SAY NO TO REFERENDUM IN DEFENCE OF GOOD GOVERNANCE AND CONSTITUTIONALISM IN ZAMBIA
[By Brig Gen Godfrey Miyanda – 5th August 2016]
I urge Zambians who value good governance and constitutionalism to vote NO in the Referendum on 11th August 2016. On 11th April 2016 I filed my Petition in the Constitutional Court (Cause Number 2016/CC/0006), challenging, inter alia, the combining of the National Referendum and the General Election. My prayer was that it be heard BEFORE the elections and I am still to learn when the Petition will be heard. But in the light of the one-sided aggressive promotion of the YES VOTE by President Lungu and his “Christians for Lungu” I must reiterate the other side of this contentious topic.
I emphasize that I am not opposing the Referendum nor the improvement of our Constitution and other laws but the timing, irregularity and politicisation of it for political gain. I am against the deceptive, dishonest, vote-catching scheme and the multi-dimensional questions hidden in the belly of the ECZ’s “one-answer” question (illustrated read below).
I appeal to concerned Zambians who value constitutionalism in Zambia to give me a hearing. I am aware that I all those opposing the Referendum are being labelled unpatriotic and Satanists as has become the pastime of some hate-mongering Christians; I do not care because what is at stake is the prevention of the continued official raping of the Constitution using uninformed and even illiterate citizens by those with an insatiable appetite for votes.
Some of my reasons for speaking out against President Lungu’s Referendum are: i. Betrayal of the people by the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ); ii. Poor leadership by the President who deliberately turned the Referendum into a partisan vote-catching stratagem; iii. Presenting a trick question that does not qualify as a Referendum Question; iv. The Census Imperative; v. A contradictory and incoherent Public Policy:
i. The U-turn by LAZ on the Referendum is a betrayal of the people of Zambia; worst of all their attempt to explain themselves is incoherent gibberish. LAZ ‘explained’ that they no longer were against the holding of the combined referendum and general election but then declared that they do not approve of the Referendum Question! Come on LAZ, this is Double Speak because the Referendum Question is the raison d’etre of the decision to hold a National Referendum! If you do not agree with it then you are saying you do not support the Referendum, and rightly so because there is no question to answer!
ii. Poor leadership by President Lungu (vis a vis Article 44 of the Constitution CAP 1) is depicted by his abrogation of his legal duty and obligation under the Referendum Act and turning the Referendum into a partisan PF stratagem for vote-catching. On or about 21st May 2016, during the live launch of the PF manifesto at the Independence Stadium, the President in tandem also launched the Referendum and revealed that he was going to VOTE YES and directed his audience to do likewise because “the PF Central Committee had so decided”! He repeated this same instruction on another live broadcast during the Africa Freedom Day at State House on 25th May 2016; and since then he has not relented and almost on a daily basis he has continued to insist that voters must vote yes but without explaining or discussing the actual Referendum Question. Literary the whole nation was listening to his address carried live nationally on radio and television. In spite of his abdication of his national duty and obligation the PF are condemning those promoting a contrary opinion, accusing them of ‘politicising’ the Referendum – what could be more politicisation of an issue than combining the launch of his political party’s manifesto with the launch of the non-partisan National Referendum? More Double Speak!
iii. The Referendum Question is really a deceptive electoral scheme consisting of “several questions disguised as one” (see the question below). LAZ was correct to reject the question but wrong, double wrong to support the Referendum!
iv. The Census Imperative: Conducting a census is a credible legal formula for establishing the mandatory 50 % mathematical threshold. By not holding a census before the Referendum scheduled for 11th August 2016 President Lungu has thrown away this credible formula for determining the said 50 percent threshold; it is my humble contention that holding a census should or must be a condition precedent to the holding of the referendum on 11th August 2016, for how will the 50 % threshold demanded by law be arrived at? The last national census was in 2010 and since then every minute that passes new voters have come of age. This Referendum is a fraud to say the least!
v. Public Policy: the Minister of Justice, Honourable Dr Ngosa Simbyakula, MP addressed the last Parliament in its final session last year, giving three grounds for opting for a National Referendum. The three grounds in sequence were a. The Cost Element; b. The decision to take the whole document (Constitutional Bill) to Parliament to determine non-contentious issues and c. To conduct a National Referendum. I quote verbatim the relevant parts of the Minister’s address, namely Ground Three of the three grounds:
“Mr Speaker I beg to move that the Bill be now read a second time….. To be successful, the Constitution development must involve all stakeholders, which leads me to the third ground.
