COMMENT - Finance Minister Musokotwane is a nominated MP with no constituency to represent? I did not know that. Maybe that is why he is so dismissive of the electorate.
Musokotwane has started campaigning, Ndalamei reveals
By Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Sat 28 May 2011, 04:01 CAT
FINANCE minister Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane is busy campaigning in his ‘constituency’ for this year’s polls, says secretary to the Treasury Likolo Ndalamei. Officiating at the official launch of Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) call centre yesterday, Ndalamei said ministers were currently in the field campaigning.
“I am here to read the speech on behalf of the Minister of Finance and National Planning because as you know most politicians are busy campaigning in their constituencies, so, we civil servants have to stand in for them,” Ndalamei said.
Dr Musokotwane is a nominated member of parliament with no constituency to represent.
Recently, the government dispatched ministers to all provinces to explain developmental programmes being implemented by MMD government.
Sources in Western Province indicated that Dr Musokotwane is campaigning in Liuwa Constituency.
And Ndalamei said the launch of ZRA call centre, which could be accessed on all networks by dialing 5972, would help to ease the cost of doing business in the country.
ZRA call centre facility and customer service line provides an effective tool for bridging communication gap between ZRA and the taxpayers and for assessing feedback from customers on various tax matters.
And board chairman Christopher Mundia said modernising operations of ZRA would help to widen the tax base.
Mundia, in a speech read for him by board member Mwangala Zaloumis, said the new system being introduced at ZRA included facilities for electronic commerce by providing interfaces for electronic filling and electronic payments.
“It is envisaged that such a platform will greatly improve ZRA’s service delivery to taxpayers,” said Mundia.
“While the majority of our potential taxpayers fall outside the formal sector, the new changes currently going on at ZRA through modernisation programme are meant to bring the informal sector on board.”
Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS, CHRISTOPHER MUNDIA, LIKOLO NDALAMEI, MWANGALA ZALOUMIS, SITUMBEKO MUSOKOTWANE, ZRA
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NCC ends review of public submissions
By Ernest Chanda
Sun 15 Aug. 2010, 04:01 CAT
THE National Constitutional Conference (NCC) has resolved to take all articles agreed upon to Parliament for enactment and leave the bill of rights and others to a referendum.
This was after analysing all the less than 500 public submissions on their draft constitution on Friday evening.
After the Conference finished considering public submissions, spokesperson Mwangala Zaloumis moved a motion seeking the Conference to decide whether to take provisions agreed upon to Parliament and to a referendum the issues where they failed to reach a compromise, or take the whole draft constitution to a referendum.
Debating the motion earlier, Parliamentary chief whip Vernon Mwaanga proposed that the entire draft constitution be referred to a referendum in order to satisfy people’s expectations.
“I think that the people of Zambia are expecting a new constitution. And partial enactment will not satisfy their expectations. I therefore suggest that we submit the whole constitution to a referendum so that the people can decide what they want,” debated Mwaanga.
Mwaanga’s proposal was supported by Pemba UPND parliamentarian David Matongo who argued that the people must have a final say on the matter.
But commissioner Bidon Katete argued that the Conference submits Articles they had adopted to Parliament and refer those they failed to make a decision on to a referendum.
Reverend Gibson Nyirenda argued that taking the whole document to a referendum would anger people more since they had opposed the process from the beginning.
“You know how this process has been castigated from the beginning. If we take the whole document to a referendum it means that for all this time we have sat here we have done nothing. I therefore agree with those proposing that all those articles we agreed on we take them to parliament, and those we failed to agree on plus the bill of rights we take them to the people,” debated Rev Nyirenda.
Initially, delegates were supposed to deliberate up to 13:00 hours on Friday, but they had earlier on Thursday resolved to debate up to 20:00 hours the following day in order to finish the submissions.
And after completing public submissions at about 20:24 hours, Zaloumis moved the motion so that everyone would know how the final document would be adopted.
After it was resolved that articles agreed upon be taken to parliament while those unresolved and the bill of rights be taken to a referendum, delegates gave themselves a round of applause for the ‘good work’ they had done.
And in his closing speech, NCC chairperson Chifumu Banda expressed satisfaction that the Conference had accommodated public views.
“It is indeed gratifying that some cardinal comments from the general public have been taken on board. These include the reinstatement of the rights to water, sanitation and food in the Bill of Rights as well as the removal of the requirement that a presidential candidate should possess a minimum academic qualification of a first degree or its equivalent and the removal of the requirement in the Mung’omba draft constitution that a presidential candidate should possess a minimum academic qualification of a Grade 12 school certificate. This shows that you honourable members of the NCC were alive and sensitive to the demands of the people out there,” said Banda.
