WE CONCUR with Lunte Member of Parliament Mutotwe Kafwaya that the New Dawn government should not keep its plans to amend the Constitution a secret.
We say this because the Constitution is, in essence, a set of laws that Zambians have agreed to be governed with.
Because of this, we can say that the Constitution belongs to all of the citizens, regardless of their social standing, race or religion, and not only the United Party for National Development (UPND)-led government.
Because the Constitution is a set of laws spelling out how we as a people wish govern ourselves, any amendments to this supreme law of the land should be subjected to wider consultation involving all stakeholders.
In the midst of political tensions and divisions on tribal lines, we believe that securing national consensus in the process of amending the Constitution is crucial.
Secrecy in this process would only fuel suspicion that the UPND is bent on making rushed changes to the Constitution to prolong its stay in office. This should not be allowed in a country like ours where a people-driven Constitution has been elusive for many years.
We would like to warn that keeping the Constitution amendment process secret will only confirm suspicions that the UPND intends to change the sacred document to increase the presidential term from five to seven years and remove the 50 percent plus one vote threshold for a winning presidential candidate.
We want to emphasise that these two clauses should remain in the Constitution because Zambians overwhelmingly demanded their inclusion in previous constitution review commissions (CRCs).
Since Zambia is a unique nation and its citizens no longer interested in being ruled by a minority president who lacks legitimacy, we do not believe that this is a time to hear arguments that Zambia should return to the past-the-post system in line with regional norms and standards.
While some would argue that the 50 percent plus one threshold for a winning presidential candidate is costly for a developing nation like ours in the event of a rerun, we think such arguments are retrogressive and intended to trigger amendments to the Constitution for the benefit of a select group of selfish individuals who are determined to hold onto power using the back door. Zambians will not allow that.
It is for this reason that we agree with Kafwaya, who has questioned the secrecy surrounding the plans by the UPND government to amend the Constitution before next year’s elections.
“Madam Speaker, the Honourable minister of Health [Dr Elijah Muchima] when responding to a question has referred to the fact that Constitution amendments are coming soon. Madam Speaker, the Constitution is not a document for the UPND government. It is a document for the Zambian people.
“Why is the UPND government hiding the Zambian people that soon, they want to amend the Constitution without telling the people and telling us so that we can go to our constituencies and tell our people that this government wants to amend the Constitution one year before they leave office? Madam Speaker, I seek your serious ruling, and this particular point of order is on the entire UPND government,” Kafwaya said.
In her ruling First Deputy Speaker Malungo Chisangano said although Dr Muchima mentioned the Constitution amendments, he did not give a time frame for it.
We implore the New Dawn administration to heed the advice of the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB) that constitutional reforms should be deferred until after the 2026 general elections because of insufficient time to build the necessary national consensus for the process.
We agree with Chisangano that government should immediately make public the proposed amendments and the road map for the process.
We are of the view that it is only through transparency and consensus that Zambia will come up with a people-driven constitution that will stand the test of time.
