Constitution process hijacked - Sata
By Joseph Mwenda and Kombe Mataka
Thu 09 Jan. 2014, 14:01 CAT
PRESIDENT Michael Sata says the constitution-making process has been hijacked by individuals with an objective to embarrass, humiliate and politically undermine the sovereign will of the people.
But three church mother bodies yesterday said they had resolved to take the issue of the constitution to their churches by devoting a few minutes to discuss it every Sunday.
In a statement released by his special assistant for press and public relations George Chellah, President Sata said it would be highly reckless and irresponsible to hastily release the constitution merely to satisfy an ill-intended political scheme.
"The country already has a functional Constitution and the state will not be pushed into fast and reckless conclusions by individuals with dubious agendas," he said.
President Sata said the government remained dedicated to the constitution-making process.
"The recent biased political maneuvers surrounding the process confirm the ill-intentions of the persons at the helm of this misplaced crusade. Right from the start, this government has been dedicated to the process, no wonder the committee handling the matter was left without any interference. But it's clear that the well-intended process has been hijacked to embarrass, humiliate and politically undermine the will and interest of the majority of Zambians," he said.
And the Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC), the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ) and the Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ), which are part of the Oasis Forum, yesterday took part in the briefing, where CCZ secretary general Suzanne Matale, who is also chairperson of the Forum, advised the nation that the church mother bodies would direct all their churches and parishes to dedicate some minutes every Sunday to discuss the constitution and ensure that they have one soon.
"We would like to remind government that the writing is on the wall: this is a year of cleansing. Mediocrity shall not be accepted. People's demands for a people-driven constitution shall be achieved," she said.
And when asked to comment on how she felt personally about the constitution-making process since she was part of Technical Committee drafting the Constitution, Rev Matale said the committee had its own spokesperson and that she was speaking in her capacity as a CCZ official.
Law Association of Zambia president James Banda said it was unfortunate that the government had failed to listen to the public by going ahead to receive ten copies of the constitution document from the technical committee, adding that the process was not being made transparent and risked being rendered illegitimate.
EFZ executive director Pukuta Mwanza said this year was the only suitable time for Zambia to have a new constitution as a 'jubilee gift', before the general election mood grips the country.
And ZEC secretary general Fr Cleophas Lungu said time had come for Zambians to unite and demand a new constitution.
"Of course, there are bigger and small churches. We all know that there are true and false prophets but by our message and language, we shall know who is standing on the truth. The Constitution is a moral issue. We are going to take this Constitution to the pulpit. It shall be taken in the houses of God," said Rev Mwanza.
And NGOCC board chairperson Beatrice Grillo called on the women to join in calls to have the draft constitution released to the public.
Meanwhile, President Sata said more than 355,000 jobs have been created since the Patriotic Front formed government in September 2011.
"Government is still committed to job creation and industrialisation in order to create a better Zambia for all. To date, more than 355,335 jobs have been created since the PF came into power," he said in a statement released by Chellah.
President Sata said the government would soon establish a sovereign wealth fund, which would focus on stimulating investment in strategic non-mining industries.
He said this would be possible through the creation of the industrial development corporation (IDC), which would be a tool for the modernization and diversification of the economy.
"The State will through the IDC maximize the value of government assets by establishing a sovereign wealth fund to stimulate investment in strategic non-mining industries, among others, thereby expanding the country's investment portfolio and thus creating jobs, wealth and prosperity for the Zambian people," President Sata said.
He said the establishment of the IDC would also boost the contribution of state-owned enterprises to national development by placing them under one umbrella holding entity to deepen their reform, enhance efficiency and maximise returns.
President Sata said the IDC would be the government's strategy to enhance domestic capital formation, wealth creation and preservation by focusing on exploiting the country's advantages in natural resources and actively developing industries and enterprises to create jobs for the people.
Labels: CONSTITUTION, MICHAEL SATA, PUKUTA MWANZA
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The Church and Rupiah's immunity
By The Post
Tue 26 Feb. 2013, 14:00 CAT
It seems the Church, as a collective, is not giving clear guidance on how to deal with the corruption that was perpetrated by Rupiah Banda when he was president of the Republic of Zambia.
The Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia executive director Reverend Pukuta Mwanza says his body is in support of lifting Rupiah's immunity. Reverend Mwanza explains, "We are in total agreement with calls to investigate alleged corruption practices but looking into the history of immunity, we are concerned that the government must not rush the lifting of the immunity of the former president because it is important that the government has credible information and facts or evidence that there is a good case against the former head of state.
If government will rush, there is a danger that information will be scanty and will not be able to yield the intended results. That can rob the credibility of the investigative team. It will be important to do this cautiously."
And the Zambia Episcopal Conference secretary general Fr Cleaphas Lungu says that it would not support the premature lifting of Rupiah's immunity. Fr Lungu says, "We don't believe in the authenticity of the current calls. It's just a waste of our time. There are more important issues, anyway. So I don't think anybody is ready to go into that."
The Council of Churches in Zambia resolved not to say anything on the matter until after further consultations.
What guidance should we take from the Church on this issue? We are rather well versed in Christian principles and in Christ's teachings. We believe that Christ's entire doctrine was devoted to fighting against abuse, injustice and the degradation of human beings. His entire doctrine was devoted to the humble, the poor.
It cannot be denied that there were abuses under the Rupiah regime. Many people, including some of those who are today defending Rupiah, accused him of corruption. We also know that Rupiah's son, Henry, fled the country, fearing prosecution for corruption.
Those who are calling for the lifting of Rupiah's immunity so that he can be open to prosecution for corruption are doing so in defence of the interests of the poor against the powerful. We would say there is a lot in common between the spirit and the essence of Christ's teachings and the objectives of those calling for the lifting of Rupiah's immunity so that he can be prosecuted for robbing the poor of their meagre national resources.
We agree with the call for caution by the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia. We are nearing a year and a half since Rupiah left government. And for over 16 months, the agencies of the state that have been following up the issues of Rupiah's corruption have been at work. This should be enough time to establish a prima facie case of corruption against Rupiah.
And looking at the team from the police, the Anti Corruption Commission, the Drug Enforcement Commission and the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, we see some reasonable levels of experience in this type of work.
