• PRESIDENT Michael Sata receives an affidavit of oath from newly-appointed Ambassador Designate to Egypt Ali Simwinga during the swearing-in ceremony at State House yesterday. Picture by STEPEHN KAPAMBWE

By XAVIER MANCHISHI –
PRESIDENT Michael Sata has warned public service officers to desist from indulging in the on-going debate on a new Constitution.
The President has also reiterated that there is no Constitutional void in Zambia
Mr Sata said Zambia already had a Constitution in place, and that public officers should not be part of the debate on a new Constitution since they swore to uphold the current document.
“What you should avoid is…..don’t talk about the Constitution. Ignore those who are talking about the Constitution every day.
“We already have a Constitution in place which you swear to uphold,” the President said.
He said this at State House in Lusaka yesterday during the swearing-in ceremony for former Kitwe Town Clerk Ali Simwinga, who has been appointed as Zambia’s Ambassador to Egypt, and Godwin Phiri, who is commissioner of police at State House.
Others sworn in were Pride Kabuswe as public policy specialist at the Policy Analysis and Coordination Division at Cabinet Office, and Robert Kasezya as public policy analyst under the same division at Cabinet Office.
Mr Sata said Zambia already had a Constitution in place and called on public officers to ignore those who keep discussing the issue endlessly.
“If there was no Constitution, we would not be here. We are running three arms of Government under the same Constitution some people want to keep talking about,” he said.
Last month, President Sata said the Constitution-making process had been hijacked by individuals bent on embarrassing, humiliating and politically undermining the sovereign will of the masses.
He said the recent biased political manoeuvres surrounding the Constitution-making process confirmed the ill intentions of the people at the helm of the misplaced crusade.
Some civil society organisations have been mobilising themselves to stage countrywide demonstrations to press the Technical Committee drafting the Constitution to release the document to Government and the public. (see picture on page 2)