Sir, admittedly, in the Patriotic Front Manifesto, we advocated for a referendum as the mode of adopting the Constitution. There is no doubt that the best manifestation of the expression of the will of the people on an issue is through a direct vote of all voters in a referendum. I repeat, on an issue. In other words, a referendum is the most democratic way of deciding single issues. For example, if we, here in Zambia, want to decide whether to maintain or abolish the death penalty, a referendum will provide the Zambian people with the most democratic and direct say in the matter. That will be the best expression of the will of the people on the death penalty.
Mr Speaker, similarly, on one hand, the Bill of Rights is one such issue on which the people can decide in a referendum. On the other hand, a Constitution is not a single issue, but a complex, multi-dimensional document consisting of a multitude of diverse issues. On reflection, we, like many Zambians, came to the realisation that on multi-dimensional issues like the Constitution, a referendum as a mode for decision-making, faces serious practical challenges.
Sir, the Draft Constitution before us consists of 322 clauses. Unless and until we can find a practical way of determining the will of the people on each of the clauses, a yes or no vote to the whole document cannot reflect the true will of the voter on the ground. It is not possible for a voter to agree on all the 322 clauses. To request the voter to say either, ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to a whole document when he/she may accept some clauses and reject others, places the voter in a serious dilemma. A yes or no vote on the whole document would not be a true reflection of the will of the people.
….we are of the view that we proceed with it and enact the non-contentious clauses in the Bill.
Hon Government Members: Hear, hear!” End of quote.
Now do you agree that this Referendum Question is a single issue question? I don’t because it is a multi-choice type of question that cannot reasonably attract only a yes or no answer as illustrated below. Now here is the actual Referendum Question published as a supplement to the Zambian Government Gazette dated 23rd May 2016 and quoted verbatim:
“Do you agree to the amendment to the Constitution to enhance the Bill of rights contained in Part III of the Constitution of Zambia and to repeal and replace Article 79 of the Constitution of Zambia”.
Please notice the duplicity in this question. This is a multi-dimensional question as defined by the Minister himself, with several questions hidden in its belly. Here is my surgical analysis of the “question/s”:
a. First Question, do you agree that the current Part III of the Bill of Rights, which contains at least 22 clauses, be amended? YES or NO?
b. If YES which of the clauses do you say YES to? And if NO which ones? [Of course this suggests that the 22 clauses should be listed as part of the multiple-choice Referendum Question!]
c. And then do you agree that Article 79 of the Constitution be removed and replaced? YES or NO?
d. Do you agree that the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Bill 2016, published in the Zambia Daily Mail, which is the proposed new Part III Bill of Rights and which contains at least 66 clauses, be amended as proposed? YES or NO?
e. If YES or NO which of the clauses do you say YES to and/or NO to? [Again the 66 clauses must be listed as part of the multiple-choice Referendum Question, giving a total of 88 clauses!]
How and why did the President classify this as a single issue question? This is official deceitfulness; and there is a real threat of the re-emergence of the One Party State as happened before. This deceit is a replay of the fiasco following the 1969 Referendum when a scheme was hatched which later led to the establishment of the “Chona Commission”, the harbinger of the One Party State. The pattern is the same: briefly, the complaining Zambians were told that if they wanted the Government to repossess land from absentee Land Lords (white farmers especially in Southern Province who had relocated to South Africa and other places), they should vote yes. Zambians voted yes en masse and gave the UNIP Government about 80 to 84 percent. But did they get the Promised Land? Instead of land they got the One Party State because power was given to the Government and Parliament to tamper with the Constitution.
