The NCC and the Government of Zambia must be held accountable for robbing the people of Zambia an opportunity to effectively participate in the Constitution making process. The failure to translate and widely distribute copies of the draft Constitution not only alienates the people from this process but more importantly, is a violation of people’s civil and political rights. This is a serious mischief given the fact that the stage of public consultation is one of the most important point at which majority of the Zambian people would have engaged in the constitution making process! Here, the key question is: Whose interests is the NCC really serving? Remember, the NCC process has been characterised with several controversies ranging from lack of mass participation, partisan influence, poor planning to abuse of resource!
In fact, this twist of events does not tie in neatly with the public assurances given by Government regarding the financing of the NCC process. Until now, both the NCC and Government officials have stubbornly insisted that this process had been sufficiently financed and that it would be completed in a satisfactory manner! So where has the money disappeared to now? Surely, the excuse that Government does not have sufficient resources to translate and widely circulate the document cannot be accepted and must not be entertained by well-meaning Zambians. It was only last week that the Republican Vice-President assured the nation that resources would be sourced for the printing more copies of the draft constitution but to our surprise, the nation is now being informed about the unavailability of resources for such an undertaking.
Even more injurious, the suggested methods for public submissions to the NCC are a mere mockery in comparison to what the people of Zambia deserve! Realistically, how many Zambians have effective and affordable access to internet services? How many Zambians will analytically review the contents of the draft document that is hardly available? How many ordinary Zambians will be eager to put their energies in reviewing a document full of legal jargon? Definitely, is this not taking the Zambian people for a ride over a matter of paramount national importance?
Clearly, this development confirms the doubts that were earlier expressed by various stakeholders on whether Government was truly committed to involve the people of Zambia in producing a constitution that would “stand the test of time.” In this vein, FODEP would to urge the people of Zambia to heighten their calls for meaningful engagement in the constitution making process by demanding for the translation and wide circulation of the draft constitution document. In addition, we would like to encourage all the citizens of Zambia to courageously submit their wishes and their reservations to the NCC using every available resources and platforms!
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