And moreover, we don't see the source of apprehension over insufficient evidence being presented to lift Rupiah's immunity. Those in government will make their case to Parliament for lifting of Rupiah's immunity. If their case is not satisfactory, it will not be easy for them to move Parliament to lift Rupiah's immunity.
We also don't see how Rupiah's immunity can be lifted outside the provisions of the Constitution and the law in general. There are procedures laid out in the Constitution for lifting presidential immunity. These will have to be followed. If they are not properly followed, still Rupiah will not be without legal recourse. Rupiah can challenge the legality of the lifting of his immunity in our courts of law, all the way up to the Supreme Court, if the law is not properly followed.
As to Rupiah's conviction or acquittal, nobody can guarantee that. This will be a matter for the courts to decide. What matters is whether the prosecution has a case or none. If there is a case that deserves prosecution, then Rupiah should have his immunity lifted and be prosecuted.
This was the procedure that was followed under Frederick Chiluba. The civil proceedings against Chiluba were successful in the London High Court. The criminal proceedings against Chiluba were not successful in our subordinate courts, and efforts to appeal that judgment were stopped by Rupiah. And Rupiah explained to the nation why he didn't want Chiluba to go to jail.
So where is the apprehension coming from? Didn't Chiluba receive a fair trial? He did receive a fair trial. In fact, the people, the poor people of this country didn't receive a fair prosecution of Chiluba. Rupiah came in to protect Chiluba from being convicted and sent to jail.
Even the money that the London High Court ordered Chiluba and his tandem of thieves to pay back hasn't been paid because Rupiah came in to protect Chiluba from paying back that money.
We would like to see a Church that protects the poor and their interests and not one that defends the powerful and their crimes. When poor people commit crimes, the Church doesn't come to their defence the way it's doing in Rupiah's case. What message is the Church sending? Is the Church telling us it's okay for people in power to steal from the poor and go scot-free? Or it is simply a question of preference for Rupiah? We ask this question because the Church didn't behave in that way when it was Chiluba's turn.
The rule of law requires that under no circumstances should the state impose additional inequalities; it should be required to deal evenly and equally with all its people. The right to equality before the law is fundamental to any just and democratic society. Whether rich or poor, politically powerful or powerless - all are entitled to equal protection before the law.
Nobody can be more earnestly in favour of the Church taking a correct position on the most serious social problems of our times. Nobody wants to hear again that, as in the past, the Church took the side of the powerful.
Labels: PUKUTA MWANZA, RUPIAH BANDA
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EFZ appeals for restraint, maturity among MPs
By Masuzyo Chakwe
Sun 30 Sep. 2012, 09:58 CAT
ZAMBIANS should not be passive spectators but instead be active participants to the development process of the country, says Rev Pukuta Mwanza.
Rev Mwanza, the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia executive director, yesterday said that in order to move the country forward, everyone should put Zambia first.
He said President Michael Sata's opening remarks when he opened Parliament were aimed at creating an atmosphere in the Parliament that would allow for a healthy co-existence between parliamentarians from different political parties.
"We appeal to all the parliamentarians to exercise emotional restraint and show maturity in debating issues," he said in apparent reference to Mwandi MMD member of parliament Michael Kaingu's tearing of the President's speech to Parliament last Tuesday.
Rev Mwanza said the President's speech to Parliament was critical because it formed the basis for debate in the house and also it was expected to show the government's development agenda, vision and direction for the country.
He said the President should attach great importance to the process of developing his speech to Parliament by ensuring that the document was of high quality, reflecting government's performance in the past, challenges encountered and inspiring the nation with a hope and a direction for the future.
"We observed too that the recent President's speech left out some vital issues that should have been addressed and the content was diluted by excessive humour in the delivery of the speech.
The President deprived himself of an opportunity to exhibit a great passion in sharing the vision of where his government was taking the nation," he said. "The speech needed to inspire a greater sense of having to deal with uncertainties, challenges faced by government in seeking to fulfil its election campaign promises and how these challenges were going to be tackled as the government was entering its second year in power such as the growing youth unemployment, high poverty levels."
Rev Mwanza said a brief comparison between the campaign promises and the developmental outcomes in the first year should have been clearer.
He said it was important to note that each government builds on the good foundation of the previous governments and in some cases the shaky foundations were rebuilt.
Rev Mwanza said the government should not be pre-occupied as to who would take the glory.
"If Zambia achieves its socio-economic goals, then we will have succeeded as 'a people'. In addition, the PF government stayed in the bench warming up for 10 years preparing to hit the ground running. We expect that they should have closely watched the game that MMD was playing so that they make a significant difference and great impact in those areas they are best at in the shortest possible time," he said. "This is a job where there is no extension of time of play to over injury time.
Where the constitution pre-determines the date of the election, it means that once the 90 minutes is gone, it is gone. Some of the good intentions have been made but serious business should accompany the willingness to do because there is little or no room for political entertainment."
He said the fact that President Sata had shuffled his Cabinet a number of times meant that there had been difficulty in finding the right mix of people to deliver the election promises.
"Perhaps the best team combination and team permutation is not a very easy undertaking after all. We should always pray that the right people will bring development to this economically thirsty nation," he said.
Rev Mwanza said the role of members of parliament was crucial in moving the country forward because they could put aside their partisan politics and debate motions in the House objectively.
"Then we can see more progressive legislation, a greater commitment to ensuring effective government performance, quality debates and improved governance systems. The MPs should perform their role by exercising highest levels of restraint from highly emotional expressions when reacting to the motions on the floor. We therefore express our deepest concern at the action by the honourable member of parliament Michael Kaingu who tore the President's speech as a reaction to its apparent inferior standard," he said.
He said the EFZ felt Kaingu's action was excessive and emotionally unacceptable because the natural way of responding to the speech was to debate it.
Rev Mwanza said Kaingu's action was regrettable, disgraceful and an emotional excess.
He said members of parliament should exhibit high levels of debating skills and analytical thinking capabilities that should help to hold the government accountable for its action.
Kaingu has defended his action, saying it was meant to protect Parliament's decorum.
