Why Sata Poaches MMD MPs Only

By Paul Shalala

In the past two months, the Zambian media has been dominated by the debate on whether President Michael Sata has the moral right to appoint opposition Members of Parliament to serve in his government as Deputy Ministers.

On Monday, one MMD MP who was serving as a Deputy Minister resigned from his ministerial position after pressure from his party. The following day, President Sata appointed two more MMD MPs to serve in his government and on Wednesday, the MMD’s National Executive Committee is set to meet and decide the fate of all its MPs who are serving in the PF government, possibly expelling them.

Legally, the 1991 Zambian constitution as amended in 1996 allows the head of state to appoint MPs from within the legislature. The constitution does however not state from which party the president can appoint making it easy for Mr Sata to appoint across the board. Therefore, the president does not break any law by appointing opposition MPs.

But why is Mr Sata targeting MMD MPs only? Below are some of the points which could be behind the president’s continuous appointments from within the MMD.

NUMBERS

The ruling Patriotic Front does not have the numbers to pass laws on its own. The opposition actually has the power to bring a deadlock in the house, they have the numbers. The PF has less than the two thirds majority (106 MPs) which is needed to control parliament without any problem from backbenchers. It is this lack of the two thirds majority which somehow is pushing the PF to continuously court MMD MPs. 

Once these opposition MPs are appointed as Ministers, they shift seats to the right of the Speaker and subsequently change their pattern of voting in parliament, giving an advantage to the PF which has few seats. Therefore, its all sweet for Dr Guy Scott, leader of government business in the house, when an opposition MP shifts camp in Parliament.

Loyalty

The other reason why MMD MPs are easily appointed by President Sata is the fact that the head of state is seen as a product of the MMD, a party he led as National Secretary before ditched it and formed the Patriotic Front. This realization makes it easy for MMD MPs to become loyal to the President than UPND MPs who would not accept such an offer. Loyalty to the system makes it easy for the PF to have it easy in the house.

Dominancy

By appointing opposition MPs into his government, President Sata is ensuring PF’s dominancy over the political scene. Dominancy for the PF is necessary as every ruling party needs it to suppress the opposition. But in cases where it’s a coalition government, this dominancy is not counted as an opposition party fully agrees to join government. By having opposition MPs within his ranks, President Sata will continue to dominate politics both nationally and within the party.

Divisions in MMD

President Sata seems to be appointing only MMD MPs after realizing that the MMD seems to be the most divided opposition political party in the country. The UPND with its 29 MPs seems united against any of its MPs serving in the PF government, it has actually made it clear it would not tolerate such a move and would instantly expel any of its MPs who would ‘go to bed’ with the ruling party. But the MMD, the major opposition party in the house, is divided on this matter.

Some sections of this former ruling party agree to their MPs sharing power with the ruling PF due to the party’s own legacy which stems from the Levy Mwanawasa era. However, another section of MMD is publicly opposed to those MPs who are serving in government. It is this YES and NO situation in MMD which to some extent has convinced the president to use MMD as a leverage for his control of Manda Hill.

Conclusion

As long as the Zambian constitution allows ministers to be appointed from within parliament, this horse trading will continue. Ruling parties will continue dominating the opposition in a bid to control the house and pass critical laws. However, with the new draft constitution suggesting the appointment of ministers from outside parliament, this culture of ‘poaching’ opposition MPs is likely to end as only technocrats will be serving in ministerial portfolios.

My Ugandan Experience

By Paul Shalala

Attending a Thomson Reuters Foundation training course was one of those things I had always wished to do in the past four years I have been practicing journalism in Zambia.

In a space of 2 years, i had applied at least four times to attend the trainings but to no avail. To make matters worse, my colleagues from the same media institution were being successful in having their applications accepted and the more I lost out the more I got more determination to try again.

I sent my last application for a Reuters training in Economic and Financial Reporting in May 2012 and it turned out to be success which became an eye opener for me to international standards of business journalism. The training was to be held in Uganda, a country that describes itself as the ‘pearl of Africa.’

When the big day Sunday 24 June, 2012 came, the day I was supposed to leave Lusaka the city of my birth, my mind was bombarded with imaginations of how the training will be, how the Ugandan capital Kampala looks like and what kind of people I will interact with at the training.

With wild imaginations of Uganda, a country portrayed by the media as the former base for rebel LRA’s Joseph Kony and a former home for the late dictator Idi Amin, I was excited to see the beauty of the resort city of Entebbe from the air as we were landing at its airport which is located a few meters away from the world famous Lake Victoria. 

Driving from the airport in Entebbe to Kampala brought me fond memories of the usual traffic I had seen in the Kenyan capital though the scale of the traffic congestion was half that of Nairobi. I was fascinated with the size of Kampala and the good infrastructure it has which was completely contrally to my own imaginations. I had in mind a small and poorly organized city but to my surprise, I found Kampala to be a live city which never goes to sleep as business goes on day and night.

The following day, our five day training which attracted 14 business reporters from six African countries got under way. To be precise, the course ran from 25-29 June 2012 at the African Center for Media Excellence in Kampala, Uganda.

David White, a TRF trainer with more than four decades experience in the media, conducted the intense training which aroused a lot of interest, debates and smiles among participants. In some sessions, David brought up thought provoking situations to help the trainees think wider and understand the business concepts. David was joined by Teddy Nannozi, a Ugandan journalist who co-facilitated the course.

Of all the topics under discussion, reporting on stock markets seemed the most interesting to the African journalists as it kept them busy asking questions on the process and activities related to stocks trading in markets.

