Government had no plans of enacting new constitution – Shakafuswa

Shakafuswa

Newly elected United Party for National Development (UPND) Member of Parliament for Katuba constituency Jonas Shakafuswa has said that the governing Patriotic Front (PF) had no intentions of enacting a new constitution as they had pledged during the 2011 election campaigns, reports Thom Shonga for Zambian Eye.

Shakafuswa said this in a recent online interview called the Hot Seat hosted by the Zambian Eye on its Facebook Group Page that has more than 24,000 members.

“The government through the executive responses showed they had no plans to implement the wishes of the people,” said Shakafuswa.

Opposition political parties through UPND Mazabuka Central MP Garry Nkombo presented a private members’ motion bill to parliament requesting the ruling PF government to give a roadmap for enacting a new constitution.

The motion was defeated as the opposition only managed 42 votes against the governing party’s 69. 47 MPs did not participate in the voting.

In response to the defeat, Shakafuswa said, “To us we welcome the result as it shows luck of commitment on the part of the executive to meet people’s aspirations.”

When asked why the opposition could not get more votes despite having more than 42 MPs and why 47 MPs did not participate, the Katuba MP said, “All present opposition MPs voted with us. For those who were not present history will judge them. The other thing is that such motions are not binding on the executive but act as a way of bringing national issues to their attention.”

The Zambian Eye Hot Seat program was moderated by Owen Miyanza under the theme “What’s the way forward after the unsuccessful bid to have government give Zambians a roadmap on the adoption of a new constitution through Parliament?”

The Katuba lawmaker further said that the defeat in parliament did not end there as they would mobilize citizens to fight for an enactment of a new constitution.

“We are not alone in this noble fight. A lot of our people are in it. We will mobilize the people do demonstrate,” Said Shakafuswa.

He further urged Zambians to fight for what is rightly theirs which is the Constitution.

Meanwhile, Shakafuswa has said that the remarks made by Vice President Guy Scott were derogatory to the black and unfortunate coming from him.

This was in response to a question from a member Erastus Moodly Mwaka who posed the following question: “In the heat of the constitution pressure Veep called you opposition MPs monkeys. It’s all quiet. Is it that you MPs accept that are monkeys. Do you think that portrays the Veep as a racist?”

Shakafuswa said that in Europe the Vice President would have been disciplined but that would not happen in the PF