Q FM Africa's Modern Radio
The Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) has rejected an invitation to appear before the Parliamentary select Committee appointed to scrutinize the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Bill No. 10 of 2019.
The CCZ was supposed to appear before the committee on Monday, 2nd September,2019 at 14:00 hours.
In a statement made available to Q-News, CCZ General Secretary Fr Emmanuel Chikoya says the council will not make any submission towards the Constitution of Zambia amendment bill as doing so will appear as though they are giving legitimacy to the proposed controversial Bill.
Fr Chikoya says it has been the view of the CCZ from inception that the whole bill has too many unfair, ambiguous and undefined pieces that are not serving the interests of majority Zambians.
He says the bill takes away the right of the people to chart their own destiny and instead it is promoting the notion that Zambia politicians feel the right to govern is the right to change the Constitution as its suite them.
Fr Chikoya says the CCZ therefore, suggests that the best course of action is to withdraw bill no.1o immediately and allow the country to continue with the current 2016 amendment of the Constitution.
He states that a good constitution must never be one that is imposed on the people by force, but rather the people themselves must be involved in the formulation and promulgation of their constitution.
He has stressed the importance of involving the people in the process of making changes to their Constitution, stating that a Constitution should reflect the people’s ideals,values,interests and aspirations.
Fr Chikoya notes that unless a number of points of concern the CCZ has highlighted are considered, the enactment of the Constitution of Zambia amendment bill 2019 into law will not be serving the interests of majority Zambians.
He adds that the Church have the obligation to ensure that a Country’s Constitution is clear and easy to understand.