To me, the most interesting part of the training was on Wednesday when we were split into four groups making up ‘news agencies’ and we were bombarded with press statements, press briefings and news updates which we were supposed to be report simultaneously in real time.

This exercise, which lasted an hour, kept all participants under pressure from the ‘news editors’ who kept demanding for news stories every five minutes. In this way, participants were kept on their toes as they moved from one ‘news event’ to the other, asking questions, taking notes from speeches given by ‘sources’ and later writing the stories. 

On Tuesday, the group visited the World Bank offices in Kampala where it met the country manager Moustapha Ndiaye who gave a 30 minutes presentation on the economic situation in Uganda as well as an assessment of the situation in East Africa. Journalists being usual inquisitive human beings, asked Mousstapha a lot of questions which he answered without hesitation.

On Thursday, Nairobi-based Dr Dereje Alemayehu gave a presentation on capital flight. Dr Alemayehu, who is chairman of the Tax Justice Network Africa, revealed how billions of dollars are being lost in Africa due to the existence of tax havens in the world. And participants were surprised to learn that most tax havens are islands belonging to developed countries which champion transparency around the world but allow their territories to syphon such large amounts of money from developing countries.

Our stay in Kampala would not have been complete without ‘sampling’ the city. A bus full of participants toured the city and spent most of their time at the Vision Media Group where they saw how some of the leading newspapers, radio stations, magazines and TV stations in Uganda are run. To me who comes from a country (Zambia) where the law does not allow a citizen or a company to own various media institutions by one owner, I was surprised to see a vibrant multimedia company which owned a spectrum of media all housed in one place. This visit showed me how liberal, plural and free the Ugandan media is to operate.

During the five day training, participants expressed happiness at the capacity building they had received through the Thomson Reuters Foundation. To some of us, this was the first time we were getting specialized journalism training in business reporting, despite having been reporting on business for more than four years.

The end of every training programme is always exciting because participants receive certification and in Kampala, 14 African journalists were excited to be certified by Reuters, a world class media institution whose credentials are worth being attached to. This certification also meant that the participants automatically became alumni of the Thomson Reuters Foundation which keeps in touch with its former trainees and keeps track of their progress in their career.

Thereafter, David took the participants to a hotel located a stone throw away from the iconic Lake Victoria for dinner. The event was meant to be a farewell one and participants took advantage of the dinner to watch the lake and take memorable pictures. The most exciting part of the dinner was a mini ‘parliament’ which participants formed. Each participant, including trainers, represented their respective countries as a members of parliament and Julius Sakala from Zambia acted as the Speaker and he had tough time moderating proceedings of the ‘legislature’ which at some point became uncontrollable as MPs’ debates became heated.

On Saturday 30 June, 2012 as I flew out of Entebbe airport, leaving behind the hospitable Ugandan people, I reminded myself of two things which I would forever miss in the land of the Buganda. Firstly, bodabodas (motorcycle taxis) were a complete new phenomenon to me as we don’t have them in Zambia. Their numerous numbers, speed on the roads and the drivers’ skills in meandering through the usual heavy traffic made my stay in Uganda the most memorable. I happily left Kampala having boarded a bodaboda for only a hundred meters as I was too scared to go on a long distance due to over speeding by the drivers.

Secondly, matooke (cooked bananas) was another new experience to me. If you ever visit Uganda and don’t taste matooke, then you would have not tasted the best of ‘the pearl of Africa.’ For any visitor to Kampala, matooke is readily available in markets, shops and even in five star hotels. As the saying goes, ‘when you go to Rome, do what the Romans do,’ I made sure I ate matooke on a daily basis. Really, my experience in Uganda was one of fascination and capacity building.  

I will miss Kampala, I will miss my colleagues from across the continent but I will ensure I up my game in business reporting. 

That’s my Ugandan experience, the 'Pearl of Africa.'

New World Bank report rates Zambia among most improved on policy environment

By Paul Shalala in Kampala, Uganda

Zambia is among 13 Sub-Saharan countries which have been commended by the World Bank for showing a stable and improved policy environment for development.

According to the 2012 CPIA Index  which is an annual assessment of how countries are performing with their development policies to reduce poverty and spur opportunity, Zambia scored well in the last 12 months.

World Bank Chief Economist for Africa, Shanta Devarajan has launched the report today in the French capital Paris.

This latest World Bank review of policies and institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) shows an improved policy environment for growth and poverty reduction in 13 of the continent’s poorest countries.

The 13 countries which have showed improvements comprise: Comoros, Congo Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Togo, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

More broadly, most African countries show a stable or improved policy environment for development. This positive trend is especially important given the more severe economic climate being weathered by other countries, most notably in the developed world. 

Three people die in separate road accidents

The Zambia Police Service has confirmed the death of three people in separate road accidents which happened in Western, Eastern and Copperbelt Provinces on 27 June, 2012.

In Eastern Province, a driver of a motor vehicle Nissan Hard Body registration number ABV 3359 died on the spot leaving the two passengers with serious injuries while one passenger escaped unhurt when the vehicle he was driving overturned 20 kilometers east of Nyimba  Boma on Great North East Road around 1700 hours.

The deceased has been identified as Rabson Tembo aged 58, of bauleni Compound, Lusaka and he was driving from Lusaka to Chipata.

The accident happened when the driver of the motor vehicle hit into a pot hole hence losing control of the motor vehicle and over turned.

