‘CONSTITUTION OVERHAUL DESPERATELY NEEDED’
WITHOUT a complete overhaul of the constitution, Zambia risks being plunged into a state of pandemonium, former member of the Mung’omba Commission John Mambo has said.
Bishop Mambo said the Public Order Act needed to be scrapped off from the constitution because it gave too much power to the President.
He said in an interview that where a sitting Head of State decided to abuse the powers the country would turn into a dictatorial state.
Bishop Mambo said in an instance where a country had a heartless President, the country would be plunged into turmoil.
He said to avoid any catastrophes in future, it was prudent to reform the entire constitution now into a document that could stand the test of time.
Bishop Mambo said the constitution was marred with lacunas despite several attempts that had been made to refine it.
He said there was need for a complete overhaul of the constitution, noting that too much money had already been spent on constitutional reviews.
Bishop Mambo said the lacunas in the constitution would have led to confusion in the country on several occasions had Zambians not been naturally peaceful.
“In its current form the constitution risks causing a civil war in the country because there have been many times where Zambians were pushed to the bottom because of lacunas in the constitution,” he said.
And Bishop Mambo said as the constitution would be reformed, Parliamentarians should pick good things from the rejected Bill 10 and bill of rights.
He said despite the Bill having flopped, some of the proposed changes in it were progressive.
Bishop Mambo said everything possible should be done to ensure that the constitution was refined once and for all.