THE much talked about Draft Constitution has finally been released to the public.
Home Affairs minister Ngosa Simbyakula in his capacity as the acting Minister of Justice did the honours in Parliament and described the occasion as a befitting gift to Zambians in commemoration of the Independence Golden Jubilee.
Zambians have always yearned to have a new Constitution and this was why they were adamant that Government fulfilled its 2011 election campaign promise of enacting a people-driven Constitution.
Alas the Draft Constitution is now in circulation and it is up to the people to make submissions on what clauses should be maintained or done away with when the final document is released.
From my observation of selected clauses, the new Draft Constitution has upheld the will of many Zambians, especially that it has maintained the section that classifies Zambia as Christian nation.
The 50th Independence Day celebrations were held under the theme “Commemorating God’s favour of Zambia’s 50 years of independence for continued peace, unity, democracy, patriotism and prosperity”.
Our national anthem in its own right can be described as a prayer and, therefore, it was cardinal that the clause on Zambia being a Christian nation was not tempered with.
In Article 3, the Final Draft Constitution proposes that Zambia continues to remain a multi-racial, multi-cultural, multi-religious and unitary State.
This is a way to go in maintaining the peace and sovereignty that the country has enjoyed over the last 50 years; it is one Zambia, one Nation.
I feel this is the reason why Article 18 of the Final Draft Constitution which has allowed dual citizenship should be revoked.
Zambians are free to live and work in the Diaspora but their allegiance should remain here because loyalty can never be divided.
The Final Draft Constitution has adopted the mixed member representation system for the National Assembly to have 150 elected Members of Parliament (MP’s) from the constituencies and 100 MPs elected through a party list submitted the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) by participating political parties.
This means that Zambia will now have 250 elected MPs and 8 nominated MPs, which I think should not be the case owing to the huge wage bill that MP’s consume.
On the controversial side, the Draft Constitution contains clauses like Article 74 (1) which provide for the fifty per cent plus one victory threshold for Presidential candidates who in order to contest the seat, must be below the age of 75.
In my view, the number of political parties or candidates contesting the Presidential seat has been significantly high considering that there were 10 in the 2011 general elections.
It would be good to continue electing the Republican President based on their popularity, meaning that, whosoever amasses the highest number of votes automatically becomes Head of State.
This has worked well for our country previously and it seems to be a better way of doing things because it has been adopted even at primary levels where elections are held.
The Draft Constitution has also provided that in accordance with Article 103 (7), the swearing in of the President must be done by the Chief Justice seven days after the announcement of the Presidential election results.
I do not quite understand the relevance of this clause because indeed there should be no much of a difference in the time that a winning Presidential candidate is announced and sworn into office.
The conventional way of swearing in the President a day or two after the announcement of the election results is still a better option to avoid any impending cases of anarchy.
In Article 114, the Draft Constitution suggests that the President will appoint people from outside Parliament to constitute Cabinet, which will now include Provincial Ministers according to Article 111.
This will surely be a better way of ensuring the MP’s are freed from Cabinet duty to concentrate on developing their constituencies and Cabinet having its own people to address matters of national interest.
Approving this clause will result in efficient service delivery by Cabinet, meaning that developmental projects and procedures would be approved within the shortest possible time of consideration.
As far as Article 83 (1) of the Draft Law goes, General Elections will be held on the second Thursday of August and every after 5 years.
This is straight forward and it is obviously one among the clauses that will receive little or no objection.
Allowing an individual only two terms to serve as Republican President as enshrined in Article 104 (3) has also been maintained and this is a fair move.
Article 108 (1) of the Draft Constitution which provides for a vice president to be elected as a running mate to a Presidential candidate, has also been a controversial topic in the Zambian democratic dispensation.
Under this arrangement, the vice president will be voted into office contrary to the current trend where the vice president is appointed by the President.
This could be a good route to take as it will provide for an all inclusive Executive to execute the functions of the central government.
Besides that, in an event that the sitting President is out of office due to any circumstance, the vice president automatically takes over meaning that Executive functions will not be interrupted.
Several Constitution processes have come and failed in the past, it is time for Zambians to unite and change the status quo.
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