The body of the deceased is lying in Nyimba District Hospital Mortuary awaiting postmortem while the injured are admitted at the same Hospital.

In Western Province, a cyclist died on the spot after he was hit by a Higher Bus registration number ALD 2488 belonging to Red Bomber Travellers limited around 00: 10 hours at Kande Bridge  on Mongu- Lusaka Road.

The deceased has been identified as Nyambe Nyambe aged 35, of Kande area, Village Likoka of Chief Kandula in Mongu District.

The accident happened when the dirver of the bus, Evans Kafula aged 42 of House number 501 section 22 in Luansya’s Mpatamatu township hit the cyclist who was moving in the same direction as the bus whilst pushing a bycycle.

The body of the deceased is lying in Lewanika General Hospital mortuary while the driver is detained in Police custody Charged with Causing death by dangerous driving.

And on the Copperbelt, an unidentified man died on the spot after he was hit by a Nissan Hard Body registration number ABG 6791 along Kitwe Chingola Road in an accident which happened near Kitwe Zesco around 18 30 hours.

The accident happened when the pedestrian was crossing the road and was in the process hit by the motor vehicle which was driven by Stephen Kunda aged 44, of house number 94 Mukwa Natwange in Kitwe.

Livingstone By-Election: Campaign issues & statistics

By Paul Shalala

On 5 July 2012, registered voters in Livingstone Central Parliamentary Constituency in the Southern Province will be voting for the new member of parliament. This follows the nullification of incumbent MMD MP Lukolo Katombora's election a few months ago.
 

The nulification followed a successful petition by losing contestants who cited malpractices in the 20 September 2011 poll.
 

On 5 July, voters in Muchinga Constituency in Central Province and Chama North Constituency in newly created Muchinga Constituency will also be voting for their new MPs.

Of the three by-elections, Livingstone Central is likely to be the hotly contested due to its influence, strategic position and huge number of registered voters.

In this article, I will bring out the campaign issues, possible candidates and the statistics on the ground.


Possible Campaign issues
Like any other urban area in Zambia, Livingstone suffers from high unemployment, crime and poverty. In this tourist capital of Zambia, most young people are unemployed while a few who may have opportunities drive taxies or are involved in the hospitality industry which is heavily attached to the tourism industry. Therefore, employment creation is likely to feature heavily in the forthcoming campaigns.
 

Secondly, crime is another issue in the town. A few weeks ago, gunmen killed a European pilot, the following day they broke into a bureau de change and blew up a safe to have access to money. It is not long ago when Livingstone was terrorised by the infamous "batunsimbi" gang which went on the rampage beating, stealing and assaulting people. Therefore, security is also likely to be another campaign issue.
With poverty being everyone's cry in this country, voters in Livingstone will also be looking for an MP who will bring development to the area and ease the resident's suffering. Things like roads, construction or rehabilitation of schools and clinics are some of people's expectations in the area.

Statistics
According to the latest voters register, Livingstone Central Constituency has 67,000 registered voters and 41,000 of them voted in last year's General Elections while more than 20,000 of them abstained from the polls. The constituency has 17 wards, 13 of whom are in the urban area.
 

With the realignment of Itezhi-Tezhi Constituency to Central Province, Livingstone Central is one of the 18 remaining Constituencies in Southern Province. With these lucrative statistics, the battle of Livingstone Central is likely to be a heated one considering that the stakes are high and whichever party wins on 5 July, it will carry prestige in the tourist capital.

PF Chances Of Winning
The Patriotic Front will undoubtedly field a candidate in this by-election considering that its losing candidate Joseph Akafumba is one of the people who successful petitioned the election of the MMD MP last year. The PF will ride on its incumbency, its access to mass media and its traditional support among taxi and bus drivers to bolster its chances of winning its first ever seat in Southern Province, an area which has been an opposition stronghold for 11 years now. 

The PF is also likely to capitalise on the urban vote to win this seat, remember 13 of the 17 wards are in town, so PF strategists are likely to work on this formula as they have done in most urban areas along the line of rail. By winning Livingstone Central, the PF will announce its arrival in a province which has been a headache for President Michael Sata who has had trouble getting votes in this area. In terms of a possible candidate, the PF is likely to field its losing candidate Akafumba who is a local lawyer and PF's provincial Chairman.

UPND Chances Of Winning
The UPND currently has all the 17 seats in Southern Province except Livingstone Central. This seat has eluded the UPND for a long time. This seat was previously held by ULP's Sakwiba Sikota before it shifted hands to MMD last year. The UPND has had a bulk of councillors in the Livingstone Municipal Council but the parliamentary seat has not been easy to grab. Therefore, the UPND is likely to use its grassroot support, its regional role as the sole power broker to get Livingstone Central. 

By winning this seat, the UPND will send a strong message that it has consolidated its support in the Southern Province, an area which has produced the bulk of its 29 MPS who are currently sitting in the 150 seat Parliament. A few weeks ago, rumours emerged linking Sakwiba Sikota to a UPND bid for Livingstone Central. Indeed Sakwiba may give the PF a good run for their money as he is a former MP in the area. Last year, Sakwiba didn't contest his seat but heavily campaigned for the MMD candidate in Livingstone Central.
 

Other Parties
The former ruling party MMD has publicly announced that it will endorse a candidate its parliamentary ally UPND will adopt, therefore we don't expect any MMD candidate in Livingstone.
Parties such as NAREP, ADD and as usual UNIP are yet to state whether they will take part in the by-election.

