NGOCC CRITICIZES SPEAKER’S REMARKS ON CONSTITUTION AMENDMENT BILL No.7
LUSAKA
The Non-Governmental Gender Organisations’ Coordinating Council (NGOCC) has expressed disappointment over remarks attributed to Speaker of the National Assembly, Nelly Mutti, suggesting that some chiefs support the continuation of the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Bill No. 7 of 2025.
In a statement, NGOCC Chairperson Beauty Katebe said the Speaker’s comments, made after her tour of constituency offices in Muchinga Province, were regrettable and ill-timed.
NGOCC noted that stakeholders, including itself, had already communicated their disapproval of the Bill to President Hakainde Hichilema during consultations at State House. Following those engagements, the President deferred Bill 7, citing the concerns raised.
The women’s movement further stressed that the Constitutional Court had given clear guidance on the process a constitutional amendment must follow to be legitimate and inclusive
“The remarks by the Speaker suggest that the Legislature is warming up to a process that has been rejected and encouraging the Executive to proceed with this process,” Katebe said. “This flies in the teeth of the doctrine of separation of powers and implies that the tabling of Bill 7 in its current form may be a foregone conclusion, which is very worrisome.”
NGOCC has since urged President Hichilema to uphold his commitment to heed stakeholder concerns, warning that proceeding with the Bill in its current state — less than a year before general elections, and without addressing women’s under-representation — would amount to “a betrayal and an affront to the Constitution.”
Some journalists, report in a buffoonic way, by exaggerating the titles of their articles as they write on behalf of the opposition. Even when One just gives his or her own personal opinion, the buffoonic journalist writes, “The NGCC says. ……., The LAZ says, the organization says…” No