NDF WAS A SUCCESS – CIVIL SOCIETY
“THE just-ended National Dialogue Forum (NDF) was an open, all-inclusive and credible process which accorded all of us a voice save for those who decided to stay away,” a consortium of civil society organisations has said. The group is made up of the Media Election Monitoring Project (MEMP), the Zambian DNA, Movement for Economic Empowerment and Democracy (MEED), Network for Young People against Violence and Battle Cry Zambia. All the affiliates are happy with the process so far. They said the output of the delegates would help refine the Constitution by removing ambiguity and lacunas, which impinged on the execution of justice. They also said it was now up to parliamentarians to further refine the Constitution through the submissions that had been made. “We, a consortium of non-governmental organisations, are elated that the just-ended NDF was an all-inclusive process as delegates freely expressed their views. It’s worth noting that the NDF made great strides on the refinement of the current Constitution, Electoral Process Amendment Bill, Public Order Act Amendment Bill and the Political Parties Bill,” the consortium said in a statement. It commended the delegates for the patriotic spirit demonstrated during the deliberations, and their valuable input on key national issues. The NDF had shamed its critics and those who shunned participation on the pretext that it was a sham with a pre-determined outcome. The consortium warned those who had shunned the conference not to derail the process since they had decided not to be part of the deliberations on their own. “We do not expect those who shunned the NDF to throw stones at its final product as they had chosen to be spectators and not participants. More so, it would be unpatriotic for members of Parliament (MPs) who shunned the NDF to go to Parliament and frustrate efforts of those who sacrificed their time and resources in the national interest to participate in the NDF,” the statement said. It commended President Edgar Lungu for his tacit commitment to the tenets of democracy as he facilitated the NDF deliberations on the constitution without due influence, and respected the will of the Zambian people.
The NDF had shamed its acritics and those who shunned participation on the pretext that it was a sham with a pre-determined outcome.