Conclusion
This by-election is likely to be heavily contested and many hope the evils of violence that has characterised recent by-elections will not manifest itself. Campaigning on issues will also help to level the playing field in order for a credible and democratically elected candidate to represent the people of Livingstone at Manda Hill (Parliament). The people of Livingstone need security, jobs, development and a good leader who will facilitate their access to the national cake.

Zambia's Draft Constitution Maintains Christianity as State Religion

By Paul Shalala

Zambia’s latest draft constitution has guaranteed freedom of worship and also maintained the 16 year old declaration of the southern African country as a Christian nation.

According to Part five of the draft constitution which was released to the public in May 2012 for public scrutiny, all Zambians have a right to freedom of conscience, religion, thought, belief and opinion.

This means that Zambians will continue to enjoy their freedom to practice any religion of their choice without state control.

This proposed legislation means that that the country does not recognize any single Christian church but citizens can choose their own denomination.

If passed, the draft constitution also seeks to allow religious institutions to establish, maintain and operate education facilities in order to help the already struggling Ministry of Education which is at the moment failing to maintain its schools spread across the country.

At the moment, Zambia has hundreds of churches spread across the country and some years ago they had increased in number to an extent where the government threatened to stop registering new ones due to a perception that some clergy were personalizing and commercializing evangelism.

Meanwhile, the draft constitution has also maintained a clause which proclaims Zambia as a Christian nation.

In its preamble, the draft constitution states: “We the people of Zambia in exercise of our constituent power, acknowledge the supremacy of God Almighty, declare the republic a Christian nation but uphold the right of every person to enjoy that person’s freedom of conscience or religion.”

If this preamble will be adopted, Zambia will continue observing Christianity as its official religion and also allowing other religions to continue operating in the country.

Since 1964 when Zambia gained its independence from its colonial master Britain, the country was officially a secular state until 1996 when late President Frederick Chiluba amended the constitution and declared it  a Christian nation.

Despite the declaration, other religions such as Judaism, Islam and Hinduism have continued to grow with the Muslims building more mosques around the country.

The country has powerful church mother bodies which are very vocal on many religious and governance issues. These religious bodies such as the Council of churches in Zambia, the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambian and the Zambia Episcopal Conference, usually influence public policy and have a large say in many legal and social issues through the issuance of periodic pastoral letters which guide their followers on various issues.

During last year’s general elections, the declaration of Zambia as a Christian nation was a huge campaign issue which saw some politicians accusing each other of planning to scrap off the Christian nation clause from the constitution once they win.

Newly elected President Michael Sata, who is a devout Catholic, has on several occasions emphasised that he would govern the country on the Ten Commandments as contained in the Christian Bible.

He has further told the nation that being a Christian nation is not enough but should be coupled with the observance of the Ten Commandments.

With the release of the draft constitution, Zambians now have 40 days in which to read and submit comments on the draft constitution.

Thereafter, a Technical Committee appointed by President Michael Sata is expected to produce the final constitution in September this year before the document is subjected to a referendum and later enacted into law by Parliament.

Analysis Of The First Draft Constitution

By Paul Shalala

Reading through the 227 pages of the Michael Sata-appointed Technical Committee’s first draft constitution, am reminded of the struggles, pickets, war of words and insults that the people of Zambia have gone through over the past years on this seemingly unending constitution making process.

This draft constitution has come at a time when most Zambians seem to be tired with the words “a constitution which will stand the taste of time.” They want a constitution that appeals to their views and aspirations, a constitution which will empower them to take part in public affairs and demand accountability like in any other democracy.

Recently, the Technical Committee released its first draft constitution which is soon to be debated and adopted in provinces before a final constitution is prepared and presented to the President as scheduled in September.

Below is my analysis, observations and recommendations of this document which seeks to be approved or rejected by the Zambian people.

Contentious issues

In the previous Constitution Review Commissions (CRCs), Zambians had been submitting a number of items which they felt were dear to their hearts and they hoped those clauses would add value to the country’s wellbeing if added in the republican constitution. Most of these items were added in the respective CRCs’ draft constitutions but were unilaterally deleted from the final documents by those in the seats of authority.

It is however, interesting to note that almost all those contentious issues are included in the first draft constitution released by the Technical Committee in April 2012. These are the 50 plus one presidential election threshold or the majoritarian electoral system, the Vice Presidential running mate, proportional representation, the appointment of ministers from outside parliament and others.

The other contentious issue is the Christian nation clause. During last year’s campaigns, it was a big issue. In the draft, the declaration has been maintained in the preamble as follows:

“We the people of Zambia in exercise of our constituent power, acknowledge the supremacy of God Almighty, declare the republic a Christian nation but uphold the right of every person to enjoy that person’s freedom of conscience or religion.”

This is an article that many Christian groups had fought to maintain since its inception in the republican constitution in 1996.

Positives

In Part IV, the draft constitution has provided the opportunity of dual citizenship, an issue which most of our Zambian brothers and sisters in the diaspora have been crying for. The provision clearly states that if a Zambian citizen acquires another nationality, their Zambian citizenship will stil be maintained and cannot be revoked unless the concerned person does so.

Another provision is the Citizenship Board of Zambia which will determine issues to do with nationality. I guess this is the right body which will be determining aspiring candidates’ eligibility to office as happened last year when President Rupiah Banda’s candidature for presidency was questioned on allegations that his father was a foreigner.

