COMMENT - Not a good day for the NCC. First they wanted to exclude Michael Sata from running for president by including an education clause, Clive Chirwa for requiring a residency clause, then they want to specifically ban gay marriage, and now they want to stifle freedom of information. I detect a trend. :) The NCC is all about limiting and taking away the rights and opportunities of citizens, rather than protecting their rights. What a waste of money. Let's just implement the Dean Mung'omba draft constitution and send the NCC home.
NCC rejects clause guaranteeing citizens the right of access to information held by Government.
Thursday, February 18, 2010, 8:21
THE National Constitutional Conference (NCC) has rejected a clause which could have guaranteed citizens the right of access to information held by Government.
Article 56 (1) (a) of the Willa Mung’omba draft Constitution states that every citizen has the right of access to information held by the State.
Contributing to the debate on the article, commissioner Divo Katete said he did not support the article because there was no need to release State information to the public.
Mr Katete said the State held information that was classified and could not be released to the public anyhow.
Another delegate, Japhet Moyo said the article was wrong because people would even be asking for reasons why the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) entered a nolle prosequi.
Foreign Affairs Deputy Minister Fashion Phiri said he did not agree with the article because even in the United States of America, information was kept secret even to researchers until after a certain period of time.
The NCC plenary, however, adopted article 55 (1) (a) which gives citizens freedom to hold an opinion and the freedom to receive or impart information or ideas.
Press Association of Zambia president Andrew Sakala and lawyer Patrick Matibini supported the clause, saying it should include the freedom of artistic creativity and academic freedom which were not covered in the current Constitution.
Bahati Member of Parliament Besa Chimbaka and Independent Churches of Zambia president David Masupa supported the clause while Anti-Voter Apathy director Bonnie Tembo said the article should not state that there would be no interference to receiving some information.
Article 55 (2) which was also adopted said the freedom did not extend to propaganda for war, incitement to violence and advocacy of hatred.
[Times of Zambia]
Labels: CONSTITUTION, DIVO KATETE, FASHION PHIRI, FREEDOM OF INFORMATION BILL, FREEDOM OF SPEECH, JAPHET MOYO, NCC
Read more...
‘Dirt’ at Kitwe council irks Nkana MP
Written by Zumani Katasefa in Kitwe
Thursday, December 18, 2008 9:37:33 AM
NKANA Patriotic Front member of parliament Mwenya Musenge has vowed he will not accept to be part of the “dirt” being swept under the carpet in the name of being part of Kitwe council.
In a statement on Tuesday, Musenge also charged that there was a lot of manipulation of councillors at Kitwe City Council.
He was reacting to a statement by Kitwe mayor Divo Katete who advised him to desist from being “controversial for nothing” and instead provide leadership that would earn him respect.
On Monday, Katete said Kitwe City Council had no apologies to make over its decision to offer 30 hectares of land in Garneton for the construction of houses for 300 Chinese nationals.
Katete said whether Musenge liked it or not, he was part of the council that resolved to give 30 hectares of land for construction of the houses.
But Musenge said Kitwe City Council had failed Zambians.
“The land we have in Zambia was God given to Zambians and not to the Chinese. The first people who are supposed to benefit are the locals. I might be petty, I need to be guided, if it is in order for over 2,000 peope to apply to the council for plots and be charged K300,000 non-refundable fee on application and out of all these people, a paltry 200 or 300 people are allocated plots. Surely, is that in order?” he asked.
Musenge also wondered why land could not be gazetted for Zambians if the same could be done for Chinese.
Musenge also said the Keep Zambia Clean campaign seemed to have gone with the wind because even the five vehicles given to each constituency for the programme were now being used to transport council workers.
Labels: CORRUPTION, DIVO KATETE, KITWE CITY COUNCIL, LAND RIGHTS, MWENYA MUSENGE
Read more...
Kitwe mayor refuses to apologise over Garnerton land allocation
Written by Correspondent
Tuesday, December 16, 2008 8:35:38 PM
KITWE mayor Divo Katete has said the local authority has no apologies to make over its decision to offer 30 hectares of land in Garnerton area for the construction of 300 houses for Chinese nationals.
And Katete has advised Nkana Patriotic Front member of parliament Mwenya Musenge to desist from being "controversial for nothing" and start providing leadership that would earn him respect from the local authority and the electorate.
