By Chinoyi Chipulu
Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ) says the Church has not agreed to amend the constitution as it has not been consulted on the proposed amendments.
EFZ executive director Bishop Andrew Mwenda has called on the government to withdraw the amendment process.
Speaking when he featured on Radio Christian Voice’s Chatback program yesterday, Bishop Mwenda said this was not the right time to talk about the amendments as it should be done after elections.
“This is not the right time to talk about the constitution because this should be done after the elections, the time is wrong, therefore, we call on government to withdraw the matter,” he said. “No, we have never been consulted, however, one area I do know is the electoral part, the electoral process issues, we have actually appeared before the electoral reforms committee and we submitted what we thought.”
He said in 2022, the Church under the OASIS Forum approached the government regarding constitutional amendments but their request was turned down due to financial constraints.
Bishop Mwenda questioned how the government had suddenly found the resources to proceed with constitutional amendments.
“The plans to amend the constitution should be withdrawn and postponed until after the elections,” he said.
He said while constitutional reforms might be necessary, the timing is problematic as the country was approaching a general election amid a high cost of living.
“I didn’t hear any budget on this, my question is are we using the power of numbers in Parliament?” he asked.
Bishop Mwenda wondered which Zambians agreed to amend the constitution and said a clear roadmap was needed.
“A good road map will create the content of the constitution. It’s not just rising up and saying we need to no, a clear roadmap is needed,” said Bishop Mwenda.