Labels: EFZ, MICHAEL SATA, PUKUTA MWANZA
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Supporting and opposing the death penalty
By The Post
Mon 02 July 2012, 13:25 CAT
THERE is a strong and interesting debate going on about whether or not the death sentence should be retained in our constitution. We have listened attentively and respectfully to all the arguments being advanced for and against the death sentence. Let's respect convictions, beliefs and explanations. Everyone is entitled to his own positions, his own beliefs.
But we must work together in the sphere of these human problems that interest us all and constitute a duty for all. We have listened to the views of Reverend Pukuta Mwanza, the executive director of the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia, calling for the death penalty to be retained.
He argues that the death penalty is necessary for the protection of the general public as without it the lives of innocent citizens will be unsafe. We do not know whether the views of Rev Mwanza are personal or represent the position of the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia on this issue.
We have also heard the views of Fr Augustine Mwewa, a priest in the Ndola Catholic Diocese, supporting the retention of the death penalty. Fr Mwewa says the death penalty serves as a deterrent and helps in reducing crime and that capital punishment assured the safety of society by eliminating criminals. He further argues that that only time the death sentence should be abolished is when the Judiciary puts its house in order.
And Caritas Zambia, a Catholic civil society organisation, has expressed views contrary to those of Fr Mwewa, calling for the abolishing of the death sentence because it undermines the respect for life.
A consortium of civil society organisations that promote the human rights of prisoners has also resolved to oppose the retention of the death penalty in the new constitution. They argue that the death penalty is inhuman and it is against the values of Christianity and human rights.
We hold the opinion or view that the death penalty is barbaric and should be abolished. The death penalty offers our nation not further protection from crime but further brutalisation. The death penalty is premeditated and cold-blooded killing of a human being by the state. The state can exercise no greater power over a person than that of deliberately depriving him or her of life.
No matter what reasons we give for executing prisoners and the methods of execution we use, the death penalty cannot be separated from the issue of human rights. As Levy Mwanawasa once put it, there can never be a justification for torture or for cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The cruelty of the death penalty is evident.
An execution constitutes an extreme physical and mental assault on a person already rendered helpless by government authorities. Like killings which take place outside the law, the death penalty denies the value of human life and cannot be reconciled with respect for human rights.
And if the death penalty can be justified for one offence, justification that accord with the prevailing views of society or its rulers will be found for it to be used for other offences.
Whatever purpose is cited, the idea that we can justify a punishment as cruel as death conflicts with the very concepts of human rights. The significance of human rights is precisely that some means may never be used to protect society because their use violates the very values which make society worth protecting.
When this essential distinction between appropriate and inappropriate means is set aside in the name of some greater good, all rights are vulnerable and all individuals are threatened.
The death penalty, as a violation of fundamental human rights, would be wrong even if it could be shown that it uniquely met a vital social need. What makes the use of the death penalty even more indefensible and the case for its abolition even more compelling is that it has never been shown to have any special power to meet any unique social need.
Countless men and women have been executed for the stated purpose of preventing crime, especially the crime of murder. Yet, study after study in diverse countries has failed to find convincing evidence that the death penalty has any unique capacity to deter others from committing particular crimes.
Undeniably, the death penalty, by permanently incapacitating a prisoner, prevents that person from repeating the crime. But there is no way to be sure that the prisoner would indeed have repeated the crime if allowed to live, nor is there any need to violate any prisoner's right to life for the purpose of incapacitation: dangerous offenders can be kept safely away from the public without execution.
Every society seeks protection from crime. Far from being a solution, the death penalty gives the erroneous impression that firm measures are being taken against crime. It diverts attention from the more complex measures which are really needed.
When the arguments of deterrence and incapacitation fall away, one is left with a more deep-seated justification for the death penalty: that of just retribution for the particular crime committed. According to this argument, certain people deserve to be killed for the repayment for the evil done: there are crimes so offensive that killing the offender is the only just response.
It is an emotionally powerful argument. It is also one which, if valid, would invalidate the basis for human rights.
If a person who commits a terrible act can deserve the cruelty of death, why not others, for similar reasons, deserve to be tortured or imprisoned without trial or simply shot on sight? Central to fundamental human rights is that they are inalienable.
This means that the right to life doesn't need to be earned by conduct for one to enjoy it. They may not be taken away even if a person has committed the most atrocious of crimes.
Human rights apply to the worst of us as well as to the best of us, which is why they protect all of us.
What the argument of retribution boils down to is often more than the desire for vengeance masked as a principle of justice. The desire for vengeance can be understood and acknowledged but the exercise of vengeance must be resisted. The history of the endeavour to establish the rule of law is a history of the progressive restriction of personal vengeance in public policy and legal codes.
If today's penal system does not sanction burning of an arsonist's home, the rape of a rapist or the torture of a torturer, it is not because they tolerate the crimes. Instead, it is because societies understand that they must be built on a different set of values from those they condemn.
An execution cannot be used to condemn killing; it is killing. Such an act by the state is the mirror image of the criminal's willingness to use physical violence against a victim. And probably this explains why Nelson Mandela concluded that "the death sentence is a reflection of the animal instinct still in human beings".
For these reasons, we urge all the Zambian people to demand the removal of the death sentence from their statute books, from their Constitution.
Labels: CCZ, DEATH PENALTY, PUKUTA MWANZA
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EFZ voices discomfort on cadre appointments
By Masuzyo Chakwe
Mon 19 Mar. 2012, 11:59 CAT
THE appointment of cadres as district commissioners and members of parastatal boards is going to reverse the intended effectiveness that the PF government has been proclaiming and preaching about, says the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia.
In an interview, EFZ executive director Rev Pukuta Mwanza said it was unfortunate that the PF government could justify the appointment of cadres as districts commissioners and board members of parastatals.
Rev Mwanza said it was well known from history that parastatals were riddled with a lot of inefficiency because people that did not qualify ended up being appointed board members of these institutions.
He said this compromised the profitability of these companies and unnecessary increases in the wage bills because apart from just appointing cadres to such high offices, the same senior management personnel came under pressure to employ other party cadres in order to reward them because of their involvement in party functions.
"And this is going to push the country back into the old problem of over employed parastatal company structures as well as siphon a lot of public funds in order to sustain the operations of the inefficient parastatals companies.
