By CHARITY MOONGA –

THE Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ) has backed Government’s stance on enacting a new Constitution in parts.
EFZ executive director Pukuta Mwanza said in a statement that his organisation is in support of a two tier approach of having some of the articles of the Constitution presented to Parliament, while
the Bill of Rights goes to a referendum to be conducted alongside the tripartite elections.
“We bear in mind that the tripartite elections are due 15 months away and that conducting a referendum will require to be preceded by a voter registration exercise specifically aimed at meeting the
referendum.
“Although we stood firmly in the past for the referendum, this is impracticable at the moment considering the limited time available for all the processes. In this regard, we support the proposed piecemeal approach to enacting the Constitution provided we get the expected results in having the Constitution that the Zambian people have always wanted,” Reverend Mwanza said.
The EFZ did not see the possibility of holding a referendum before 2016 as Zambia had already lost a lot of time.
“We therefore support the piecemeal approach as long as the final result can guarantee that the will of the majority of the people who submitted in favour of popular articles will be respected,” he said.
Rev Mwanza urged Government to hasten the Constitution-making process and conclude it on time considering that it had already gobbled huge sums of money.
Government should also ensure continued dialogue and engagement to promote transparency and accountability in the process.