Delayed Release of the Draft Constitution Statement by the National Restoration Party NAREP notes the long overdue release of the draft republican constitution by the PF administration on the eve of our 50th Independence Anniversary. We are, however, concerned that the release may have the effect of undermining rather than supporting the constitution-making process. In order to make progress, we believe the following issues must be addressed: 1. A commitment by the PF as to when the new constitution will be introduced. Releasing the draft document is not a commitment to implementing a new constitution - it is only the first step and should not create undue excitement. If the intention is for the new constitution to come into effect after the elections in 2016, let the PF categorically state this position immediately. That way, the nation will know how to respond, rather than being left in limbo to guess as to how committed the PF are to concluding the process in a timely manner. 2. An assessment of the cost of implementing the new constitution and how the new government operations will be funded. Currently over 70 per cent of the national budget goes towards consumption expenditure (civil service salaries, benefits and other rights and emoluments), leaving only 25 per cent to address development projects. Implementing the new constitution will result in even higher consumption expenditure that could result in nearly 120 per cent of the budget going towards consumption expenditure, leaving nothing for development and creating massive permanent budget deficits. No government can function like this for long and we can expect hardship that would be worse than what the PF have already been able to inflict on the citizenry. 3. A determination of who will approve the final draft constitution before it is enacted. This is because there will obviously be outstanding matters that need to be agreed on and possibly adjusted out of pure practicality such as how to adjust the document to take into account government funding for major commitments like the provincial assemblies. All of these issues must be addressed in a draft roadmap that should be concluded within the shortest possible time. We urge the PF to show dedicated commitment to giving Zambia a new and meaningful constitution as its contribution to the next 50 years of our development. Elias Chipimo Jr. President National Restoration Party 27 October 2014
Posted on: Mon, 27 Oct 2014 12:53:52 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015