The NCC sittings that started on December 19, 2007, have met sharp criticism from the public for some decisions made, most of which were not in public interest.
These include, among others, the failure to out rightly adopt the 50 percent plus one voting system for a presidential candidate and the rejection of an elected Vice-President.
After this, the NCC secretariat will sit to prepare a final draft constitution that will be submitted to the Minister of Justice on August 31, 2010.
Thereafter, the Minister of justice will take those articles the NCC agreed upon to parliament for scrutiny and subsequent adoption.
Labels: GIBSON NYIRENDA, MWANGALA ZALOUMIS, NCC
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COMMENT - Is this the same woman who lied about decentralization having been 'taken care of' in the NCC Draft Constitution? I don't like lying in elected officials.
Zaloumis describes NCC’s 40-day submission period a success
By Ernest Chanda
Thu 05 Aug. 2010, 04:01 CAT
NATIONAL Constitutional Conference (NCC) spokesperson Mwangala Zaloumis has described the forty-day public submission period on the draft constitution a success. In an interview on Tuesday, Zaloumis said the NCC had gone through various challenges and weathered the storm. The period within which people were expected to make submissions on the NCC draft constitution ended on July 31.
"I think it has been a success, we have weathered the storm. You know sometimes as you undertake a process you get hailstorms and sometimes you get showers. If you get hailstorms you weather them and pull through, and if you get showers you pull up your umbrellas and move on," said Zaloumis.
"Those who stayed away from the process were in the minority. You get positive and negative points and you can't agree on everything. And as Zambians we have shown that we can do things in peace. I think we will never reach a 100 per cent situation because we can't agree on everything."
The NCC completed deliberations on all the 11 committee reports as compiled from the Mung'omba draft constitution and adjourned sine die on April 29, 2010.
Prior to the adjournment, several articles of considerable public interest were not adopted by the NCC according to public will.
These include, among others, the rejection of an elected Vice-President, the introduction of a first degree as one of the qualifications for Presidential candidates and the refusal to agree on the fifty per cent plus one voting system for a President; a clause that was referred to a referendum.
On June 22, NCC chairperson Chifumu Banda released the draft constitution and gave the public 40 days in which to read and comment on the document.
However, the NCC has not gone round the country to get people's submissions as prescribed in Part VI Article 23 (1, C and D) of the 2007 NCC Act.
The 40-day period was officially supposed to have ended on Sunday, August 31.
According to the Act, the NCC plenary is expected to sit again in Lusaka at the end of the 40-day period to consider people's comments on the draft constitution.
Thereafter, the NCC secretariat will make a final draft constitution that will be presented to the Minister of Justice on August 31, 2010.
Then the Minister of Justice will later present the draft constitution to Parliament for debate and subsequent adoption of respective articles, as the House will determine.
Labels: LYING, MWANGALA ZALOUMIS
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NCC must be disbanded – Kabanda
By Mwala Kalaluka
Sun 31 Jan. 2010, 04:01 CAT
Former LAZ president William Mweemba (l) with NCC spokesperson Mwangala Zaloumis (c) during the Newsmakers Forum at Courtyard Hotel in Lusaka on Friday evening - Picture by Thomas Nsama
CITIZENS Forum executive secretary Simon Kabanda has said the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) must be disbanded to avoid the deepening conflict situation created in the nation over the reference of the 50 per cent plus one issue to a referendum.
And former Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) president William Mweemba has said the provision of electing a Republican president through the 50 per cent plus one threshold will bring order to the country.
But NCC spokesperson Mwangala Zaloumis said she does not believe that the conference was on a wrong path.
During a Southern African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (SACCORD) – organised forum on the question of whether the issue of the 50 per cent plus one could cause anarchy, held at Lusaka’s Court Yard Hotel on Friday, Kabanda said Zambians had no choice but to disband the NCC.
Kabanda said as a way forward on the constitution-making process, it was time for the country to make a radical political decision by disbanding the NCC because it had failed to safeguard the principles that Zambians set for themselves during the reversion to multi-party democracy in 1991.
He said the NCC’s legally backed deviation from these principles had made it a major source of conflict in the entire constitution-making process.
“I wish to state that as at now this issue has already created conflict in Zambia. Why do I say so? It has already created conflict because the people of Zambia have spoken on this issue and they have said we would want to have the provision of 50 per cent plus one in our Republican constitution,” Kabanda said.
