Q FM Africa's Modern Radio
Fr Leonard Chit
The Grand Coalition on the Campaign for a People Driven Constitution has urged Members of Parliament to reject the Constitutional Amendment Bill 2015 presented to Parliament by Government, and demand the enactment of a new people driven constitution.
Grand Coalition Chairperson Fr. Leonard Chiti in a statement to QFM News says Members of Parliament who will debate in support of a Bill that does not even guarantee the rights of their electorates will be watched closely and that the Coalition will follow them to their constituencies.
Fr Chiti says the tabling of the Constitution Amendment Bill 2015 in Parliament by Government is a clear violation of the democratic practice in the constitution making process and also the PF manifesto.
He says it is the conviction of the Coalition that Parliament has no power to give Zambians a new constitution which the PF government consistently promised them while in opposition and after being ushered into office.
Fr. Chiti says it has become clearer now that engagements government purported to have undertaken through the ministry of Justice were purely window dressing engagements and consultations.
He says the Minister of Justice had already predetermined position of usurping the powers of the people to adopt their own constitution through a referendum.
Fr. Chiti adds that those who participated in these consultations can now attest that Government’s use of a Parliament route to avert the new constitution was already hatched solidly protected and the resultant constitution will be in the image of the PF government.
He states that the Grand Coalition will not support any route that removes from the Constitution and treats the Bill of Rights as a secondary matter.
He says this destroys the very bedrock of Zambians’ existence.
Fr. Chiti has reiterated the Grand Coalition’s long standing view that the parliamentary route of adopting the new constitution is treacherous and that they will not support it, neither will they be part of any process that is trying to validate this route.
He adds that in an effort not to be abused and used by the PF government on this process, the Grand Coalition has decided to decline a request from the National Assembly through the Committee on Legal, Gender and Human Rights to make submissions on the Constitution Amendment Bill.
Fr. Chiti has further instructed all Grand Coalition member constituents not to validate what he has described as a fraud process.