The Zambia Episcopal Conference, ZEC has demanded that the final draft constitution be released to the public and other stakeholders, without any further delay.
ZEC has also demanded that the constitution be adopted through the referendum, according to demands by Zambian’s.
It says that the country cannot go the way of the Inquiries Act, whereby the President and his cabinet sit to cherry-pick, what they think should be in the constitution.
This is contained in a press statement availed to Breeze News by ZEC this morning. The statement was presented to the media during a press conference this morning in Lusaka.
The catholic bishop’s body says that excuses of lack of funds for the referendum are not convincing.
ZEC has also lamented the huge sums of money being spent of what it has termed as unnecessary by-elections.
It says that money being spent on by-elections could be given to Zambians through construction of schools and hospitals.
ZEC says that the stalling of the new constitution has contributed to the continuous by-elections, as the draft constitution provides legal limitations on the by-elections.
Meanwhile, ZEC says that it is also unjust and a violation of human rights to force children to learn in local languages that are not their native languages.
ZEC has therefore, urged government to immediately withdraw this policy and engage in real consultations on it.
It says that the directive to use local languages as medium of instruction in lower primary schools is proving to be a major challenge with respect to implementation.
ZEC has observed that teachers are not enough or trained to cater for the language diversity of Zambia.
It says that this arrangement will advantage children, who are native speakers of the language of instruction above their peers who are not.
Meanwhile, ZEC says that government should not interfere in conflicts related to traditional succession disputes.
It says that government should only come in when such systems violate state laws and human rights.
ZEC observes that currently, there are a number of outstanding issues involving traditional leaders that are almost threatening their status in the Zambian society, and that some politicians are trying to interfere.