Neither the President nor his Ministers and other PF supporters have explained or justified the complex Referendum Question – they are using deception: instead of land as before, today they are using ‘enhanced economic rights’ which is selling very well like the land promise!
The Referendum Question in its current form is not a single issue, but “a complex, multi-dimensional document consisting of a multitude of 88 diverse issues”! What reason do you have to vote YES to all of the 88 clauses instead of to those you agree with? It is a trick – so VOTE NO! A standalone Referendum can be held later after a proper multiparty consultation leading to consensus on the identified single issue, preceded by a census of eligible Zambians whose details shall be documented in the Census register, NOT projections.
There you are; commit hara-kiri but do not say you were not warned of the Writing on the Wall – ‘I have said my own’!
GODFREY MIYANDA,
BRIGADIER GENERAL,
CONCERNED ZAMBIAN
[5TH AUGUST 2016]
wise man..we shall surely say no..time to move on with a better govt..vote HH
Aba bena lituya fye.
General Miyanda has a very beautiful wife. Which part of her did he agree to in order to propose marriage to her. Dear General, just like a woman, the Bill of Rights is ONE. You say YES or NO to the whole.
The General has spoken, those with ears will listen, and those who are drunk everyday won’t
Another toothless old man i don’t know who he is speaking for and the organisation he is representing. President Edgar Lungu is just the administrator of Zambian Government and the issues related to Constitution and referendum are for Zambians. Please just tell the people the benefits of voting yes or no not bad mouthing ELC who is only managing Zambia for now. ELC is only President that has shown some steps as regards to constitutional changes. The constitution is the system which can never be perfect and the next leaders will bring in other changes after Edgar Lungu. If we continue, personalizing these issues and taking partisan position will never make progress as regards to constitution amendment process. Please there are a lot of benefits by voting YES and not NO for the referendum
BA CHEATOLLEY ABANA NABO. HE IS THE MOST SLEEPING GENERAL I HAVE EVER SEEN AND HEARD IN THE WORLD. WHOLE THIS TIME HE HAS BEEN SLEEPING AND WHEN INFORMED PEOPLE WITH GREY MATTER HAVE BEEN INFORMING THE NATION, AS USUAL HE WAKES UP FROM HIS DEEP SLEEP WITH HIS CONFUSION AND STARTS YAPPING NONSENSE. BA GENERAL YOU HAVE A VERY STUUPID ATTITUDE OF SLEEPING.
I DO FULLY AGREE WITH GENERAL MIYANDA. I JOIN HIM IN CALLING UPON ALL VOTERS TO VOTE NO OUT OF LOVE FOR THE COUNTRY.
General – We elect MPs to represent us and do the work for us in Parliament. In the way you have beautifully put your case here, do you seriously think that a common voter can go through all to understand all this? Weren’t you a member of the Constitutional Review Commission? The Govt. has a position on the Referendum and that is what they are selling to the electorate – there is nothing wrong with that. I do not think it is fair to agitate for this process to drag on and become a source of employment for some. Let’s perfect it as we continue to make progress.
You were in government, Sir, why didnt you do the best for Zambia when you had instructions of power. You failed and so do not frustrate others to fall into your history. We will vote YES
ECZ are showing through their cartoon booklet that in fact there’s another proposal which has nothing to do with the Bill of Rights. Chakolwa is proposing that no change to the roles and responsibilities of the President, VP, and ministers can happen without a referendum. This is an attempt to entrench the PF Constitutional amendments so that they cannot be repealed by Parliament. On this account alone, the referendum should fail. PF got their Constitution amended on the cheap by MPs who did not even know what they were voting for. Now Chakolwa wants those changes entrenched and to be changed by referendum that only happens once in a generation. We vote NO. PF are traitors.
