NGO opposes increasing constituencies

GOVERNMENT must not rush to increase the number of constituencies because this will have huge cost on the treasury, Zambia Council for Social Development (ZCSD) has said.

Executive Director Leah Mitaba said a small economy like Zambia, which was growing at less than three percent annually, cannot support 235 constituencies that the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) had proposed.

“We do not entirely agree with ECZ Chief Electoral Officer, Patrick Nshindano’s views that creating more constituencies will enhance service because this can be realized through the decentralisation of government.

Decentralisation remains the most effective way of ensuring that resources reach directly to the people in an effort to reduce poverty and inequalities. Government should prioritize devolving both human and financial resources as espoused in the National Decentralisation Policy instead of rushing to add more constituencies,” she said. Mr Mitaba said in a statement yesterday the cost of creating more constituencies should concern every Zambian because the value of having more constituencies was not guaranteed.

“There are many constituencies in this country that are still lagging behind in development not because they are geographically vast but because of lack of prioritisation of development by the elected Members of Parliament,” she said.

We urge ECZ to convene stakeholder meetings with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to explain the cost implications of creating 235 constituencies. The stakeholders meetings will also enable CSOs to offer suggestions on better ways of implementing this programme,” Ms Mitaba said.

As ZCSD, she said, our view is that the creation of 235 constituencies should be a long-term program that should take this country not less than 15 years to attain, depending on the size and growth of our economy.