•PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu (middle), Southern Province Minister Nathaniel Mubukwanu (right) and LAZ president George Chisanga (left) during the official opening for the International Bar Association (IBA) African Regional Forum at AVANI Victoria Falls in Livingstone yesterday. Picture by BRIAN HATYOKA

By BRIAN HATYOKA –
PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu has called on Zambians to engage their members of Parliament (MPs) to support the Constitution Amendment Bill, currently before Parliament,  as some people are bent on frustration efforts to enact a new Republican document.
Mr Lungu has also called for an urgent need to address the free movement of persons within the African continent and improve the road network to enhance intra African trade.
Mr Lungu said he had done his part as President to cut down on costs by taking non contentious clauses to Parliament for amendment, but he had information currently indicating that some MPs and some leaders of the opposition wanted to frustrate all the efforts of having a better Constitution for the Zambian people.
Mr Lungu said this at the Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula International Airport ahead of the official opening of the International Bar Association (IBA) African Regional Forum hosted by the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) and other partners in Livingstone yesterday.
“I am pleading that you (Zambians) tell your MPs and Ministers to support the Constitution Amendment Bill. If they don’t support it, I will keep away from it and I won’t touch it in future. We have wasted too much money on this Constitution making process from the day of late President Mwanawasa up to now on allowances for Commissions and so on,” he said.
He said Zambians wanted certain changes to be effected in the Constitution as they had cried for duo citizenship, 50 + 1 system of electing the President and running mate system of electing the Vice President among others.
He said some people did not want to listen to the voice of the Zambian people and they want to kill the Bill in Parliament.
“If Parliament fails to amend the Constitution next week or in the near future, then I will wash my hands from this process. From time of late Mwanawasa, there was a cry to change the Constitution and I thought that half a loaf of bread is better than nothing. Zambians should judge for themselves who means well for them,” Mr Lungu said.
Mr Lungu has called for an urgent need to address the free movement of persons within the African continent and improve the road network to enhance intra African trade.
And speaking during the IBA African Regional Forum at AVANI Victoria Falls Hotel, Mr Lungu said that inter African trade only amounted between 10 and 12 per cent over the last decade.
Mr Lungu said, unless Africans endeavoured to learn from fellow Africans, they would continue to be plagued by poverty, disease and poor governance in their respective countries.
He said there was need to promote a functional culture, social networks and ethical behaviour in public and private sectors anchored on zero-tolerance to corruption.
He said his Government remained committed to working with all Progressive forces in Zambia and across the region to ensure the development of the country and the continent at large.