Part V of the draft broadens the Bill of Rights and gives various sectors of society rights they need to enjoy such as education, health, sanitation and housing. Of particular interest to me is the inclusion of Economic, Social and Cultural rights. Those who follow Zambian politics will recall that during the existence of the ill fated PF-UPND Pact, the UPND had argued with the PF on these rights and UPND had put them as a benchmark for negotiations towards a single presidential candidate.

Of all the provisions in the draft constitution, those contained in Part VI are dear to my heart. These are articles to do with the electoral system. This part includes some of the most progressive articles which most Zambians have been yearning to have for decades. These include the 50 plus one provision for election of a President, Vice President running mate provision, last Thursday of September as date for General Elections every after five years and proportional representation in parliament. Further, the draft proposes a special vote during general elections for Zambians abroad, defence and security personell and other special people in society like journalists and monitors who are deployed in other areas other than their constituencies were they are registered as voters.

In this same part of the draft, those who lost as MPs in the immediate past elections are not allowed to take office as Ministers or Permanent Secretaries. On the installation of the president elect, more flexibility is given in light of petitions or other problems as opposed to the “within 24 hours” system employed at the moment.

On the executive, Part VII has brought in a tradition that is practiced in countries such as the USA which I see to be very progressive: the appointment of Ministers from outside Parliament. For me this will help the country to have well trained and specialised technocrats to run ministries as opposed to the current system were ministers are deployed irrespective of their credentials and lack of it. In this draft constitution, the Grade 12 requirement for a presidential candidate has been maintained a s well as the provision to remove the immunity of a president if suspected of having abused his/her office.

On electoral petitions, the Constitutional Court has been proposed so that it can hear and judge the submissions. This will help reduce conflict of interest in that the Chief Justice, who used to be the Returning Officer of the general elections, used to receive these electoral petitions when they were filed in the Supreme Court.

Article 88 provides a new concept in Zambian politics: the Political Parties Fund. This is a fund which, in my thinking, will pay a special amount of money to all political parties represented in parliament. However, all parties will be subject to audits on an annual basis on the utilization of party funds. This regulation will also help reduce excess expenditure and mortgaging of the country by those sourcing funds from outside the country.

According to the draft constitution, Ministers will be appointed from outside parliament from among people who are eligible to be elected as MPs and these will number not more than 21. Permanent Secretaries will be appointed from among ruling party MPs and these will only be 11. This will mean that as controlling officers, Permanent Secretaries (MPs) will be under non politicians in the Ministries as Ministers will be chosen from outside Manda Hill.

Parliament itself will have 200 elected MPs plus the Speaker and Deputy Speaker. This will be an increase from the current 150 elected MPs which will mean creation of new constituencies and more expenditure at Manda Hill (the other name for the Zambian Parliament).

Negatives

This first draft constitution contains very good articles but it also has deficiencies. For example, it does not allow an independent candidate to run for President. This is an infringement of rights as many like minded Zambians who would want to aspire for Plot One are not aligned to political parties will not be able to exercise their democratic right. During last year’s General Elections, the European Union and the Electoral Institute of Southern Africa both recommended separately that Zambia should allow independent minded Zambians to aspire for the highest office in the land. 

Secondly, the President will still has excessive powers. These include the appointment of members of the Electoral Commission of Zambia, an issue which many have been describing as unfair. The Technical Committee should have found an independent way of choosing commissioners.

Thirdly, Part VII provides for the President’s immunity and its removal incase of suspected misconduct during the head of state’s tenure of office. However, it does not give a provision for the re-instatement of that immunity after one is tried and the legal process is concluded.

Conclusion

In its current form, the first draft constitution is progressive, it appeals to most people’s aspiration despite a few shortcomings. Therefore, stakeholders who will take part in conventions, should ensure that all progressive clauses are maintained so that a constitution we all want can be enacted into law and will “stand a test of time.

Why We Need 50+1 for Presidential Elections

By Paul Shalala

A voter being helped to walk

For a long time now, a minority president has presided over millions of Zambians most of whom may not even have voted for him. Presidents such as the late Frederick Chiluba, the late Levy Mwanawasa, Rupiah Banda and the incumbent Michael Sata have all led this country on minority votes owing to the current First-Past-The-Post electoral system. This system allows whoever gets votes more votes than other candidates to be crowned President of the Republic of Zambia irrespective of whether the margin was minimal or large and irrespective of the percentage of the winning candidate.

For example, in 2001, Mwanawasa got less than 30% of the votes, in practical terms it means that the majority of Zambian voters (70%) did not want Mwanawasa to be president as they voted for other candidates, but because of our electoral regime, Mwanawasa presided over this nation as a minority head of state. As the constitution making process progresses, my hope is that the Sata-appointed Technical Committee on the constitution will ensure that the 50 plus one presidential winning threshold is enshrined in the new constitution so that in future, Zambian presidents should be elected by the majority of the voters!

The 50 plus one system is also called the Majoritarian electoral system in Political Science. This system allows a winning candidate to have more than 50% of the votes, hence having the majority votes in an election. 50 plus one also helps the incumbent president to have legitimacy from the voters as most people will see the power of their votes being manifested in the man or woman they eventually send to State House. Further, the majoritarian system will also reduces cases of electoral disputes as the person who becomes president wins outright unlike the current situation were a president can win with a meagre 35,000 votes and the losers live with suspicions of fraud and the stealing of votes. This system ensures that if no candidate wins more than 50% in the first round, the first two candidates head for a run off election in which the voters choose a candidate who evntually presides over their nation for a prescribed number of years!

