BILL 7 IN ITS CURRENT FORM RISKS PLUNGING THE NATION INTO DISORDER – KATEBE
By: Sun Fm TV Reporter
The Oasis Forum Has Pulled Out Of The Ongoing Constitutional Reform Dialogue, Accusing Government Of Pursuing An “Illegal And Flawed” Process While Ignoring Critical Governance And Rule-Of-Law Concerns.
Forum Chairperson Beauty Katebe Stated That The Organisation Could Not Continue Participating In A Process That Violates Constitutional Court Directives And Lacks Legitimacy.
The Forum Contends That The Reform Effort, Built Around Bill No. 7 Of 2025, Contravenes The Court’s Earlier Ruling Which Nullified The Bill’s Initiation Due To Inadequate Public Consultation.
Ms. Katebe Further Noted That The Technical Committee Responsible For Collecting Public Submissions Operates Without A Proper Legal Framework To Ensure Independence And Accountability.
The Oasis Forum Has Insisted That Bill 7 Must Be Withdrawn From Parliament Before Any Meaningful Dialogue Can Resume.
It Also Criticised The Decision To Align The Reform Process With The 2026 Electoral Calendar, Arguing That The Rushed Timeline Undermines Inclusivity And Diverts Attention From Pressing National Challenges Such As The Cost Of Living, Water Shortages, And Unemployment.
Ms. Katebe Warned That Continuing With Bill 7 In Its Current Form Poses “A Serious Threat To The Integrity Of Zambia’s Foundational Law And Risks Plunging The Nation Into Disorder.”
The Forum Announced Plans To Pursue All Available Legal Channels And May Seek Support From The International Community To Pressure Government Into Halting The Process.
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Zambians, when they are pushing a polical agent which hiding CSOs or the church can twist facts. How is the constitutional amendment related to unemployment? From 2011 to 2021, how many jobs were created. Many people especially on the copperbelt lost jobs because of mining in the courts. There are much more jobs created from 2021 to date. This shows that the amendments to the constitution have nothing to do unemployment. The period for submission was long enough and allowed more than 11,800 submissions in 2 months compared to the 12,000 in two years. It could have been higher if these CSOs submitted and did not discourage people from making submissions. Yes it is obvious why it should be tied to the elections because an extra 55 constituencies need to be filled in during the 2026 elections. This will have a benefit of approximately an additional K2.2 billion in direct CDF in the constituencies. Look at the composition of CDF: schools bursaries, skills training, loans, women and youth grants, hospitals and school infrastructure and many more. Those constituencies that have prudently used CDF will tell you that it is a game changer. You are just scared that after 10 years of the UPND government this country would have changed for the better compared to their counterpart’s 10 year rule which will appear as a joke except for the mountain of debt left. Let us be real. Your arguments are not convincing. You have not highlighted any proposed provision in your submission that is bad for the people of Zambia. Stop saying you represent Zambians. How many of the Zambians to you represent. You have no mandate from the same Zambians compared to the people you are condemning who still have the mandate of 2.8 million voters’ mandate. With or without delimitation, the total number of voters still remain the same and the president gets absolutely not electro advantage from that. If it gives him that advantage, it will be that people are impressed with this decision.
In my own opinion, the risk of plunging the nation into disorder is coming from you the Oasis Forum because you have allowed your Forum to be overtaken by some members fighting the government. Oasis Forum no longer exists as a CSO, it’s more or less like a Church or an opposition party. You the Forum Chairperson you are not even heard, what we hear are the Clergy, LAZ etc. While we know and appreciate that some LAZ and Church leaders are members of Oasis Forum, it would be good for them to remain as members and leave the show to you the leaders especially you the Chairperson. We should not spoil our nation for nothing, Bill 7 can only be made into an amended law after it reaches parliament and passed through the three readings. That’s the time the president will have the powers to sign or not to sign it. Where you miss the point is focusing on the president all the time instead of focusing on the people. When the President appointed the Technical Committee, you should have concentrated on campaigning and urging the people not to participate instead of urging the president to stop the process, if the majority of the people did not want Bill 7 as you are trying to portray, they could not have participated in the making of submissions. But contrary to what you are saying, the response was overwhelmingly good, people including our traditional Leaders made submissions on how they want to be governed. But you people, regardless of how people responded, you still want the process to stop. Is that Constitutional or unconstitutional? What powers does the president have to stop the Bill outside Parliament? And what powers do you have to order the president to stop a people driven process? You can call the International Community to come and intervene but they will need to carry out their own investigations as well and their findings should tally with your allegations. For example, if you are claiming that people were not adequately consulted, how come the same people responded overwhelmingly? These days Technology is advanced, you can do same 12 months job in 2 months or less. Other concerns are just mere assumptions and are in future, they may be there or may not be there. The President himself said it, he has no intention of going beyond two terms, he has no intention of extending the presidential term from five to seven years etc. if you don’t believe him, what else do you want him to do? May be you can make him sign for his words, may be that will satisfy you.