Draft constitution release before 2016 is a must, Grand Coalition as it calls for a meeting this Saturday

The Grand Coalition on the Campaign for a New People Driven Constitution is determined to push for the immediate release of the Final Draft and enactment of a New People Driven Constitution before 2016 tripartite elections.
For some time now after the nation was greeted with conflicting statements on the whereabouts and health of HE Mr. Michael Chilufya Sata, the Republican President,the Coalition scaled down its activities in respect of the Office of the presidency and conditions that surrounded it at that time. However, after the nation was officially informed that the president was in Israel on a working holiday, wooing Israelis investors though we did not see any, the Coalition in an act of responsibility, continued to observe the unfolding events and sustained the suspension of its activities meant to put pressure on the government to immediately release the Final Draft Constitution.
This window of good will and hope was terribly abused by many stakeholders who viewed that the Coalition had lost steam in the fight for people driven constitution and instead started proposing other plans which were in variance with the spirit and letter of the coalition’s fight for a new constitution before 2016. This was a mistake because the Coalition with all its constituent members remains steadfast in its fight for the immediate release of the Final Draft Constitution and its consequent enactment.The Coalition finds it unacceptable that fifty years after independence, Zambians do not have a broadly agreed people-based constitution. The fact that there are systematic demands for a revised constitution clearly shows that the current constitutional framework does not enjoy confidence of the majority of the people. This is bad for stability in the country and for investment. The fiftieth anniversary of our hard-won independence will have meaning if there will be a new constitution. Zambian people,this time around, are determined to finally give unto themselves a constitution broadly accepted.
The Coalition is however, dismayed that despite all the effort meant to promote dialogue on this matter, government has been skirty and unwilling leading to nothing tangible being achieved due to itsreluctance and desire not to give the Zambian people their constitution before 2016. Government has been offering a lip service commitment to giving the people their constitution but their public and secret actions are speaking to the contrary.This means that dialogue with government has broken down and there seem to be no hope of anything concrete without President Sata and his continued hiding from us. Now that it is clear that the political will is not there, the coalition is of the firm belief that political pressure is the only answer.
In this regard, the Coalition is convening a General Assembly of all its constituent members and coalitions i.e. students, church mother bodies and religious organizations, trade unions, political parties, disability organizations and media on Saturday, 30th August, 2014 at Mulungushi International Conference Centre from 08:00hrs to 13:00hrs. Other ordinary members of the public interested in the new constitution are all welcome to attend. Provincial leaderships of the Grand Coalition will also be in attendance. The assembly is aimed at taking the constitutional fight to another higher level and will mark the resumption of all coalition activities on the campaign for the release of the final draft constitution and its enactment before the 2016 elections. Most Zambians are demanding that the 2016 elections be held under the new constitution to avoid electoral contestation thereafter.
The Assembly’s theme is:
“Zambia @50, rescuing and enactment of our constitution for better lives for all”
The objective of the assembly will be to intensify the mobilization of the masses to demand for the immediate release of the final and enactment of new constitution by 2016. Being a golden Jubilee year, it is either we get our constitution now or never at all.
The demand for a new constitution is actually meant to remind the PF government and party to be accountable to its promise of delivering a new constitution within the record period of 90 days. Without honoring campaign promises, Zambia’s electoral democracy will be under serious threat as any politician will makepromises to the electorate which s/hewill have no intention of honoring thereby hoodwinking ‘gullible’ voters to vote for them in vain. This is selfishness at its worst! Zambians deserve better leadership.
Colleagues, the Coalition is aware that the absence of the President from the public eye and his deafening silence on the constitution making process and other national and international events, as a key player is and will continue to be a challenge to the Zambia’s overall development efforts. His absence is an economic and political sabotage as no investor will confidently put their investment in a country where the President is unseen and unheard raising questions and doubt who, exactly, is in charge of the country. This is the reason the Coalition now wants to apply more political pressure to force the President come out of hiding his place and give the Zambian people their constitution and declare to the nation his intention of why he has been absent from work without permission. The President is a servant of the people and he should be accountable to the people whenever he is absent from work otherwise he risks being declared “AWOL”. It is the first time in Zambia’s fifty years of independence that an elected President,not even under Welensky, decided to abandon the flock without any convincing reasons. A President should be a shepherd of the flock, ever present and ‘feeding the flock’ (Ezekiel 34). On the subject of the constitution, the President can disappear if he so wishes but let him give Zambians a constitution first. Otherwise we will encourage Zambians to show him the exit door in 2016.
But for how long will the President desert his flock and remain in hiding especially that parliament is opening in the next three weeks and he is expected to preside over it. Is he going to delegate someone, again for the first time in history, to open it? This will expose and perhaps be a blessing in disguise to the Zambians as it will remove all the doubts in their minds about the president’s ability and capacity to attend such important national and international events? This is governance upside down and a clear demonstration of poor democratic and electoral accountability. The manner government has also handled the absence of the president from public eye is scandalous to say the least! Zambians want to see the face of the President and not his Facebook account!
With the foregoing, Zambians are called upon to make decisions that determine a better destiny. Remember that we are called on to aspire to inspire before we expire. For this reason, come and join us at the General Assembly. Come Saturday, all roads should lead to the Mulungushi International Conference Centre.
Thank you.