“In all these years the people of Zambia have overwhelmingly demanded for more than 50 per cent plus one threshold for a winning presidential candidate in a multi-party democracy and the Zambian people demanded for this provision because we embraced multi-party democracy. We set for ourselves these principles to guide and strengthen our multi-party democracy.”
Kabanda said it was the throwing away of these principles by the NCC and sympathizers that had created conflict in the constitution review process.
“When you begin to tamper with the views of the people on an issue then you begin to create conflicts,” Kabanda said. “I wish to sadly state that 19th January 2010 will go down in the history of Zambia, as the black Tuesday when the NCC subjected to a vote an issue that the people of Zambia had already decided upon since we reverted to multi-party democracy in 1991. On that day, black Tuesday, the NCC legally tampered with the desires of the people of Zambia on the 50 per cent plus one. They legally tampered with the desires of the people of Zambia on this issue. This is a source of conflict.”
Kabanda said the people of Zambia knew what they wanted when they decided on the 50 per cent plus one.
“The decision to subject this issue to a referendum is even a source of greater conflict, for the following reasons: One, it is not a constitutional requirement to subject the issue of 50 per cent plus one to a referendum. Why do you subject an issue that the people of Zambia have protractedly decided upon to a referendum from 1991 to date?” Kabanda asked.
“In fact it is not practically and legally possible to have a referendum before the 2011 elections. It is not possible. So allowing the 50 per cent plus one to go to a referendum will make it practically impossible to have the issue in the new constitution before the 2011 elections and this is a source of conflict.”
He said those opposing the winning threshold were not basing their arguments on the principles that the people set themselves in 1991.
“So when you have arguments that are not based on principle that is a recipe for conflict,” Kabanda said. “This conflict has been created by the issue of the 50 per cent plus one as part of the larger conflict that has been created by the NCC.
The NCC and its supporting legislation are the major sources of conflict in the constitution making process and why? It is because the NCC has legally deviated from its role of adopting the constitution. Sadly, the NCC Act decided to throw away these principles we set for ourselves.
“The NCC has been legally given the powers to remove not to adopt. Its role is to merely adopt the processes that we agreed upon in the first stage,” he said. “To vary and remove and to add are also a source of conflict because these are contrary to the principles of adopting because to vary means to differ. This is what has happened to the issue of the 50 per cent plus. To remove is also another legal power of the NCC. You begin to create conflicts when you are preoccupied with power politics.”
Kabanda said in order to avoid the conflict being deepened there was need to find the way forward.
And during the same discussion, Mweemba said the people of Zambia had been consistent on their demand for the 50 per cent plus one provision for a long time.
“That has been the position 1964. The 1964 constitution provided for a majority president. When the one-party state controlled, it did not really matter because as you know there was essentially one candidate,” Mweemba said.
Mweemba said the Mvunga Constitutional Review Commission did accept suggestions from the people and that it in fact recommended the threshold.
“Consequently, the 1991 constitution does have that provision. You all recall that second Republican president FTJ Chiluba was elected on a majority vote. He received much more than 50 per cent plus one,” he said. “What then happened was something interesting… the Mwanakatwe CRC recommendation report was sent to president Chiluba and his cabinet and they did an injustice to the people of Zambia.”
Mweemba said all this was happening in 1996.
“One of the recommendations that the Chiluba government rejected was the fact that we should continue to have a clause to have a majority president,” he said. “Remember, when he came into power in 1991, he was a majority president and for self reasons he changed that clause knowing that going forward he was going to go for the third term and he knew that the majority of the people would not accept the third term. So he was pushing for a provision which was going to make it easy for him to win.”
Mweemba said a constitutional provision that allowed for minority president was a source of conflict.
“If you are a minority president, once you get into power you will be fighting to make yourself legitimate,” he said. “On the 50 per cent plus one, the people, that which was removed secretly by president Chiluba must be put back in the constitution.
Mweemba said it was worrying that the NCC had assumed the role of Cabinet and the White Paper.
“The NCC has no business changing what the people of Zambia want,” Mweemba said. “I am taken aback that the NCC have now resolved to take the issue of the 50 per cent plus one to a referendum. The fact is the 50 per cent plus one ought not to have been debated. This is the provision that has been there starting from 1964 and was a provision that was illegitimately changed by president Chiluba. We do have a problem.”
But Zaloumis said she did not agree that the NCC was on a wrong path and that all had not been lost in the process.