The government will have to get money from other sources in order to pay salaries as well as operational costs for companies like Zamtel and we know that if this had begun with Zamtel; it will be the same with Zesco, ZNBC and it will be the same with NAPSA and other parastatals," he said.
"We strongly feel that this is going to reverse the intended effectiveness that the PF government had been proclaiming and preaching all along, where as the government is trying to save costs in the cabinet by reducing the number of ministries, it means that those gains will not be achieved because we will still be losing a lot at the level of parastatal expenses, so we are totally against that."
He said district commissioners should be professionals and appointed to those positions because of their expertise.
"They should be people who understand development, governance , local government so that they can be able to contribute effectively at the level. The appointment of cadres is going to compromise the delivery of service and therefore we are going to have districts that are underperforming or not performing at all and because these people will be rewarded for being there," said Rev Mwanza.
"It will be difficult for the President or the government to be seen to discipline them. The only other way we will be seeing these people is that they will be sent into the diplomatic service because it seems it has become a culture or practice or the rule of thumb that if anybody fails to tick at any level, then the only other place they can be referred to is the diplomatic service."
Labels: CADRES, EFZ, PUKUTA MWANZA
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Barotse Agreement can be basis for national devolution of power - EFZ
By Masuzyo Chakwe
Mon 05 Mar. 2012, 12:00 CAT
THE Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia says the Barotseland Agreement, if well handled, can be used as a basis for decentralisation and devolution of power not only in Western Province but all regions of the country.
Releasing the state of the nation report yesterday, EFZ executive director Reverend Pukuta Mwanza said the primary concerns of the people of the Western Province seemed to be those of development and the government should ensure that there was equitable distribution of resources to promote uniform development in the country.
He said the government should initiate dialogue with the Barotseland Royal Establishment and other stakeholders and make its position known and ensure that the matter was conclusively and peacefully resolved.
Rev Mwanza further said the government may be justified in taking a different position on the restoration of the Barotseland Agreement looking at the implications of the move.
He, however, expressed concern that the report had not yet been made public from the time it was submitted to the government.
"We recognise that the issue of Barotseland was raised during the campaign before the September 2011 tripartite elections and this raised a lot of expectations among the general public. Realising the implications for the restoration of the Barotseland Agreement, the government may be justified in taking a different position on the matter," Rev Mwanza said.
He said the original Barotseland Agreement, if well handled, could be used as a basis for decentralisation and devolution of power not only in Western Province but all the regions of the country, thereby fostering national development.
And Rev Mwanza proposed for the setting up of a truth and justice commission that will, among other things, offer amnesty to the people that may have engaged in corrupt practices to surrender themselves and be offered concessions for their openness.
He said in order to be effective, the fight against corruption must not be selective and should not appear to be targeted at specific high-profile individuals or politicians alone who served in the previous government, but should instead include the civil service and persons in the current government and other institutions.
On the re-alignment of districts and the creation of an additional province, Rev Mwanza said this should be preceded by a comprehensive survey conducted by the Surveyor General's office to ensure that such new districts have been properly described in accordance with the Constitution.
He counselled the government to carry out wider consultations with all stakeholders, including traditional leaders in order to ensure transparency and consensus in the process.
"The re-alignment of the districts should not be done unilaterally and in haste because this may have far-reaching implications on traditional leaders and their subjects who would be affected by such decisions," he said.
On child defilement and gender based violence, Rev Mwanza said EFZ was deeply saddened by the rising and frequent number of cases of defilement and child abuse in the country.
He said just like the abuse of children, the number of gender-based violence cases has been on the increase countrywide.
"We have seen despicable cruelty against our womenfolk in the country by their male counterparts. We are deeply grieved by the rampant abuse of women that have combined rape, physical abuse and murder. This continued brutality against our women is uncalled for and we urge the government through its assigned law enforcement agencies to tighten the law on gender-based violence to ensure that there is justice for our women," he said.
On education, Rev Mwanza said the degeneration of Zambia's educational system in general and the inadequacy of infrastructure in higher institutions of learning in particular was worrying.
He said the pass rate at the school certificate level still remained very low.
Rev Mwanza noted with sadness the current deplorable conditions of the University of Zambia.
He said the over-enrollment in public institutions needed to be addressed as this exerts a lot of pressure on the limited resources and infrastructure such as bed spaces, water, library resources and lecture facilities.
Rev Mwanza said the optimal ratio between the number of students and the needed resources had increased leading to the quality of education being compromised.
He urged the government to quickly mobilise the required funds to improve the education sector and restore the image of the tertiary institutions of learning.
On the constitutional process, Rev Mwanza said there was a danger that if the constitution is not widely accepted, it would lack the credibility to stand the test of time.
He said the process of developing a constitution that later becomes rejected by the majority of the people would be a mere misuse of the national resources.
Rev Mwanza said although the EFZ was not in the current technical team of experts that was formed to draft a new constitution, they felt duty bound to offer their objective contributions to the constitution-making process for the common good of the country.
He said having scrutinised the terms of reference of the technical committee on the drafting of the new constitution, EFZ welcomed the published roadmap towards the realisation of a people driven constitution.
Rev Mwanza said the lack of a legal framework to back the work that had been assigned to the technical committee on the drafting of the new constitution was a concern as it subjected the whole process to the whims of executive powers.
He also said the reasons advanced for the postponement of the production of the first constitution draft which was earlier scheduled for the end of February 2012 were understandable and supported the adoption of the constitution through the referendum.
Rev Mwanza called on the government to amend the referendum Act which he said was outdated in its current content.
He also opposed the proposed route of referring the draft constitution to international experts as there were sufficient local experts to confirm the aptness of the wishes of Zambians within the current context of their collective and united journey politically, economically, socially, culturally and spiritually.
And Rev Mwanza proposed the inclusion of the 50 per cent plus one vote clause for the election of the Republican president in the country's Constitution, saying the election of a popular president helps to promote unity in the country.
"…And in case of a petition against the results of the presidential elections, the winning candidate should not be sworn in until the petition has been heard and the case has been disposed of…," he said.
Rev Mwanza also said the date for presidential and parliamentary elections should be enshrined in the constitution and made a public holiday.
He further recommended a clear independence and autonomy of each of the three arms of the government.
