must enact it into law. Failure to follow this process will definitely extinguish the little hope that many Zambians had placed in the NCC process,” Habasonda said.

“The performance of the NCC will be judged on the basis of the credibility and durability of its end-output. The people of Zambia habour the high expectations that the 2011 presidential parliamentary and local government elections will be held under a new law,” Habasonda said.

Habasonda said as human rights activists, SACCORD was interested in knowing the people who committed the crime against Chongwe.

“If the suspects are alive the government must see to it that they are brought to book and if they are dead then people like second republican president Fredrick Chiluba who served as president at that time must pay the compensation,” he said.

He said it would be wrong for the state to continue with the payment of Chongwe’s compensation before making public know which individual committed the offence.

“We as tax payers will not allow a situation where tax payers money goes to waste as a result of one careless individual, its better to use this money for development instead,” he said.

And Habasonda also said that while it was legal and legitimate for Chongwe to claim his compensation, the whole case had exposed weaknesses in the legal conflict management in the country.

“While it is legal and legitimate for Chongwe to claim his compensation, our concern is that his case has exposed weaknesses in the legal conflict management in this country,” said Habasonda.

Labels: CONSTITUTION, LEE HABASONDE, SACCORD

posted by MrK @ 5:52 PM