“50 per cent plus one is not a new innovation it has been there for a long time,” Zaloumis said. “The constitution of 1965 does not talk about 50 per cent plus one. Nothing. It talks about a majority vote…the 1973 constitution talks about the majority winner.”
Zaloumis said it was only in 1991 during the Mvunga Commission when the qualified benchmark of 50 per cent plus started being heard.
“In 1996, we saw the amendment when it was simple majority,” she said.
Zaloumis said if there was no need for the NCC to vary and discuss some of the provisions from the Mung’omba CRC then there would have been no need to have a constituent assembly.
“There is no debate that is one way,” Zaloumis said. “There are some people who believe that the 50 per cent plus one is not such a good system.”
Zaloumis said the NCC had followed procedure when it referred the 50 per cent plus one to a referendum.
“As spokesperson for the NCC my function is to articulate what is going on in the NCC, not my views,” she said. “These people in the NCC are Zambians just like you and me.”
Zaloumis said even when they were voting over the 50 per cent plus one, the NCC delegates had the interest of Zambians at heart.
“The government could not garner two-thirds and the other people could not garner two-thirds… to subject it to a wider community is better,” Zaloumis said. “No one group did override the other so that will definitely go to a referendum.”
Zaloumis said since Zambia was not a banana republic the NCC Act was now a law, which should be respected by all Zambians.
Labels: 50 PERCENT PLUS 1, MWANGALA ZALOUMIS, NCC, SIMON KABANDA
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NCC seeks to wind up before Parliament reopens
By Ernest Chanda
Fri 18 Dec. 2009, 04:01 CAT
NATIONAL Constitutional Conference (NCC) spokesperson Mwangala Zaloumis has said the Conference is likely to finish deliberating reports of the remaining five committees when it resumes sitting on January 12, 2010.
Addressing the media at the NCC secretariat in Lusaka yesterday, Zaloumis said there was a desire by delegates to finish deliberating on all remaining committee reports before the next sitting of Parliament if time and resources permit.
“I know it's an ambitious programme for the NCC that this time we should finish all the committees' work. That is if logistics are allowing us and finances are allowing us; because even where we sit we have to pay for the Mulungushi International Conference Centre,” Zaloumis said.
“We are not the only people who are knocking on the government financial doorsteps trying to make our case, we are competing with many others. We hope that we can sit, all we can do is present this to government, but we can sit and complete this work within this next session. So, we are likely to have a draft constitution sometime next year."
Asked if Zambia would have a new constitution before the 2011 general election, Zaloumis said it was dangerous to tag a constitution to an event.
She said a mistake was made in 1996 when amendments were made to the constitution with a view to targeting certain events and individuals.
"Now, in constitution making, the most dangerous thing one can do is to link that process to an event. In 1996 if you remember, the constitution was amended to target certain people or certain events, or certain groups.
This time around those who've been advocating for a good constitution, for a process that is acceptable since 1991, we've learnt NCC seeks to wind up before Parliament reopens lessons that you do not target or tie the process to a certain event," she said.
"That event should fall in the constitution making so that all the events coming are catered for. So, to me the general election is one of the events that should be catered for. It doesn't mean that the general election is the only event that should be catered for, it's one of the many events that should come in future."
The last sitting of the NCC, which was due to close in December this year was prematurely adjourned to allow for the sitting of Parliament from September 18 to December 31, 2009.
So far, the NCC has completed five of the 11 committee reports, and is expected to continue considering the Legislative committee report before winding up on the remaining five.
Labels: MWANGALA ZALOUMIS, NCC, PARLIAMENT
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Zaloumis dismisses Sata’s remarks on NCC allowances
Written by Kabanda Chulu
Saturday, July 18, 2009 9:32:18 PM
NATIONAL Constitutional Conference (NCC) spokesperson Mwangala Zaloumis has refuted allegations by Patriotic Front president Michael Sata that it has failed to pay its members their daily allowances for a period of two months. Reacting to the allegations by Sata, Zaloumis stated that it was not true that some members have not been paid their allowances for two months.
“It is not true that some members were not paid for two months when in fact NCC members had sat for less than two months from 5th May to 26th June 2009 in plenary sessions to deliberate and adopt its committees’ reports on the Mung’omba draft constitution and members were paid appropriate allowances every fortnight to cover subsistence, sitting and transport costs,” Zaloumis stated.
She stated that out of the NCC budgetary allocation of K50 billion for 2009, only K36 billion had been released so far while the balance of K14 billion was yet to be requested by the NCC secretariat as and when needed.
