NCC is only interested in winning polls for MMD, charges Scott

NCC is only interested in winning polls for MMD, charges Scott
By Ernest Chanda
Sat 17 Apr. 2010, 04:40 CAT

PATRIOTIC Front vice-president Guy Scott has charged that the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) is only interested in winning elections for the MMD next year. And NCC commissioner Dante Saunders on Thursday asked the conference what they would finally take to the people if they kept deleting everything that the people wanted.

Commenting on the NCC’s rejection of food water and shelter as basic human rights that should be enshrined in the constitution, Scott who is also Lusaka Central member of parliament described the NCC as a circus, which was being used to fulfill the ruling party’s agenda. He said there was no way a normal society could fail to recognise water, food and shelter as basic human rights.

“This whole thing just confirms everyone’s fear that the NCC is just there to behave as a circus. It is enough proof that they are just interested in MMD winning elections next year. We have always called for the respect of human rights in this country and that includes water, food, and shelter. And now these NCC delegates treat those basic things as a laughing matter.

Why is it that I’m not surprised by this behaviour?” Scott asked.

“Are we saying that it’s not a constitutional right for people to eat, drink and have decent shelter? If these people can even reject people’s basic rights, what will they take to the people at the end of the whole process? They have rejected the fifty per cent plus one voting system, they also don’t want an elected Vice-President and now they don’t want people to eat. What they are saying is that anything else can be a constitutional right but not food, water and shelter. This is unacceptable!”

And Saunders asked NCC chairperson Chifumu Banda what the conference would take to the people in the final document now that almost everything the people wanted had been rejected.

“Chairperson I need clarification on some of the clauses we have rejected. I mean we have rejected just too many clauses that people wanted, and after reflecting on that I wonder what we are going to take back to the people at the end of this process. If we keep deleting everything what will we take to them anyway?” asked Saunders.

In response, Banda said the conference fell into a trap of international conventions.

“We rejected these clauses because a number of them are international instruments. These were mostly adopted from the South African constitution, and our colleagues there also borrowed them from the international conventions. And you cannot import international instruments and put them in the constitution. Check the American constitution and see how many international instruments are there. We fell into a trap where international instruments were brought into the Zambian constitution. According to our mandate we were told to tighten up the constitution and remove cobwebs. We have always said that the constitution should not be bulky,” said Banda.

On Wednesday, NCC delegates laughed at and rejected the Mung’omba clauses that sought to give every person a right to have access to food, water and shelter.

The opponents of these clauses include deputy justice minister Todd Chilembo who described the desire to have people access shelter as utopian.