Over the years, Zambians have submitted through various Constitution Review Commissions (CRCs)for the inclusion of the 50 plus one presidential voting threshold into the Republican Constitution. Many of these recommendations have been thrown out by the successive governments but we are hopeful that the Patriotic Front government will not fall in the same trap and throw out this recommendation which is at the heart of many Zambians' aspirations.

The World Bank Election and Africa's Calls for More Say

By Paul Shalala

Many Africans are crying following the election of President Barack Obama's nominee Jim Yong Kim for World Bank President. That election was an academic exercise because the chief of that bak is always an American since the bank's inception in the 1940s! There is an unwritten rule that America should always have a final say on the selection process! In 1944, US, UK and their allies in World War II met at a place called Bretton Woods in USA were they agreed to form two institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction (World Bank) & the International Monetary Fund (IMF), these two were to help rebuild Europe & Japan following the destruction of that great war against Hitler's Nazi Germany and the Japanese Empire! So from the outset, these two so-called Bretton Woods institutions are not meant for Africa, they are for America, Europe & Japan. Therefore, the World Bank seems to have been established for other regions, though in the past 70 years the role of this bak has changed from reconstruction to other roles, its management still remains in American hands. Therefore, let's not complain that Africa's candidate Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala wasn't selected as the new President of the World Bank, that bank isn't for Africa, its for the west. Even if the well educated Nigerian Finance Minister was to win, she wouldn't favour Africa in the bank's operations because the systems and structures control what the Bank President does. Therefore, Africans should spare their tears for other things, the World Bank has always been led by an American since 1944, the IMF has always been led by a European since 1944, Africa should therefore concentrate on its own development and not these fights for leadership of these multilateral institutions which won't take us any where.

The World Bank Election and Africa's Calls for More Say

Many Africans are crying following the election of President Barack Obama's nominee Jim Yong Kim for World Bank President. That election was an academic exercise because the chief of that bak is always an American since the bank's inception in the 1940s! There is an unwritten rule that America should always have a final say on the selection process! In 1944, US, UK and their allies in World War II met at a place called Bretton Woods in USA were they agreed to form two institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction (World Bank) & the International Monetary Fund (IMF), these two were to help rebuild Europe & Japan following the destruction of that great war against Hitler's Nazi Germany and the Japanese Empire! So from the outset, these two so-called Bretton Woods institutions are not meant for Africa, they are for America, Europe & Japan. Therefore, the World Bank seems to have been established for other regions, though in the past 70 years the role of this bak has changed from reconstruction to other roles, its management still remains in American hands. Therefore, let's not complain that Africa's candidate Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala wasn't selected as the new President of the World Bank, that bank isn't for Africa, its for the west. Even if the well educated Nigerian Finance Minister was to win, she wouldn't favour Africa in the bank's operations because the systems and structures control what the Bank President does. Therefore, Africans should spare their tears for other things, the World Bank has always been led by an American since 1944, the IMF has always been led by a European since 1944, Africa should therefore concentrate on its own development and not these fights for leadership of these multilateral institutions which won't take us any where.

MMD: CONVENTION, U-TURN ON PARTY VICE PRESIDENCY & 2016

By Paul Shalala

On Thursday 5 April 2012, MMD National Secretary Richard Kachingwe announced that the former ruling party will go for an “Extra-ordinary National Convention” in all the ten provinces on 25 June 2012. Major Kachingwe further announced that on the agenda will be the election of the new party president, amending the party constitution to include two vice presidents and also make amendments on the operations of party finances.

In layman’s language, holding a “National Convention” in the respective provinces is in essence having provincial conventions because having a National Convention means that provinces will send delegates to one meeting where the MMD will meet on 25^th June but that’s not the case because party members will meet in provinces and not in one place.

Therefore, what MMD will have are provincial conventions and not a National Convention as announced by the retired diplomat who returned to Zambia last year to take up the MMD’s chief executive office at the time he was serving as Zambia’s High Commissioner to Malawi.

On the presidency, the MMD has an opportunity to choose a leader who is expected to unify and move the party forward. At the moment, the party seems disorganized and fatigued with the loss in last year’s general elections. These provincial conventions are therefore an opportunity for the party to put up a united front and make a comeback in 2016 if at all a formidable leader is chosen.

A repeat of what transpired at the 2011 MMD National Convention would damage the party further. MMD members need to bury their differences and embrace each other if the blue party is to live beyond 2016.

Five familiar names are likely to be on the ballot papers during the election to choose the new MMD president who will succeed former president Rupiah Banda who resigned a few weeks ago. These are Felix Mutati (Lunte MP and former Commerce Minister), Dr Situmbeko Musokotwane (Liuwa MP and former Finance Minister), Kabinga Pande (Kasempa MP and former Foreign Affairs Minister), Dr Nevers Mumba (former Vice President and former diplomat) and Moses Muteteka (Chisamba MP and former Local Government Deputy Minister).

All these men are capable of leading this opposition party but the hopes of many party members are that whoever wins, the losers should concede defeat and rally behind the winner. This however is very rare in Africa but MMD once demonstrated this in 2008 when many cabinet ministers fought to become presidential candidates after the demise of then President Levy Mwanawasa and after then acting President Rupiah Banda won the party nomination, all candidates rallied behind him.