Zaloumis stated that the Ministry of Finance had been supportive in ensuring that timely releases of funds to the NCC secretariat were made to support administrative duties that included finances and payments.
Last week, NCC chairperson Chifumu Banda said that the NCC had made tremendous strides in constitution-making process and that some of its critics were now seeking to be associated with the success of the conference.
But Sata said Banda had given a wrong impression of the success scored by the conference when the NCC had allegedly failed to pay its members their daily allowances for two months.
Labels: MWANGALA ZALOUMIS, NCC, SATA
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A constitution has to be futuristic – Zaloumis
Written by Katwishi Bwalya and Ernest Chanda
Sunday, May 31, 2009 11:35:14 PM
NATIONAL Constitutional Conference (NCC) spokesperson Mwangala Zaloumis has said there is need to put some criteria of benchmarks in the constitution for one to qualify to certain public offices.
Commenting on the proposal that a Republican President should be a degree holder, Zaloumis said if the constitution remained unchanged on that score, then it would not be a futuristic document.
"If you are talking about global economics, what is an economic meltdown? Now you get somebody who doesn't even understand what an economic meltdown is. How are they going to help you the constituents or even as a minister or even as President?" Zaloumis asked.
"You go to the G8 summit, you go to the North-South summit, look at the region in Africa, what levels of presidents do we have in our region? So, in any process we have to go forward, The Kaundas helped us to attain our independence at that level they were courageous, they fought, they were special people and after they contributed what they want is an enhancement in order to go forward. So, at every level you look at the Americans, at every level it is an additional enhancement of what they have been doing."
Zaloumis observed that if the Constitution remained the way it was then it would create problems.
"If the constitution stays the way it is, if the status quo stands then nothing changes. You don't have members of parliament with certain qualifications, you don't have councillors with qualifications because anybody will be able to become a councillor, but the minute you start introducing qualifications to enhance the standards, those who might think they would be left out will be happy now," she said.
She said people making the constitution should think of having Zambians who are literate.
"A constitution has to be futuristic, we got to think of a situation where we have literate people in the whole country who understand. If you are in the council, you want somebody who can read the council minutes. You need somebody who understands how it is to be in a meeting and the procedure of the meeting and what has been discussed. Not when there is an agenda, somebody doesn't even know they got to follow that agenda then you are derailed," Zaloumis said.
She said there must be criteria to any job in the country for the country to be governed as expected.
"We have just been talking about permanent secretaries and people are saying we don't want grade sevens to be appointed or party cadres to be appointed. There must be a criteria. So to any job to any position there must be a criteria of what sort of people do you want to either take charge of the affairs of the state, institutions or organisations of the state. You can't just leave it open, this is what they are saying. This is not my submission but this is what people felt," she said.
"Why do you talk about retirement age? So that the young people when they come they can find jobs. The elderly people can be channeled into something else they can go and look after themselves but if you say there will be no retirement age what you are saying is that there will be no opportunity for the young ones to come through. At any stage there must be a level, some benchmarks. If you don't have these benchmarks then you have a problem. It's like if you want to go to the university there must be criteria on who should go to the university."
Zaloumis said it was equally important for members of parliament to have certain qualifications so that they articulate issues for the benefit of the people in constituencies.
Labels: CONSTITUTION, MWANGALA ZALOUMIS, NCC
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Sata urges ACC, Auditor General to audit NCC
Written by Lambwe Kachali
PATRIOTIC Front (PF) president Michael Sata has asked the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and office of the Auditor General to immediately audit the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) before more money is plundered.
And Sata said PF will protect the police officer who has been threatened with dismissal on what he termed as false allegations from Kawambwa member of parliament Elizabeth Chitika-Mulobeka.
In an interview, Sata yesterday charged that only 100 people out of the 600 membership of the NCC had benefited more from the K44 billion that had so far been spent on the conference.
Sata said last year, undisclosed brand new vehicles were bought for a few individuals at the NCC secretariat and that another consignment of vehicles were purchased this month.
He said a few individuals such as Mwangala Zaloumis, Faustina Sinyangwe, Newton Ng'uni, Leonard Hikaumba, Chifumu Banda, Regina Musokotwane and a few others were benefiting more from the NCC.
He also observed that apart from the allowances, these people at the secretariat were paid huge sums as monthly salaries.
"This is why Zaloumis today is defending the dissolution of NCC. As far as I know, only 100 individuals are chewing this money more than others within the NCC. These people in the secretariat do not go on recess the way the majority membership does," Sata charged.
