Q FM Africa's Modern Radio
The Non-Governmental Organisations’ Coordinating Council (NGOCC) is dismayed and disappointed with President Edgar Lungu’s recent pronouncement in Ethiopia that the PF government is not in a hurry to facilitate a referendum to adopt the expanded bill of rights.
In a statement, NGOCC Chairperson Sara Longwe says President Lungu and the PF should be reminded that the Constitution belongs to the Zambian people and that the role of government is only to facilitate the process of ensuring that the country has a durable document, embodying the people.
Sara Longwe
Ms Longwe says it is high time the expanded Bill of Rights was included in the amended Constitution as it critical to the well-being of citizens, especially the women and children.
She says the NGOCC therefore, appeals to the President to reconsider his position on the matter.
Ms Longwe says NGOCC notes the many inconsistencies and contradictions in the 2016 amended Constitution which were as a result of the rushed manner the document was adopted by Parliament.
She states that the PF Government needs to realize that there can never be real economic growth and social uplifting of a people if their human rights are treated as secondary matter.
Ms Longwe adds that Zambia today faces major governance and socio-economic challenges because of the faulty Constitutional provisions that do not adequately address the aspirations of the Zambian people.
She says NGOCC demand s that the Government must embrace the wishes of the people of Zambia and adopt a more consultative process of cleaning up the Amended Constitution of and the holding of a National Referendum to adopt the draft Bill of Rights before the 2021 General Election.