"Separation of powers between the three organs of the government namely: Executive, Judiciary and Legislature is crucial for their effectiveness. Interference by any one of these organs in the jurisdiction of any of the others undermines the legitimacy of the institution and affects the level of trust and confidence by the general public," said Rev Mwanza.
Labels: BAROTSELAND AGREEMENT, EFZ, PUKUTA MWANZA
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Extend corruption fight to rural areas
By The Post
Sat 21 Jan. 2012, 20:00 CAT
Reverend Pukuta Mwanza, executive director of the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia, says corruption must not be seen as being exclusively an urban problem; rather, it must now be seen as a national moral problem. It is true, corruption is everywhere in our country, including rural areas.
Of course, the nature and magnitude of corruption differs from area to area depending on many things, including the nature and level of resources available in each area.
And even rural areas where corruption may not be present, those areas are nevertheless still affected by corruption. It is a question of if not being infected by corruption, they are affected by corruption.
The enjoyment of the right to adequate standard of living in our country will require a search for viable means to end corruption, bearing in mind that the sources of corruption are both structural and personal.
It is not enough to say that corruption as a moral evil is rooted in the heart of human beings. When corruption is generalised at various social levels, we have to look at the structures that are causing it.
Rural areas are the most affected when it comes to corruption. This is where the people most affected by corruption, the poor, live.
The poor in our rural areas are exploited, are disadvantaged by the same people who are supposed to be their saviours. They are everyday being robbed of the meagre resources necessary for their wellbeing by the people they elected as their representatives. There are so many stories about members of parliament who have chewed, stolen, mismanaged, misused, misapplied Constituency Development Funds.
There are also many civil servants who have done deals that have resulted in poor roads, schools, clinics or health centres being constructed in our rural areas. This is because these public servants have stolen part of the money that was meant for these projects. We all know how the farmer input support programme has been abused by those managing it on behalf of our poor people.
There are so many stories about chiefs selling their people's land to all sorts of people, including foreigners. This is corruption. And it deprives their people of a future that is secure.
Clearly, there is no section of the community that has all the virtues, neither does any have all the vices. There is corruption in our urban areas and there is corruption in our rural areas. There are people who are very good in our urban areas and there are some who are very good in our rural areas. Both the bad and the good exist side-by-side in our rural and urban areas.
So the fight against corruption has to cover the entire 755,000-square kilometres of our country. The fight against corruption should leave no part of our country untouched. And no citizen of this country should stay away from this fight because we are all affected, if not infected.
It is therefore important, as Rev Mwanza has correctly advised, to sensitise our rural communities about the dangers of engaging in corrupt activities. The effort in fighting corruption must be extended to all our rural areas. And we urge all civil society organisations that are engaged in the fight against corruption to take some of their programmes to our rural areas. It is in the rural areas that we face the challenge of corruption, bribery and all sorts of malpractices during elections.
This is corruption. We cannot wait until elections to sensitise our rural people about the dangers of corruption. It has to be a continuous process. They have to be taught about how to hold their elected representatives accountable because lack of accountability leads to corruption and can be said to be corruption itself.
There is need to teach our rural people that the resources government officials take to them are not gifts from politicians. It is their own money, their government's money. And sometimes it may be money donated to them by other nations or peoples. All this money needs to be accounted for. Being constructed a clinic, a school, a feeder road is not a favour from those running government. It is a right. It is a duty.
Let's not give corrupt elements space. Let's fight them everywhere. There are many fake contractors enjoying taxpayers' money every year in feeder roads contracts.
They are corruptly given contracts to maintain feeder roads in rural areas where most enlightened people don't go and they don't do it. But they collect the money year in year out. Nobody makes them to account because many of us don't even know that there are such contracts and such contractors in such areas.
It's not easy to steal money that is meant for a street say in Kabwata, Bauleni, Munali, Mandevu or Matero. People will easily know what has happened. But still some money is stolen and poor streets are constructed. If this can happen in the capital city where so many enlightened people live, where so many civil society organisations monitoring corruption issues reside, what more in the rural areas where ignorance dominates?
There is need to quickly extend the fight against corruption to our rural areas. As Rev Mwanza has correctly pointed out, if this is not addressed, very little development will take place in our rural areas and poverty and despair will deepen.
It is clear that the fight against corruption cannot be carried out just by a few people in Lusaka. Everyone everywhere must be mobilised. The most potent of all restraints against corruption is an informed public. Let us ensure that there is increased awareness among our rural people about the issues of corruption.
Labels: CORRUPTION, PUKUTA MWANZA, RURAL AREAS
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Incessant corruption is aggravating poverty
Mon 03 Jan. 2011, 03:59 CAT
THE concerns that donors to our country have continued to raise about accountability over the use of public funds need to be taken very seriously by those in government.
As Reverend Pukuta Mwanza, the executive director of the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia, has correctly observed, the political leadership of this country needs to take the donors’ concerns about accountability seriously and not try to belittle them or play them down in any way. Donor aid is a good or positive thing. But it needs to be managed prudently. And if managed wisely, it can offer us possibilities of a much more rapid development. But we shouldn’t forget that aid has to be conditional.
We say this because when you help someone, a position is taken, and that position is taken on the basis of certain analyses of the loyalty and effectiveness of the leadership of the country you are helping. The assistance should be conditional; if not, we run the risk of it being turned into the opposite of what we want. And whatever its conditionalities, donor aid is today the lifeblood and clearly keeps hope alive for the great majority of our people who otherwise will have found themselves in extremely bad circumstances indeed.
But despite massive donor assistance to our country for over four decades, the great majority of our people live in abject poverty and on less than a dollar a day, with no access to education, healthcare, clean water and other basic services required in an organised society. The reason for this abnormality is because we are failing to account for the aid and show clearly what we have done with it.
When the political leadership of a country prioritises the value of life for its citizens, then there is a little chance to see the spectacle of emaciated children, some of them living on the street, and an impoverished population.
This dismal failure can be attributed to many factors such as our inability to take serious action to generate economic prosperity. Rather, our politicians in government and technocrats alike, have been scrambling to squeeze resources away from the poor.
And their failure to establish transparency and accountability over the use of public funds and other resources has been a sure recipe for inertia and is helping to perpetuate a system that prevents socio-economic development in our country. Clearly, the future of our people is ransomed by those who wield power. And because donor aid is based on bureaucracy and conditionalities, there’s little the ordinary citizen of this country can do to break this cycle of poverty.