On the push to amend the MMD constitution to accommodate two vice presidents, I see this to be a laughable matter because the MMD has made a serious u-turn exactly 12 months after the position was abolished. In April 2011, I covered the MMD extra-ordinary National Convention at Mulungushi Rock of Authority in Kabwe where the party amended the constitution and abolished the position of Vice President due to perceived skirmishes between then MMD Chairman for Elections Mike Mulongoti and then Vice President George Kunda who were both vying for the number two position in the party. The two were perceived to be frontrunners for the party vice presidency and they engaged themselves in a bitter war of words in the media which only ended when Mr Mulongoti was suspended and later expelled from the party and his cabinet portfolio as Works and Supply Minister as well as his nomination as an MP was also revoked by then president Rupiah Banda who was furious at Mulongoti for attacking Kunda in the media.

At that time, senior party officials supported the move to scrap off the number two party position saying the position of Vice president is a liability and it should be abolished.  When delegates were given an opportunity to vote on the amendment, the whole gathering voted unanimously in favour of the amendment and the position was abolished immediately hence the current situation were the party has no Vice President. Therefore, my conclusion is this; the abolishing of the Vice presidency clause last year was not done in good faith because it was done to protect individuals at the expense of the party. It was public knowledge at the time that one perceived preferred candidate was poised to lose hence the need to protect him from an embarrassment. And this push for the re-introduction of the number two position in the party has exposed the MMD’s inconsistency in its leadership. What role is the Vice President going to play today when 12 months ago the same party resolved that the position was a liability?

 In terms of its future, the MMD seems to have a place in people’s heart. Many people still support the party despite its bashing in last year’s polls. However, it risks falling in the same trap UNIP has fallen following its loss in the 1991 elections. The ball is in the MMD’s hands and its actions, messages and movements will be closely scrutinized by Zambian voters between now and 2016.

One of the biggest challenges of whoever will be elected the 4^th MMD president on 25 June will face many challenges. The biggest of them all is the “corruption” tag which many senior party officials have accepted as being a problem. The party needs to work on this if it is to remain a viable party able to challenge the PF in 2016. MMD needs to play its public relations well because Zambians seem to ignore political parties easily once power slips aware. The party also needs a complete overhaul of its senior leadership if it is to appeal to new supporters and voters who are tired of the old faces who seem not to be meeting the needs of the common Zambian.

So the future of MMD will lie in the hands of its new president.

ANALYSIS OF THE COMMITTEE OF EXPERTS AND NEW CONSTITUTION

 BY PAUL SHALALA

The recent unveiling of the 20-man Committee of Experts which will draft the new national constitution brings the issue of constitution making back into people’s minds. In this article, I will dwell on the caliber of committee members, terms of references and the possibility of a people driven constitution after this process comes to an end.

I will however not discuss the composition of the committee, as I perceive that to be a petty issue. There are more important issues I can spend time on, not who was selected, why, how!

CALIBRE OF COMMITTEE

The caliber of committee members cannot be questioned as we have seen a wide range of professions and specializations brought together. For example, a number of constitutional lawyers have been included in the committee, which is a good ingredient for the final document.

Zambians still remember that Willa Mung’omba chaired the famous Mung’omba Constitution Review Commission, which in my view, came up with the best constitutional reforms of all times.

Mwangala Zaloumis is another lawyer with a track record of the constitutional making process. She headed the Electoral Reform Technical Committee appointed by late President Levy Mwanawasa in 2003. And her team came up with a very good document, which unfortunately was left to gather dust on our shelves. Recently, she served as spokesperson for the now defunct National Constitutional Conference until August 2010.

The church, which boycotted the NCC deliberations has now been included in the process and we know that with their input, critical issues like the declaration of Zambia as a Christian nation will be defended especially that during the run up to the 20 September polls, some sectors of society hinted on its removal from the highest law of the land.

Further, we have also seen the inclusion of civil society activists in the likes of Reuben Lifuka and Simon Kabanda. It must be noted that these men are lovers of good governance and they have in a way been firm on the need for the constitution to be driven by the Zambian people and not by politicians. I remember covering Mr Kabanda at parliament earlier this year when he went to picket members of parliament to include some contentious issues in the aborted NCC Draft Constitution.

The civil society has always been active in the Zambian constitution making process. Back in 2006 and 2007, President Levy Mwanawasa released his 5-year constitution road map but the civil society countered that by proposing a shorter road map, which would have saved resources and time. With their inclusion in the committee of experts, we hope they will also represent the will and wishes of the people of Zambia.

One important thing I’m happy about is the exclusion of politicians in this committee. Politicians have in the past been known to promote their interests at the expense of the nation. In the NCC, the then ruling MMD ensured that its members were more than any other sector hence rendering the NCC draft constitution a political document. Thank God, President Michael Sata saw it fit to leave this process to technocrats.

TERMS OF REFERENCE

President Sata has made a good move by asking the committee of experts to review all available pieces of past constitution reforms as they are critical in contributing to a ‘people’ driven document. This move is a ‘people’s’ move in that it will ensure that all those clauses that Zambians have been submitting in the past constitution review commissions will be reviewed and considered for possible adoption.

 In case you may have forgotten, Zambians have been submitting clauses such as:

(a)    50 per cent plus one presidential winning threshold,

(b)   An elected Vice-President,

(c)    Triming the powers of the President,

(d)   Parliament to approve foreign loan contraction by the State, and so on.

It is this approach that will help Zambians to finally have that which they have been crying for over the past four decades.

The other term of reference given to the committee is to go round the provinces and allow citizens to submit and adopt their preferred clauses in conventions. I feel this is ideal in that people will feel part of the process. However, I must warn that those in authority should not politicize this process.