I kind of agree with the General on the structure of the question, my thinking General Miyanda was as a bare minimum the questions should have been two ie question a. and c as listed by yourself above. I have no knowledge of the Chona Commission or 1969 referendum as i wasn’t on earth then so i will leave it to senior citizens.
i don’t care much on the bill of rights,but on article 79,repeal and replace.giving too much powers to politicians,parly and executive is not what our zambian democray ought to be,we,the people should have powers over our politicians such that we should recal non performing mps before their tenure ends,we should have new clauses to remove and replace none performing govt unlike waiting for 5 years of further misery.i and my clan we shall vote NO.
@1.7 OBSERVER: 1. If a common voter, as you say, does not understand issues is that a reason to insist that he or she votes YES? That’s unfair, deceitful and fraudulent. 2. Although we elect MPs, Article 79 is a shield to prevent MPs and Presidents from misbehaving. Now the elected are misbehaving by pretending that they are consulting during these elections. To change this ‘badly drafted provision’ we need NOT play hide and seek with the voters or bulldoze and cheat our way out of the Catch 22, but arrange a consensus conference specifically to resolve this; don’t org this during the election season!
@1.8 MAZUBA: I was part of the MMD new broom that re-introduced multiparty democracy and banished the One Party State which made a provision in the Constitution making it a criminal offence to form or belong to another political party other than UNIP. A great achievement. Also at Independence we found a State of Emergence imposed by the colonial regime following the Lenshina uprising. It was maintained until 1991 when when we abolished it and Zambians once agagin became free to form and belong to other political parties – what a GOAL and what a success!
@1.9 Buck Teeth Lungu: I agree 150 % on your observation on ministers. Why and how we entrench ministerial positions? Then entrench District Governors, Permanent Secretaries, Department Heads – ridiculous. These positions are management tools that must be changed whenever they outlive their usefulness. But please see my correction of your comment @ABM below.
@1.10 The Monitor: 1. The principle is that a referendum question should be simple or as said by the Minister of Justice it should be a single issue. My list of questions was actually poking fun at the complicated and confusing question formulated by ECZ. 2. The 1969 Referendum gave 84 % YES to the question asked. Following this “victory” the Government then set up the Chona Commission to ban other political parties to exist in Zambia; Chona Commission is named after late lawyer Mainza Chona who chaired it. Full title is “The National Commission on the Establishment of a One-Party Participatory Democracy in Zambia”. KK gave it responsibility of bringing up a One Party state. And BOOM, other parties were banned.
@1.12 General Miyanda – And you tell me that in the way you have crafted your questions – the same common voter from Shangombo will understand? We elect leaders to represent us and the Govt has presented its position on the Referendum – Vote “YES”. As a civic leader, it is your responsibility to work to educate the masses to understand the implications and vote from an informed perspective. Last minute grasp efforts to derail a process like this do not work. You, of course, know better.
Miyanda has Zambia interest at heart. Fellow Zambians let us listen and do like wise. HH also came out to explain on this issue. We are suppose to vote No on the referendum. We dont know what is contained in that bill of rights. We need to understand what we are voting for not just saying people should vote for their rights, what rights we need to those rights!
Will do like wise.VIVA UPND!VIVA HH 2016!
@jason if you don’t know what is contained in the bill of rights why not reading it for yourself unlike waiting for HH to come and tell you about it. Mind you hh even signed a pledge to release the same constitution within one month if elected in 2015. What can you tell us you blind followers of hh. Fck of cants.
Miyanda and hh are birds of the flock.
Get a copy you damwit and read for your self. You want somebody to read for you. Your hh was refusing you not vote yes because of his dirty mind that you shall vote yes to homesexuality, which is very unfortunate as this is not the case. Coming to Mr. Miyanda if there are any clauses that he does not agree with then you vote no simple and straight forward. When the previous constitution was passed many of you thought Eddy will not do it because of the 50+ 1%, to your dismay he did and that left you in awe! Civil societies and indeed the nation at large have been cryiny for this and now that its time Ba Miyanda wants to now prove his relevance? Well l urge you if have not read the bill of rights to do so and make your own decision otherswise you will just allow politicians to continue…
THOSE WHO ARE INSULTING AND DISPARAGING THE GENERAL ARE DOING IT FOR PETTY POLITICAL REASONS. THEY ARE PF SUPPORTERS WHO DO NOT REASON. I URGE THE GENERAL TO IGNORE THEM.
