President Hakainde Hichilema yesterday directed Justice minister Princess Kasune to defer the controversial Bill 7 in order to allow for more public consultations.
The President said he had made the decision following the engagements he held with various stakeholders, including the Church mother bodies and civil society organisations.
President Hichilema indicated that the government remains steadfast in its pursuit of reforms that reflect the aspirations of all Zambians, and that by prioritising dialogue and inclusivity, the government hopes the national conversation could now focus on the substance of the proposed amendments, ensuring they deliver meaningful change in the nation.
The move taken by President Hichilema is highly commendable. Like former Attorney General Musa Mwenye, State Counsel, has said, backtracking as Hichilema has done is not a sign of weakness but strength. We hope the path that has been embarked upon will lead towards permanently shelving the constitutional making process for now, until such a time that the process will be allowed enough time without the inconvenience of a general election. And that when that happens the process will be a truly people driven process.
The nation would have avoided the acrimony of the past few months had the President initially taken this new progressive approach he has taken to allow wider consultation, and not his earlier unfounded claims that he had agreed with the youths and women to amend the constitution.
We hope the newly proclaimed consultations from yesterday’s announcement will truly live up to the name, leading to a desired outcome, as opposed to using consultations as a smokescreen towards enacting the government’s pre-ordaimed wishes, just like it happened over the cyber laws. Zambians remember vividly how the government deferred the cyber bills then in order to allow for consultations, but ended up moving speedily on them through the National Assembly, with the President quickly signing them into law. They were actually ashamed to announce their misadventures that Zambians only came to know about theirs dishonesty through the United States of America (USA) Embassy in Lusaka, which warned their citizens about the dangers of the enacted law.
There are insinuations that the government could not proceed with Bill 7, which was already tabled in Parliament by Kasune, after becoming aware that they might not get the adequate numbers to pass the amendments, amid their own claims that they indeed had the number as without the same they wouldn’t have embarked on the process. We are hopeful the decision has not been necessitated by the same, and that it is a genuine effort that has been taken to engage in genuine consultations towards coming up with a supreme law that all the Zambians will be proud of.
By Daily Revelation Editor
President Hakainde Hichilema yesterday directed Justice minister Princess Kasune to defer the controversial Bill 7 in order to allow for more public consultations.
The President said he had made the decision following the engagements he held with various stakeholders, including the Church mother bodies and civil society organisations.
President Hichilema indicated that the government remains steadfast in its pursuit of reforms that reflect the aspirations of all Zambians, and that by prioritising dialogue and inclusivity, the government hopes the national conversation could now focus on the substance of the proposed amendments, ensuring they deliver meaningful change in the nation.
The move taken by President Hichilema is highly commendable. Like former Attorney General Musa Mwenye, State Counsel, has said, backtracking as Hichilema has done is not a sign of weakness but strength. We hope the path that has been embarked upon will lead towards permanently shelving the constitutional making process for now, until such a time that the process will be allowed enough time without the inconvenience of a general election. And that when that happens the process will be a truly people driven process.
The nation would have avoided the acrimony of the past few months had the President initially taken this new progressive approach he has taken to allow wider consultation, and not his earlier unfounded claims that he had agreed with the youths and women to amend the constitution.
We hope the newly proclaimed consultations from yesterday’s announcement will truly live up to the name, leading to a desired outcome, as opposed to using consultations as a smokescreen towards enacting the government’s pre-ordaimed wishes, just like it happened over the cyber laws. Zambians remember vividly how the government deferred the cyber bills then in order to allow for consultations, but ended up moving speedily on them through the National Assembly, with the President quickly signing them into law. They were actually ashamed to announce their misadventures that Zambians only came to know about theirs dishonesty through the United States of America (USA) Embassy in Lusaka, which warned their citizens about the dangers of the enacted law.
There are insinuations that the government could not proceed with Bill 7, which was already tabled in Parliament by Kasune, after becoming aware that they might not get the adequate numbers to pass the amendments, amid their own claims that they indeed had the number as without the same they wouldn’t have embarked on the process. We are hopeful the decision has not been necessitated by the same, and that it is a genuine effort that has been taken to engage in genuine consultations towards coming up with a supreme law that all the Zambians will be proud of.
Related
You can share this post!
Remain steadfast despite criticism, Mpezeni urges UPND
Mwale dominates DECARDI in WBC title
Related Articles
Indiscriminate Police checkpoints
Jito’s observation on chaos in Middle East threatening…
Electoral Promises