As we have already pointed out, donor aid is a necessity for the poor people of our country, but it is often wasted on things that have no bearing on the lives of our people. Oftentimes, the inputs of the ordinary people are not sought; and when they are sought, it's just as a mere formality and is not taken into account or consideration.
Rather, it is the politicians in government and their hand-picked technocrats that take centre stage in the use of donor aid at the expense of the poor. Donor aid could be a catalyst for our socio-economic development. But not in the way it is being used. For it to be useful and effective, it has to be used in a fair and just manner, with due consideration to the needs and interests of the ordinary people, especially the poor. If this is not so, then the essence of donor aid becomes meaningless and counterproductive for the great majority of our people. Our politicians in government and their technocrats don’t seem to value the lives of their citizens, and it seems no matter the amount of aid, their typical inertia will always be pervasive.
They seem to shy away from constructive policies to generate national income and when they do, they normally do this in a corrupt way within their political strongholds, their tribal areas, ostracising others who do not belong to their league.
We cannot afford to be always on the receiving end. Those giving us aid must start to rethink – and most of them are already doing so – their approach towards how they assist us and the distribution of their aid. Rather than giving us their taxpayers’ money for which we show no positive results, they must start to put more effort in the way we account for this assistance. They must not hesitate to suspend such assistance if we fail to account for it, if we squander it.
Moreover, given our immense natural resources, after four decades of aid, we should have been firmly on our own. And it is us who today should be assisting other nations in the world that are not well-endowed with natural resources and are being consistently harassed by natural disasters. Here, we have in mind some poor nations in the Caribbean and Latin America, among others.
The sole cause of poverty in our country today is not lack of resources or even of donor aid. It is the incessant corruption among our political leaders, their technocrats and cronies. Look at the gigantic amount of money Frederick Chiluba, his technocrats and other cronies siphoned from the treasury of our country! And look at the corrupt way Rupiah Banda’s government has connived and manipulated things to allow Chiluba to go scot-free and keep his loot.
Rupiah’s government has corruptly refused to recover from Chiluba more than US$45 million they were granted by a London High Court judgment. And today Chiluba and his cronies are being given back the properties they had bought with stolen government money.
And this is being done with the assistance of corrupt technocrats in the justice institutions of the state. Our entire judicial process is today at the service of the corrupt, the politically well-connected plunderers. Sadly, these people are not interested in serving the poor, but in perpetuating their corrupt acts and dismissing any idea of meaningful socio-economic development, thus solidifying our country’s backwardness. A new approach that will make donor aid worthwhile in our country is urgently needed.
The reality is, there is still a big gulf between the poor and the rich in our country. The overwhelming majority of our people are still living without safe and clean drinking water, and no access to education and healthcare. With little or no accountability for donor aid, politicians and technocrats alike will continue to enrich themselves, while the status of ordinary citizens is being reduced disproportionately.
Even with the debt relief we received over the last decade, because of corruption, we are still grappling with the problem of how to provide good and adequate services to our people. An overwhelming number of Zambians lack jobs and there is little to boast of in terms of infrastructural development. As donor aid flows in, some politicians and technocrats are happy as it serves as an alternative to get wealth more quickly, and little is being done to generate national income to boost the economic life of our country.
They are not even interested in collecting meaningful taxes from the exploitation by trans-national corporations of our country’s natural resources, our mineral wealth. Look at their position on windfall taxes! The truth is they have corruptly sold these windfall taxes to the mining companies in exchange for personal favours of all sorts, including the funding of their election campaigns. This is what corruption can do to a country and to a people.
A poor or weak economy like ours needs an open and transparent system and effective government structures to enhance socio-economic development. And because the donors are there to provide budget support and project funding, there’s apathy among our politicians and their technocrats to be innovative and selfless.
In order to maximise the benefits of the aid they are giving us, donors must take serious action to make things work efficiently, effectively and in an orderly manner for the poor majority. The flow of aid should not be left in the hands of corrupt and unscrupulous politicians, their technocrats and cronies.
It needs to be monitored and scrutinised. There’s need for maximum accountability and transparency in the use of donor money. At all times, the citizens of this country should be made to know how much aid the donors have given us and how it has been applied. The citizens of this country need to be involved in ensuring accountability and transparency in the receipt and utilisation of donor aid.
Labels: CORRUPTION, PUKUTA MWANZA
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‘Corruption should be treated as national crisis’
By Masuzyo Chakwe
Mon 17 May 2010, 03:10 CAT
EVANGELICAL Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ) executive director Reverend Pukuta Mwanza has said the fight against corruption in Zambia is not yielding the desired results. In an interview, Rev Mwanza said the fight against corruption was going at a slow rate, below public expectation.
He said the issue of corruption was a moral and spiritual problem. Rev Mwanza said corruption was a serious vice such that it should be treated as a national crisis going by the levels it had reached in the country.
Rev Mwanza said politicians should not use the fight against corruption as a political campaign material but rather act on it when they get into power.
He said corruption reverses all the gains of economic development and leads to perpetual poverty. Rev Mwanza said the fight against corruption was an important responsibility of the government and every Zambian citizen. He said this must be supported by credible institutions such as the police, investigative teams and an independent judiciary.
“And knowing the seriousness of corruption and the impact on development, cases brought before the courts of law must be expedited and the results of the investigations must be made public because they were dealing with public resources,” he said.
Rev Mwanza said there was need to see tangible results of investigations or the fight against corruption would be mere political rhetoric.
He said as a church, EFZ supported the fight against corruption because of the negative impact it had on its people.
And Rev Mwanza said EFZ was happy with the early opening of the crop marketing season. He said it was important to make money available to farmers now to enable them procure the agro inputs for the next season.
Rev Mwanza said the problem was not so much with the timing of the marketing season but the paying of farmers on time by Food Reserve Agency (FRA).
“We have seen in the past farmers paid on the onset of the rainy season. We feel strongly that FRA should be sufficiently capitalised and financed so that it can pay farmers on time,” Rev Mwanza said.
Rev Mwanza also said the road network in rural areas needed to be improved so that far-fetched areas could be reached.
