UPPZ Leader officially resigns from NDF
Leader of the opposition UPPZ Charles Chanda has officially resigned from the ongoing instituted National Dialogue Forum (NDF).
In a letter below obtained by Zambian Eye, Chanda explains his reasons following his walk out protest on Wednesday.
9th May, 2019
C/O The Chairperson
National Dialogue Forum
Mulungushi International Conference Centre
LUSAKA.
Dear Sir,
REF: UPPZ RESIGNATION FROM THE DIALOGUE FORUM
I, Charles Chanda President of the United Prosperous and Peaceful Zambia (UPPZ) and National Dialogue Forum (NDF) Member, representing the said UPPZ hereby write to officially resign from the forum.
The resignation is further to my pronouncement and our exchange that occurred on the floor during plenary on Wednesday afternoon.
As to the exact reasons for resignation, I thought that the forum, my participation and debates were fulfillment of the dialogue principles in National Dialogue (Constitution, Electoral Process, Public Order and Political Parties) Act Number one of 2019 section 3 (1),(a),(b),(c),(g) and section 4. 3 (a),(b),(c),(i),(ii),(iii) below that I felt were being violated in due course.
- (1) The following principles apply to the national dialogue process:
(a) transparency and accountability;
(b) inclusiveness and democratic decision-making; and
(c) patriotism
(g) respect the independence of the members
Further,
4.3 (a) be accountable to the people of Zambia;
(b) recognise the importance of confidence building, engendering trust and developing a national consensus for the review process;
(c) ensure, through the observance of the principles referred to in section 3, that the review process—
(i) provides the members with an opportunity to actively, freely and meaningfully participate in generating and debating proposals to alter the Constitution, the Electoral Process Act, 2016 and the Public Order Act and provide for the enactment of the Political Parties Bill, 2019, as contained in their submissions and appropriate technical or expert reports considered by the Forum;
(ii) is, subject to this Act, conducted in an open manner; and
(ii) is guided by the respect for the universal principles of human rights, gender equality and democracy;
UPPZ motivation for participation and membership in the NDF was premised on the principles above.
These principles stated in the Dialogue Act are the very principles of UPPZ however, in the course of execution; these principles were abrogated in favour or bias towards certain cabinet ministers who are supposed to be ordinary members of the Forum and not expert or special members.
The ministers and MPs who debated and authored the NDF Act bringing with them to the Forum the proposed amendments or refinements were constantly given more time on the floor as experts to continue debating at the Forum yet there the same who shall debate in Cabinet and in Parliament, that is the biasness and predetermination that UPPZ resigned from.
Otherwise the initial thinking of UPPZ was that ministers who were in Parliament at the creation of NDF, and are at the Forum and shall be in Cabinet as well as in Parliament to debate and pass the bill, had created the forum for inclusiveness of such political parties as UPPZ and Civil Societies without representation in Parliament and Cabinet.
Moreover the NDF Act does not provide for complain.
In the end we wish to express gratitude for the opportunity to be considered and appointed Member of the Forum. Apart from plenary we had wonderful and fruitful group interactions at the Forum.
Further, we are still open to participation even at committee level in parliament if our concerns, observations and complaints are addressed.
PRESIDENT CHARLES CHANDA
UNITED PROSPEROUS & PEACEFUL ZAMBIA