SCOTT

By XAVIER MANCHISHI and CATHERINE NYIRENDA-
VICE-PRESIDENT Guy Scott has maintained that Government has not aborted the Constitution-making process.
Dr Scott said if Government was not committed to delivering a new Constitution, it would not have appointed a technical committee to get people’s views on the document at a huge cost.
He said the current position on the Constitution-making process was what Justice Minister Wynter Kabimba told Parliament that a suitable date was being sought for the technical committee to hand over their report to the President.
Appearing on the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation television Sunday Interview, Dr Scott explained that what the technical committee possessed was a report for onward submission to the President who appointed the members.
“We have not said we are not going to deliver a Constitution, but at the same time the Constitution-making process is not a magical process that we can wake up and say here is a new Constitution,” he said.
Dr Scott said he personally had difficulties with some clauses in the current Constitution, including one that barred him from contesting the presidency, but that unlike others, he was not going to demonstrate over it.
“Here I am complaining that with the current Constitution, I am not allowed to contest the presidency but do I have to start causing trouble about it?” he asked.
Dr Scott said the opposition compelled Mr Kabimba to issue a ministerial statement in Parliament but that instead of asking for a timeframe on its release through follow-up questions, they opted to disrupt proceedings in the House.
Meanwhile, Home Affairs Minister Ngosa Simbyakula has said the grand coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) intending to protest over the Constitution-making process is free to do so, but will meet the full wrath of the police if they contravene the law.
The grand coalition of CSO on the Zambian Constitution announced that it would soon embark on countrywide demonstrations to push for the enactment of the new Constitution.
Dr Simbyakula said the CSOs were free to demonstrate as long as they complied with the provisions of the Public Order Act.
“Everyone in the country is free to demonstrate as long as they comply with the provisions of the Public Order Act which is administered by the Zambia Police,” he said.
And Zambia Congress of Trade Unions secretary general, Roy Mwaba has said unless it was the aspiration of the members, the union would not take part in the demonstrations.
Foundation for Democratic Process executive director MacDonald Chipenzi said the coalition would conduct the demonstrations in churches where they did not need to notify the police for such processions.