Secondly, the committee should also take on board recommendations of the Electoral Reform Technical Committee which came up with very good reforms for our electoral laws. President Mwanawasa set up this team to spearhead reforms following the 2001 disputed general elections. This again was a broad-based body with representation as diverse as the current committee of experts.

PROCESS OF ADOPTION

In the past weeks, we have heard Ministers and senior government officials announcing that the draft constitution will have to be taken to a referendum and later taken to parliament for enactment. Indeed that’s the best way to ensure its legitimacy because the people will have submitted their clauses in the provinces. And when the draft comes to them through a referendum, they will have the opportunity to endorse their preferred clauses, which will be like double-checking of the draft constitution.

The PF government should stick to this roadmap, as it is the surest way to ensure that Zambians are kept on board as the national document is being produced.

CONCLUSION.

The former ruling party MMD failed to produce ‘a people driven constitution’ because they had given politicians more powers to decide the final outcome of the constitution making process through the NNC.

Secondly, the MMD lost the people’s trust because the process in which the final constitution was to be adopted was not liked by civil society, the church and some opposition political parties.

With this in mind, the ruling Patriotic Front has an opportunity to avoid those mistakes the MMD made in order for them to surely produce the constitution people want.

So far, we have seen political will from government through major pronouncements but the final document will be determined by the way the new constitution making process is managed by the committee of experts and the government at large.  The new development, in a way will also show that it is possible to avoid tedious processes like NCC ands save tax payer’s money.

ZAMBIA DROPS ON CORRUPTION RANKINGS

By Paul Shalala in Berlin, Germany

An expert on corruption in African countries has observed that Zambia’s drop on the international rankings on corruption shows that the southern African country needs to step up its fight against the vice.

Annette Jaitener, who is senior programme coordinator for Africa and the Middle East at Transparency International Headquarters in Berlin, Germany says the results of the 2010 Corruption Perception Index indicate that Zambia has not improved from its previous rankings in 2009.

Ms Jaitner says the perception of most Zambians is that a lot has to be done by the authorities as there is still a huge problem of graft in the country.

Ms Jaitner said this when she addressed a group of African and Asian journalists who visited Transparency International headquarters this morning in Germany.

According to the 2010 Corruption Perception Index which was released by Transparency International in Germany a few days ago, Zambia is now ranked 101 less corrupt country in the world after having slipped two places backwards from number 99 in 2009.

Meanwhile, the Zambia Police Service has been classified as the most corrupt public institution in Zambia.

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According to Transparency International’s 2010 Global Corruption Barometer, most Zambians are of the view that the Police is more corrupt than other public institutions.

Other public institutions considered more corrupt in Zambia according to the poll results are political parties, civil servants, the legislature, and the education system, among others.

The Barometer bases its findings on interviews conducted with more than one thousand Zambians between July 1 and July 10 last year across the country.

Further, the Barometer also reveals that 48 per cent of Zambians interviewed last year felt that the Rupiah Banda-led MMD government was ineffective in its fight against corruption.

Of those interviewed, only 40 percent felt the previous government was effective while 12 percent felt the MMD government was lukewarm in its anti-graft fight.

During the previous government, the international community and local civil society organizations condemned the state for its relaxed anti-graft fight which led to the disbandment of the Taskforce on Corruption, a body that had been investigating and prosecuting corruption cases dating back to 1991.

GERMAN YOUTHS WIN PARLIAMENTARY SEATS THROUGH FACEBOOK CAMPAIGNS

By Paul Shalala in Berlin, Germany

A new group of 15 young and little known Germans have won parliamentary seats in the Berlin Federal Parliament in an unlikely manner after they campaigned using posters and the social networking websites Facebook and Twitter.

In their first day in parliament, the young parliamentarians wore bandanas, caps, informal clothes while some even carried i-pods to the legislature.

The young MPs who include a lady, are members of the newly formed Pirates Party which only held a few public rallies during the campaign period.

These Pirate MPs are young people who are in their early 20s, 30s and a few are in their early 40s while the youngest among them is 19 years old.

A closer look at the their personal histories reveal that some of them are students, while others are industrial workers and physicians.

The success scored by the 15 little known Pirates Party Members of Parliament has shocked many Germans who had ignored the party which has no formal policies in areas such as education, health, security and had never won elections since its inception a few years ago.

Party spokesperson Ben De Biel says his party hopes to ensure that its newly elected MPs contribute to solving problems the people of Berlin face.

Mr De Biel says a new computer software has since been employed to ensure that  the MPs and voters interact on a daily basis and share strategies of how to approach various issues.

Current opinion polls in Germany predict that the Pirate Party may get its first seats in the Bundestag (German Upper House of Parliament) in 2013 if the current mood among citizens continues to like the silent online campaign tactics of the pirates.

Meanwhile, Tobias Miller, Politics Editor for the Berliner Zeitung, Berlin's largest daily newspaper, says the German media was surprised at the Pirates’ success in the elections.

Mr Miller says the Pirates got a lot of their support from dissatisfied Germans who feel the need for new ideas and a fresh start in politics and they also  got a good number of votes from young people who spend most of their time surfing the internet.

 
He adds that voters in Berlin elected the 15 young Pirate MPs because they are fed up of old politicians who are not offering them new ideas.

The Pirate MPs where among the 149 MPs of the Berlin Federal Parliament who started their five year term when the house opened for its deliberations on 27 October 2011.

The new parliament was elected on 18 September 2011 and in its sittings, it will be interesting because of the pirates whose agenda is not yet known.