@mutinta thanks for calling me a damwit but let me notify you that i am a person who doesnt believe in hearsay but what I understand to the right thing unlike you who is made to take everything to be a gospel truth. As for me I dont just do whatever our leaders tells me i have to read understand then analyse.
foolishness at its best. I vote yes because i want to improve my right
the deceit is in your head. Ba Miyanda why not ask yourself if 1. the rights proposed enhance the citizen’s well being ii. if any government that assumes power will be obligated to every extent possible meet them?
I think your concern is academic. Let us focus on the intention, which is GOOD. Tomorrow don’t cry when your grandchildren have poor healthcare, water and malnourished because you were myopic enough to say No for better lives for them.
Parliament will be given the mandate to enact the legislation by a YES vote.
My dear am voting yes; referendum from the outset, requires census to determine the legal threshold of 50% plus 1 of eligible voters. Now without census; last census 2010, how do you calculate the base for the final decision on the vote?
@3 Am voting YES at 09.35: I give you benefit of doubt that you have NOT read the article or have NOT understood it.
1. Deceit: “to deceive means to make somebody believe something that is not true”. The President’s question is disguised as one question but it is hiding several questions; hence deceit is in the President’s question.
2. ACADEMIC CONCERN versus ‘GOOD INTENTION’: I am not myopic, I have seen that there is NO GOOD intention in the question. U who is not myopic have not seen that PF have graduated from ’90 days’ and now asking for 5 years! 3. Ur free to vote as you please or NOT vote atall; but only Parliament has the mandate to legislate.
The General has said that he will vote yes above…General also don’t confuse people…We are all in the same Boat…
@4.3 Zakeyo: Do not cheat and confuse people. I have said NO and still say to the Referendum that is the title of of my statement. By now you should be familiar with blog language: “AM VOTING YES” is the blog name of the person whose posting I was answering. It is necessary to open my answer with @AM VOTING YES to identify whose comments am responding to and also to let other bloggers to follow the discussion and participate if they so wish.
Ba retired General please don’t confuse people because you have NO followers. Who are you leading anyway. HH and Nawakwi are better than you. Just go and sleep at your farm. We dont want wars we understand you are a good war planner and NOT a good governor of the state.
@4 KAMUZU at 09.38: 1. It is you who seems to be confused. I am sure if u re-read your posting, that is if indeed you wrote it, you will not understand it: what are you discussing? I think you are lost or actually asleep and writing in your sleep; wake up, read my statement again with understanding and no prejudice, anger or emotion and re-post a reasoned comment. I may then respond and either agree with you and change my views to vote YES if you argue intelligently and persuade me; or I will clarify what you have not understood.
2. So you know that I have a farm? Come and visit me and persuade me about this Referendum ‘Donchi Kubeba’.
Agree with you General; Just from the census imperative visa-vi, the 50 % plus 1 legal census threshold or base its clear that the whole exercise is fraudulent, illegal and deceitful.
@ABM: don’t confuse yourself. The requirement for 50%+1 is for the winner to be declared in the elections. Registered voters are a subset of people eligible to vote in the referendum (those over 18 years and with NRCs). Therefore a referendum requires more affirmative votes than a Presidential election. This is because a referendum is a monumental decision point that happens once in a generation (the last one was in 1968).
@6.1 Buck Teeth: You are both on the same side of this argument. However a point of info is that @ABM is right on the 50 % plus for the Referendum. The ECZ 50% plus 1 is for the Presidential part of the General Elections. Pse note that there was an amendment (Act 5 of 2015) which changed the threshold for the Referendum Question as follows “Any question put to a referendum under Article 79 of the Constitution shall be voted on by not less than fifty percent of persons entitled to be registered as voters for the purposes of Presidential and Parliamentary elections”. So more than fifty percent is required for the Referendum Question to pass.