He said there was need for Zambians to know how such huge amounts of taxpayers' money could be spent in six months’ time.
He said currently, there was no accountability whatsoever in the way NCC was spending taxpayers' money.
Sata challenged Vice-President George Kunda to tell the nation about the remunerations of people manning the secretariat as well as the cost of the motor vehicles.
He wondered why Zaloumis talked about a draft report when there was already the Mung'omba draft report.
"All that reaction from Zaloumis is sour grapes and crocodile tears. She wants to take me on because of her disgraceful defeat she has suffered in the High Court together with PF ‘rebels’. Zaloumis thought the government would help her, that's why she used the NCC to challenge me. Now that she has lost the case, she is very worried," Sata said.
"But wait, we are going to finish her even in the Supreme Court and our fight against NCC will continue."
Sata said he would not allow Zambians to be disenfranchised on the pretext that the government did not have money to fund the voters' registration exercise.
"Continuous registration of voters will benefit the governance and democracy of our country rather than enriching one woman and her fellow money mongers," he said.
Sata said a good electoral system transcended the piecemeal changes NCC was making to the Mung'omba draft constitution.
"I urge Oasis Forum, church mother bodies, civil society organisations and the donor community to put pressure on President Rupiah Banda to commence continuous voter registration immediately. This is one of the most important exercises that will bring about transparent elections in 2011," he said.
And Sata said Chitika-Mulobeka was playing with fire for falsely reporting an innocent officer to police, saying PF was ready to protect the officer's human rights.
Sata said should the officer be fired, PF would take the Inspector General of Police and Chitika-Mulobeka to court.
"The best thing the IG can do is not threaten that officer with dismissal or else we shall meet in court," said Sata.
The Zambia Police Service Copperbelt division headquarters has asked superintendant Chitotela to exculpate himself and give reasons why he should not be dismissed for allegedly campaigning for the PF.
According to a letter signed by G Musonda for the Kitwe divisional reserve staff training officer dated November 18, 2008, Chitotela was allegedly seen by Chitika-Mulobeka on October 1 around 22:00 hours in Kawambwa's Matelo area in a convoy of three vehicles with a public address system campaigning for PF.
According to the letter, it was further alleged that Chitotela was driving a car that had stickers bearing portraits of Sata and that he introduced himself as a superior reserve police officer based in Kitwe.
"Mr T Samakai - officer-in-charge Kawambwa Police Station summoned you to his office in the presence of Hon Elizabeth Chitika Mulobeka and later interviewed you over the alleged involvement in partisan politics. You admitted coming from Kitwe to drive your uncle a Mr Timothy Walamba a Patriotic Front leader MCC who was in the area for campaign trails," stated the letter. "You also produced your identity card for Zambia Police Reserve You are fully aware that as a member of the Zambia Police Service, you are not allowed to engage or involve yourself in partisan politics but to support the government of the day.
Labels: ACC, ELECTIONS, MWANGALA ZALOUMIS, NCC, SATA
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NCC bemoans remarks hindering constitution-making process
By Mwala Kalaluka
Saturday April 12, 2008 [04:00]
NATIONAL Constitution Conference (NCC) spokesperson Mwangala Zaloumis has said negative sentiments from certain people are making the formulation of the new constitution through the NCC process difficult. Featuring on a special programme on Mongu’s Oblate Radio Liseli yesterday, Zaloumis said fears expressed by some politicians that the NCC was formulated to frustrate their political ambitions were unfounded.
Zaloumis said it was saddening that Africans had operated on a system of pulling each other down and that it was referred to as the “Dark Continent” due the failure by its people to conclude constitution-making processes.
“Certain political comments are one of the difficulties we are having,” Zaloumis said in Silozi. “The other difficulty is that some people think that we are getting a lot of money; we do not get a lot of money.”
She said the formulation of the country’s new constitution would be done in line with the advise that President Levy Mwanawasa gave to the delegates of the NCC at its inception that their work was a solemn one and as such they should undertake it in a patriotic and objective manner.
Zaloumis said one of the points of emphasis that would characterise the next sitting of the NCC, which would resume on April 22, would be the schooling of the delegates in the processes of compiling a constitution that would be publicly appreciated.
She said the public could not appreciate the next constitution if the delegates were not schooled in the proper formulation of the document.
A caller identified only as Sitwala said African leaders were notorious for formulating laws that they rarely implemented.
Labels: MWANGALA ZALOUMIS, NCC
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