Telesphore Mpundu ‘Yaps’ on Constitution Lusaka Archbishop Telesphore Mpundu says the Patriotic Front is blessed with a perfect opportunity to give long suffering Zambians a people driven constitution. Speaking during the MISA Zambia Annual awards Bishop Mpundu who for the larger part of his speech stuck to religious dogma said Zambians had been duped throughout the process of constitution making process. The hitherto outspoken Catholic cleric said it was his hope that current process would end up in a conclusive process. “We Zambians are long suffering. This group (current government) I think is particularly blessed to initiate dialogue. Dialogue in the media, print, electronic so that people talk and talk,” he said. “No constitution is perfect but every constitution making process is a political, process where everyone is given a chance to talk and share and dialogue then we come to a national consensus where most Zambians will say yes we are pleased with this.” He added: “May this forum be like a midwife that is assisting that kind of dialogue finally what Zambians will we are pleased with.” Mpundu droned on about where the process was coming from. “In 1969 I was already studying theology I went to the polls with everybody I voted against taking away that clause (voting to remove all referenda) . But the government succeeded and the referendum was removed,” he said. “Two years later the one party dictatorship was declared and in 1973 we had a second republic and we had 18 years of one party dictatorship. The Chona Commission is the one that went round to find out the best way of implementing the One Party State notwithstanding that people said we don’t want the One Party State it was introduced nonetheless. “After 17 years we had popular discontent that forced government to go back to the drawing board we had the Mvunga Commission. You know what happened with the Mvunga commission findings? It was given a massage by the administration. People were not satisfied. “ He added: “In the Chiluba regime another commission the Mwanakatwe Commission, what happened? The findings were again genetically modified. “In the Mwanawasa regime we had another commission, the Mungomba Commission you know what happened? The National Constitutional Conference it is like a monster that ate whatever people had put together. Now we are here.” The constitution making process has stalled with President Michael Sata having called advocates of the constitution making process as yappers. zambiareports/2014/04/26/telesphore-mpundu-yaps-constitution/
Posted on: Sat, 26 Apr 2014 07:53:15 +0000
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