By Revelation Editor
”As women we don’t want democracy we want development in Zambia by supporting our President to go beyond 2031,” said nominated member of parliament under proportional representation Florence Chileshe Chama.
So ba Chama instead of just rejoicing that she had been accorded an opportunity to serve in the national assembly, with some of the best remuneration in the land, decided to attack the same democracy that brought her to the position she least expected she would ever get in her lifetime. One would even question the essence of having people like Chama in Parliament in the first place, as it is clear even to her appointing authority that she is not going there to serve the best interests of the people of this country. Because if someone can attack the same democracy which has been the cornerstone of this country for a long time, and which has ushered in different administrations, including her own UPND, then clearly they are not going to Parliament with genuine intentions. Clearly, Chama is not going to Parliament to make laws that would serve Zambians but solely to serve the interests of President Hakainde Hichilema, and that’s all.
However, serving any one particular individual, regardless the position they hold and regardless their role towards enhancing one’s socio and economic welfare, should not be the basis for seeking or serving in public office. Killing the same democracy that ushered in her boss into State House should not be the motivation for one being in public office. Clearly, from the words proceeding out of Chama’s mouth and the many who think like herself, they are not in it to serve public interest.
President Hakainde Hichilema himself has previously committed to only serving out the constitutionally mandated two terms of five years each for president, and thereafter retire to his farm. We urge him to come out on record in his own words to affirm that position again, in order to stop his supporters who are pushing for the mutilation of the constitution.
Yes, his spokesperson, Clayson Hamasaka during a recent interview with us described the third term debate as a peripheral issue which the people must not focus on, but instead focus on President Hichilema’s development agenda.
Daily Revelation had contacted State House to give a position if President Hichilema was in support of the calls by his party officials and functionaries to amend the constitution by removing presidential term limits so that he could run for another term of office in 2031.
The newspaper also asked if the third term debate was the conversation State House wanted to be having now when the President was barely a month old into his last term, with the majority of his cabinet not in place yet.
However, while State House has described the third term talk as peripheral, they did not go so far as to discourage the same talk and to insist on the position that the President would not seek a third term of office. Actually even peripheral talk is still talk. We hope the same peripheral talk is not being used to test the waters of public opinion over a matter that Zambians have clearly been categorical about.
To those who are wise and discerning, there is already a lot of negative talk about Zambia both locally and internationally, from the disputed election which resulted in the closure of courts to stop a petition and the security raid which resulted in the killing of ex-Transport minister Mutotwe Kafwaya. Especially to those who love the President, they clearly should be advising him to stay away and make his distance known from any actions that are likely to draw more negative headlines towards him as that is not good for the country.
If anything, the President and those who love him should be working frantically behind the scenes to clean up the mess from the August 13 general elections in hopes of giving this country a new new slate. You surely don’t love this country when you purposely engage in another controversial public issue when there is already unresolved acrimony from past missteps.
As senior UPND official Sylvia Masebo aptly put it, President Hichilema is barely one month old into his second and final term as he has not even appointed 90 percent of his cabinet to start the laying out of his agenda for the next five years, yet we have excited people from within his own party urging him on to change the constitution so that he can rule ‘forever’.
We urge him against listening to nincompoops within his party, but listen to the voices of reason within his own support base who are telling him the truth.
Let him listen to Masebo who said that to begin to debate a third term debate even before a cabinet is put in place is mischievous.
Another of his supporters, former Republican vice-president pastor Nevers Mumba urged in a recent interview with us for the term limits to be respected.
Pastor Mumba said: “Please let’s stay with what the President has said. Let’s stay with the constitution. We are a constitutional democracy. The President has been very very clear about ensuring that the rule of law is what is going to characterise everything we do.”
He continued: “So anyone who says anything outside the constitution they are on their own. We are committed to what the President has said and what the constitution stipulates. So let’s keep everything within the confines as we have stipulated for ourselves.”