Labels: CORRUPTION, EFZ, PUKUTA MWANZA
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Give everyone who qualifies an NRC
By Editor
Tue 06 Apr. 2010, 04:00 CAT
“No Zambian should be disenfranchised because of not having an opportunity to get an NRC (National Registration Card) or voters card. The footage on television showing long queues at Matero Constituency just shows how our leaders lack the ability to think effectively on such important national matters.”
These are the observations of Reverend Pukuta Mwanza, the executive director of the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia, on the on-going national voters registration exercise which started on April 1 and is expected to end on June 30, 2010. Good elections, free and fair elections require intelligent and efficient preparations.
To have peaceful, free and fair elections, certain conditions have to prevail in our country and in our hearts. And the major players have to agree on conditions under which these elections would be held. The contestants have to conduct themselves in a manner that does not put others at an unfair disadvantage.
Constructive dialogue should be encouraged at all times on key electoral issues, such as voter registration, which starts with the registration for NRCs.
It is clear to all that if the national registration exercise for NRCs is allowed to continue this way, many citizens will be robbed of their right and duty to vote in next year's elections. It is clear from the queues in Matero that we all saw on television that this exercise needs a bit more time to be spent in each constituency.
And there must be adequate opportunity for people to register for NRCs up to the end of the voters registration exercise. We say this because there are people who will not be able to register now and obtain NRCs before the end of June and these should not be denied the opportunity to do so before the whole voter registration exercise is completed.
And those in charge of the registration exercise should be reminded of the fact that voting is not only a right of every citizen of this country who has attained the age of 18 at the time before the voters registration exercise is concluded, but rather a duty.
If their opportunity to vote is lost, Zambians run the risk of getting into public offices people who have no national interest at heart and who are going to jeopardise the future of all our children. Therefore, every citizen who has attained the appropriate age of 18 should be given the opportunity to take up their duty as citizens and register to vote. They need to obtain NRCs and register as voters so that they can vote for the right persons on next year's elections.
Denying any citizen the opportunity to obtain an NRC and thereafter register as a voter so that they can participate in the choice of leaders at all levels brings catastrophic results to the nation. It is a great crime, a great injustice to deny any citizen the opportunity to obtain an NRC and register as a voter so that they can participate in next year's elections. It is a great injustice to rob any citizen of this opportunity to exercise their citizen duty of voting. All citizens who have attained the age of 16 have the right to be issued with an NRC so that when they turn 18, they can register as voters and participate in choosing their leaders.
And we are told under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that “…the will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be exercised in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures” (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 21 page 5).
The basic item of a democratic state is that the government governs with the consent of the people. “The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government” (Universal Declaration of Human Rights article 21 page 25). The minimum guarantee that the government rules on the basis of the genuine will of the people is regular free and fair elections. This minimum guarantee can be frustrated by not issuing citizens who qualify NRCs so that they can register as voters when the time to do so comes and eventually cast a vote in a public election.
To deny a citizen the opportunity to obtain an NRC so that they can register as voters and vote is to lose a person's right and the nation's right. The political rights of citizens of this country consist in their capacity to participate in government. They exist for the public good and they are not strictly rights but rather privileges. The most important political right or privilege is the vote. Today the vote is a serious duty. Whether a nation will have good or bad laws, an upright or inefficient administration depends on the voters. A person who is able to obtain an NRC and register as a voter but neglects to do so is guilty of serious omission. And if a person who qualifies to obtain an NRC and register as a voter is denied the opportunity to do so, those responsible for that are equally guilty of a serious omission. Citizens who do not care for their duty of voting are an easy prey to tyranny.
Not voting in elections can help bring anarchy to the country by leaving all the responsibility to inefficient and unworthy people. We all have rights and duties as citizens and the love for our country urges us to act accordingly in all justice and charity. We should all be conscious of the crucial role which each one of us should play in choosing the leaders who will create the Zambia we want to live in.
Free, fair and constructive elections would become a reality when those in government, especially those tasked with the management of elections, take their responsibility seriously. To have peaceful, free and fair elections, certain conditions have to prevail in our country and in our hearts. There ought to be a conducive atmosphere.
And in the light of all this, we make a special appeal to the government, and to the ruling MMD to realise that they have a serious responsibility. As facilitators of the elections, they should ensure that the concerns of all key players and all other stakeholders like Reverend Mwanza are adequately addressed. We also make an appeal to the opposition parties and other stakeholders about the need for them to be open and constructive in participating in the electoral process and in addressing all the issues pertaining to next year's elections, including the issuance of NRCs and the registration of voters that will follow this.
Next year's elections will provide all Zambians with a unique opportunity to show their political maturity and their sincere aspiration for peace and harmony anchored in justice. It is in this spirit that we want to appeal to those in charge of the national registration exercise and voter registration to organise things in a manner that will enable every citizen who qualifies to obtain an NRC and register as a voter to do so. It is clear to all that the period of registration for NRCs needs extension. And this doesn't need much disquisition.
The right to vote bears positive fruit for the country when all citizens are given adequate opportunity to obtain NRCs, register as voters and choose good leaders who will serve the country with justice towards all. Our vote is a powerful weapon for unity, an instrument of liberty, justice and peace which no citizen should be unjustifiably disarmed of. On our voting, on the quality of it, the discernment behind it, depends the progress and peace of our country.
And as such, the interest of political parties should be kept subordinate to the public good when it comes to the preparations and conduct of elections.
It is important to remind all those who are involved in this exercise that the national registration exercise and the voter registration and the elections that will follow next year are for the good of the people and the country, and not for the political survival of any individual or political party. If the spirit of the primacy of the common good were to animate these exercises, we have no doubt that the advice given by Reverend Mwanza to ensure that no Zambian is disinfrancised because of not having an opportunity to obtain an NRC and register as a voter would be quickly acted on and ensure that it is addressed.
Labels: PUKUTA MWANZA, VOTER REGISTRATION
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EFZ urges extension of NRCs exercise
By Masuzyo Chakwe
Tue 06 Apr. 2010, 04:00 CAT
EVANGELICAL Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ) executive director Reverend Pukuta Mwanza has said the confusion surrounding the mobile issuance of national registration cards (NRCs) shows how Zambian leaders lack the ability to think effectively on such important matters.
