Given Lubinda
COMMENCEMENT OF CONSTITUTION MAKING PROCESS SHOCKING
We are shocked to learn that some stakeholders have made submissions to he government on the constitution making process.
Who are these stakeholders, when were they invited to make their submissions and how were they identified.
When we started the process, it was in full view of the country because we announced it in Parliament.
We convened the national dialogue stakeholder’s symposium involving church mother bodies, civil society organisations, student bodies,political parties the women movement e.t.c.
We gave the citizens and all stakeholders not less than a year to make their submissions, we sent teams across the country to sensitise the masses and to collect their input, Parliament legislated a legal framework called the national dialogue act.
We convened the Siavonga symposium of political parties, we convened the national dialogue forum involving more than 500bdelegates from various organisations and representing people from different walks of lives e.t.c.
And yet ultimately the UPD shot down the process claiming that it was not built out of consensus.
While we totally support he need for reforming the constitution of Zambia to address the many challenges that it presents, we demand that the standard of consultation, he level of transparency and quality of consensus should be higher than that which was attained during the bill 10 process. Anything lower than that will be considered a mockery and a fuss.