Reacting to a story that quoted Musenge as having walked out of a full council meeting in protest against the offer of the 30 hectares of land in Garnerton area, Katete said his council did not regret its decision.
In an interview on Sunday, Katete said the Chinese had come to Kitwe to put up an economic zone, which would create employment for the people.
He said it was therefore in order that they were given land to construct their houses.
Katete, who is a Patriotic Front councillor, said other councils like Lusaka and Luanshya were also giving out land for economic zones because they wanted development in their areas.
He said it was sad that some parliamentarians in Kitwe had nothing to do and instead were trying to gain political mileage from anything that was happening in the city.
"I had gone out of the country to South Africa on council business trip, but I was shocked to read in the media that Musenge went and gave an interview to the reporters that he walked out of the full council meeting in protest against the offer of 30 hectares of land to the Chinese who are putting up an economic zone in Chambishi. He wanted to gain political mileage by going to the media to say that he walked out of the full council meeting," he said. "The resolution was done collectively, whether he supported it or not, he is still part of the resolution. In fact, the KCC does not regret and has no apologies to make to anybody over its decision to offer 30 hectares of land in Garnerton for the construction of houses for the 300 Chinese houses because, apart from the economic zone benefiting the Zambians, even the construction works would provide jobs for local contractors and suppliers."
And Katete advised Musenge to desist from waging unnecessary battles with the local authority, but should instead embrace dialogue to earn his respect.
But Musenge said Katete was being arrogant for nothing.
Musenge said he and other councillors had agreed that the 30 hectares given to the Chinese would be revisited after mayoral elections.
"The young man has become so arrogant that he thinks that the land in Kitwe belongs to him. We shall revisit that decision after mayoral elections and he will see that he doesn't own land in Kitwe although he is mayor of the city," said Musenge.
Labels: CHINESE, DIVO KATETE, FDI, KITWE, LAND RIGHTS, NEOLIBERALISM
Read more...
Kitwe mayor urges honesty among politicians
By Zumani Katasefa and Mwila Chansa in Kitwe
Tuesday August 26, 2008 [04:00]
KITWE mayor Divo Katete has urged political chameleons to learn to be honest and appreciate those in office while they are alive.
Speaking when he signed the book of condolences, which was opened yesterday at the district commissioner’s office in Kitwe, Katete said it was unfortunate that some politicians had painted a bad picture about President Levy Mwanawasa when he was alive thereby misleading the masses.
“Leaders must begin to be honest, they criticised President Mwanawasa giving a picture that he was not good leader,” he said.
Katete said now that President Mwanawasa had died, those who were criticising him had come in the open to appreciate his good works.
“If they were open enough, and appreciated his work whilst he was alive, they could have encouraged him to even work harder to improve the economy,” he said.
Katete added that the sentiments coming from opposition leaders, civil society organisations and other members of the public clearly showed that the late President was loved.
“We must be honest and not deceive our people for the sake of gaining political mileage,” he said.
Katete added that late President Mwanawasa would be remembered for his good works.
He said the late President worked extremely hard to ensure that the mining sector made tremendous improvements.
“I do not know whether we are going to have a President like President Mwanawasa. The man has given food for thought,” Katete said.
And Kitwe town clerk Ali Simwinga, who was the second to sign in the book of condolences, said President Mwanawasa would be best remembered for various developmental projects that he brought to Kitwe.
He cited the construction of ultra-modern markets in the city as some of the major projects initiated by President Mwanawasa.
Other prominent figures who signed the book of condolences are Kitwe High Court judges Evans Hamaundu, Royd Siame, Catherine Makungu and Ernest Mukulwamutiyo and Wusakile member of parliament Barnabas Chella.
Meanwhile, Sinazongwe district MMD information and publicity secretary Chileshe Mwamba in a walk-in interview said those talking about President Mwanawasa’s succession should put national interest before self.
Mwamba said some people lobbying for particular candidates to succeed late President Mwanawasa were doing so because they knew that such candidates if elected would protect their jobs.
“They should choose a person whom the President himself would have backed if he was alive,” he said.
Mwamba urged the MMD leadership to adopt a person who would be interested in the plight of youths as a way of honouring President Mwanawasa’s legacy.
Mwamba said President Mwanawasa was a leader who tried hard to incorporate the youth in the governance of the country and that whoever would succeed him needed to emulate his style of governance.
Labels: CORRUPTION, DIVO KATETE, MAYOR
Read more...