In an interview yesterday, Rev Mwanza said the national registration and voter registration exercises should be revised and decentralised. The Ministry of Home Affairs has commenced the third phase of the mobile registration exercise, which will run from April 1 to June 30, 2010.
The third phase would cover Luapula, Copperbelt and Lusaka provinces and the teams in the areas would spend approximately five days at a given centre in order to reach as many people as possible.
But people have complained about the long queues and called on the government to extend the five-day registration period.
Rev Mwanza said the long queues at the centres were a recipe for corruption because the delays could bring frustration and people could get tempted to compromise their integrity and offer bribes to get the NRCs.
He said there was need to decentralise the whole process so that the officers could deal with a smaller group of people.
“This exercise should have been taken to the schools while they were still open so that the pupils there get the NRCs from there so that townships are decongested. This would decongest the townships. The footage on television showing long queues at Matero Constituency just shows how our leaders lack the ability to think effectively on such important national matters. No Zambian should be disfranchised because of not having an opportunity to get an NRC or voter’s card,” he said.
Rev Mwanza urged the government to quickly act on the matter and ensure that it was addressed.
And Mwanza said while the church was an ally of the government on national matters, it could not keep quiet on government’s failures.
“Being an ally doesn’t mean we cannot speak out on things that the government is doing wrong. If we have a contrary view, we do it for the good of the Zambian people and that as a church, we have no political agenda but to ensure peace and stability in the country,” he said.
“We are helping them government to have a conducive environment in which to serve. The church is actually involved in the provision of many services to the people such as education, health, food aid and HIV and AIDS among others.”
He said the church’s role in governance matters should be appreciated and the government must not clip the clergy’s lips when they speak because they had their feet on the ground.
Rev Mwanza said the church was deeply concerned about the squabbles among politicians which were a threat to peace and unity.
He said the squabbles were causing doubts in the general public, especially that elections were drawing near.
Rev Mwanza said the trading of insults and personal attacks in public just showed that politicians were running away from issues of national development.
He said the politicking was an indication that the politicians were tired and must go into retirement.
Rev Mwanza said politicians were expected to put their energies and thoughts at lowering the cost of living for the majority of Zambians.
“They need to think of job creation, employment, education and health, as we have seen that the general social services in the country have totally collapsed,” said Rev Mwanza.
Labels: EFZ, PUKUTA MWANZA, VOTER REGISTRATION
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Don’t swear in election winner until petitions are over - Rev Mwanza
By Sututu Katundu
Fri 05 Feb. 2010, 04:00 CAT
THE Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ) has proposed that the president-elect should not be sworn in until all contentious issues raised by participating parties are cleared by the courts.
Appearing before the parliamentary committee on legal affairs, governance, human rights and gender matters chaired by Mazabuka Central member of parliament Gary Nkombo on Tuesday, EFZ executive director Reverend Pukuta Mwanza recommended that the returning officer in the presidential elections should declare the winning candidate but the winner should not be sworn in until issues raised by participating parties are sorted out by the courts within 90 days.
He said in case of a petition against the results, the winning candidate should not be sworn in and the Chief Justice should not preside over the petition but his deputy.
Rev Mwanza said this would help to reduce post-election violence in the country.
He said it would lessen suspicions with delays in releasing election results and the rushed declaration and swearing in ceremony of the perceived winner.
Rev Mwanza said the date for general elections should be determined by the Constitution.
He said the Election Day should also be declared a public holiday in an election year to maximise voter turnout.
He urged the government to show political will in improving the country's electoral system and allow the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to be independent to enable people develop confidence in the electoral system and subsequently enhance their active participation in elections.
Rev Mwanza said ECZ should be adequately funded by the Ministry of Finance and National Planning and the donor community.
He said there was need for a new constitution which could guarantee free and fair elections and make it easier for the new legislation to be enacted.
He said the monitoring of elections should begin the moment campaigns start, which is usually three weeks from the announcement of the election date.
He said in the event that the election date is not enshrined in the Republican constitution, the ECZ should announce the election date for presidential, parliamentary and local government, rather than the president.
Other recommendations include the fact that the 50 per cent plus one threshold must be adopted for the presidential candidate to win an election to ensure that he is popularly elected.
He said it was imperative that ECZ devises a system of getting results quicker and in a transparent manner using air transport where rural constituencies were inaccessible due to bad road networks and inaccessibility during the rain season or that results be transmitted directly from the counting centres.
He proposed that elections be held in October before the rain season to avoid problems associated with bad terrain in most parts of the country.
Rev Mwanza said there should be consensus on appointees to sit on the electoral commission in terms of institutions such as the church, civil society organizations, political parties, the House of Chiefs and eminent persons to ensure wider participation of key interest groups.
He said state security forces like the police and army should play a non-partisan role and provide security to all participating political parties.
Rev Mwanza said issues associated with holding and conducting public rallies should not be biased against the opposition.
He called for a review on the conduct of elections and election laws to ensure an acceptable system and avoid loss of credibility by the public, which had resulted in apathy during elections.
He said political party campaigns should be issue based as opposed to attacking personalities.
He proposed that punitive measures be imposed on candidates that personalised campaigns.
Rev Mwanza urged the government and Parliament to use recommendations from the Electoral Reform Technical Committee (ERTC) before enacting the new constitution.
On the need for delimitation of constituencies, Rev Mwanza said the process should coincide with the census 2010 to match geographical population by location.
He said the voter registration exercise should be continuous to enable Zambians who reach voting age participate in an election and registered voters who may have lost their cards to have them replaced.
He said the option of using National Registration Cards (NRC) may provide a better alternative to the use of voters cards in an election.
He said the buying of voters cards from those perceived as supporters of other political parties should be criminalised and legislation should provide punitive measures to ensure no one is disenfranchised.
Rev Mwanza recommended that a more decentralised system with mobile facilities be made available at community level to reduce time spent to get NRCs and the dangers associated with alleged malpractices.
Rev Mwanza added that the issuance of NRCs would be easier if the issuance of birth certificates was decentralised so that mothers received their children's certificates from the clinics they delivered from to minimise the difficulties in getting additional birth details.
Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS, EFZ, PUKUTA MWANZA
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