UPND MEDIA DIRECTOR WARNS AGAINST MISINFORMATION ON CONSTITUTION AMENDMENT BILL NO. 7
UPND Media Director Mark Simuuwe has reiterated that only the Executive has the constitutional mandate to take a bill to Parliament, cautioning stakeholders against misleading the public over the reintroduction of Constitution Amendment Bill No. 7.
Mr. Simuuwe said it is unfortunate that some groups opposing the Bill continue to publish the same arguments that were dismissed by the courts, creating unnecessary confusion among citizens.
He stressed that the matter was taken to court and the courts threw it out, making continued misinformation both irresponsible and deceptive.
Addressing concerns raised by certain members of the clergy, Mr. Simuuwe clarified that the government is not against the Catholic Church, but rather responding to positions taken by a few politically aligned priests.
He emphasised that these individuals do not represent the majority of Catholic members, many of whom support Bill No. 7.
“We should not judge the Catholic Church unfairly. What should be judged fairly are the individual priests who have chosen to take partisan stances,” he said.
He added that religious leaders should not abuse the pulpit to advance political agendas, noting that any priest wishing to join politics is free to do so openly.
Mr. Simuuwe further warned that failure to amend the Constitution before the next general election would amount to a violation of the constitutional requirement that certain electoral and governance processes be reviewed within a ten-year cycle.
He also explained that the current Constitution does not provide for by-elections in newly delimitated constituencies, a gap that Bill No. 7 seeks to correct.
He highlighted that the proposed amendments align with national census data by responding to population shifts across constituencies.
Contrasting Bill No. 7 with the former Bill No. 10, Mr. Simuuwe said the earlier bill attempted to introduce provisions such as the return of deputy ministers, abolition of service commissions, parliamentary control over judicial appointments, politicisation of chiefdoms, and the power to alter districts and provinces without parliamentary approval.
He added that Bill 10 also attempted to introduce an undefined universal concept of morality, among other contentious clauses.
“Politics is not about lying. It is about telling the people the truth,” he said.
Mr. Simuuwe noted that under the proposed reforms, Zambia is adopting a model similar to that of South Africa, where citizens vote for political parties rather than individual parliamentary candidates under a mixed-member proportional representation system.
He commended President Hakainde Hichilema for acting responsibly to resolve constitutional lacunae that, if left unattended, could undermine the country’s democratic processes.
Mr. Simuuwe noted that Parliament has its own internal procedures and has already constituted a Select Committee to which the Technical Committee and other stakeholders will present their submissions as part of the ongoing consultative process.
The Media Director said this during a Prime TV “Media Introspection” programme.
UPND MT