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By Revelation Editor
”As women we don’t want democracy we want development in Zambia by supporting our President to go beyond 2031,” said nominated member of parliament under proportional representation Florence Chileshe Chama.
So ba Chama instead of just rejoicing that she had been accorded an opportunity to serve in the national assembly, with some of the best remuneration in the land, decided to attack the same democracy that brought her to the position she least expected she would ever get in her lifetime. One would even question the essence of having people like Chama in Parliament in the first place, as it is clear even to her appointing authority that she is not going there to serve the best interests of the people of this country. Because if someone can attack the same democracy which has been the cornerstone of this country for a long time, and which has ushered in different administrations, including her own UPND, then clearly they are not going to Parliament with genuine intentions. Clearly, Chama is not going to Parliament to make laws that would serve Zambians but solely to serve the interests of President Hakainde Hichilema, and that’s all.
However, serving any one particular individual, regardless the position they hold and regardless their role towards enhancing one’s socio and economic welfare, should not be the basis for seeking or serving in public office. Killing the same democracy that ushered in her boss into State House should not be the motivation for one being in public office. Clearly, from the words proceeding out of Chama’s mouth and the many who think like herself, they are not in it to serve public interest.
President Hakainde Hichilema himself has previously committed to only serving out the constitutionally mandated two terms of five years each for president, and thereafter retire to his farm. We urge him to come out on record in his own words to affirm that position again, in order to stop his supporters who are pushing for the mutilation of the constitution.
Yes, his spokesperson, Clayson Hamasaka during a recent interview with us described the third term debate as a peripheral issue which the people must not focus on, but instead focus on President Hichilema’s development agenda.
Daily Revelation had contacted State House to give a position if President Hichilema was in support of the calls by his party officials and functionaries to amend the constitution by removing presidential term limits so that he could run for another term of office in 2031.
The newspaper also asked if the third term debate was the conversation State House wanted to be having now when the President was barely a month old into his last term, with the majority of his cabinet not in place yet.
However, while State House has described the third term talk as peripheral, they did not go so far as to discourage the same talk and to insist on the position that the President would not seek a third term of office. Actually even peripheral talk is still talk. We hope the same peripheral talk is not being used to test the waters of public opinion over a matter that Zambians have clearly been categorical about.
To those who are wise and discerning, there is already a lot of negative talk about Zambia both locally and internationally, from the disputed election which resulted in the closure of courts to stop a petition and the security raid which resulted in the killing of ex-Transport minister Mutotwe Kafwaya. Especially to those who love the President, they clearly should be advising him to stay away and make his distance known from any actions that are likely to draw more negative headlines towards him as that is not good for the country.
If anything, the President and those who love him should be working frantically behind the scenes to clean up the mess from the August 13 general elections in hopes of giving this country a new new slate. You surely don’t love this country when you purposely engage in another controversial public issue when there is already unresolved acrimony from past missteps.
As senior UPND official Sylvia Masebo aptly put it, President Hichilema is barely one month old into his second and final term as he has not even appointed 90 percent of his cabinet to start the laying out of his agenda for the next five years, yet we have excited people from within his own party urging him on to change the constitution so that he can rule ‘forever’.
We urge him against listening to nincompoops within his party, but listen to the voices of reason within his own support base who are telling him the truth.
Let him listen to Masebo who said that to begin to debate a third term debate even before a cabinet is put in place is mischievous.
Another of his supporters, former Republican vice-president pastor Nevers Mumba urged in a recent interview with us for the term limits to be respected.
Pastor Mumba said: “Please let’s stay with what the President has said. Let’s stay with the constitution. We are a constitutional democracy. The President has been very very clear about ensuring that the rule of law is what is going to characterise everything we do.”
He continued: “So anyone who says anything outside the constitution they are on their own. We are committed to what the President has said and what the constitution stipulates. So let’s keep everything within the confines as we have stipulated for ourselves.”
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