ABA BA MUDALA BA PUBA SANA. IF I WERE HIM I WOULD KEEP QUIET AND DO SOME SERIOUS INTROSPECTION.
@Chisenga whilst I don’t support your choice of words for a person who is older that your father; I very much agree with the General as I am also voting NO for the following reasons:
1. PF took such a long time to release constitutional clauses and they have only given us a short period to debate it!
2. No many people understand what is it that has changed or even not changed
3. Most Zambians have not even read the New Constitution
@Chisenga 6 at 9.53: 1. ‘Introspection’ means “the examination of, or a concern with, one’s own thoughts, feelings and motive” (Oxford, Advanced). My statement is the result of serious introspection and you will find therein MY CONCERNS, MY FEELINGS AND EVEN MY MOTIVE which is to persuade uninformed citizens to vote NO. You see, 100 % marks for a thorough introspection. 2. You do your own introspection and you will discover that you are wanting. Tell me what you have not understood and I will patiently explain. 3. On this forum we must all be ready to learn from one another. Name-calling is a pastime of those with nothing to contribute or those who hide their inadequacies in angry retorts and insults. Be ready to learn from others and take advantage of this LT forum to…
Ba chisenga please respect the general’s opinion even if you do agree with every thing he says, i also do not agree with every thing he’s saying, but respect is important here, remember he has run the race which you have not run yet, you have a lot to learn from this old man.
This General was once as respected as the late Levy Patrick Mwanawasa. He could have been president but he was too proud to partner with other great minds. Miyanda is now a disgraced former soldier who spends his time on Lusaka Times.
Former General don’t confuse the young progressive minds who want enhanced rights.
You are now irrelevant like Venom Mwaanga.
Kikikiki
Lol he was just a passenger during the MMD administration like GBM and loves the limelight on Lusaka Times. He used to fail to organize a rally in an open place. The man lacks organizational skills and its good that he has positioned himself as the yesterday man. I regret voting for him in 2001 with his stupid village concept which made sense me as a school.
@Mr Kudos 7 at 10.1: 1. From the picture the posting is by a skeleton; so the only reason I am commenting is to pray against and guide the skeleton back to a graveyard as this forum is for humans who can understand the subject matter and debate intelligently with fellow humans.
2. If the skeleton voted for me while it was alive and existing in its human form, I say thank you. But the human electoral system is that the vote is secret so we shall never know how and where “Mr Kudos the skeleton” voted. If it has resurrected from the dead let it convince me by a posting that discusses and critiques my statement.
Bwana General, you and Venom Mwaanga, Gay Scott, Dipak, Harrington and the Nawakwi types, you all had your chance when you were in MMD. There’s nothing you ever did to enhance the rights of the common man.
You and FTJ, your only record with regard to the Constitution was in trying to manipulate it to bar His Excellency, former President Kenneth Kaunda from challenging MMD at the polls.
Today General you want to pick a bone with President Lungu who has taken bold strides to get our tax from the Post, to enact non-contentious clauses the people cried for, today General you don’t have good intentions. You are hoping for another 10 year Constitution Commission as a source of livelihood.
I respected you Bwana General. You could have been our President.
There’s a lot of indiscipline in the nation from all sides of the political arena. Imagine if you were President Bwana General. There would have been order. We had hope in those days that Heritage Party could have brought order after the Chiluba mess.
Everybody knew you to be a disciplinarian. You still have these qualities but what use are they if you can’t influence those running the corridors of power? Join us.
For the first time now you yourself can actually see that President Lungu is restoring order. When did you ever hear of ruling party cadres being prosecuted? Only now. The Law is Ruling as we speak. We in PF inherited a mess from you and MMD.
Let me ask you Bwana General: If Zambians get the majority YES vote in the Referendum, will things be better or worse for us?…
The answer is BETTER. Please be patriotic on this one Bwana. Don’t become a public enemy like VJ Mwaanga.
The uneducated Zambians are unable to understand the Referendum. The educated HH, GBM, NEZ, Miyanda can not understand a referendum and they want to hold us to a “no rights situation”. I am failing to understand how a referendum has become a “Bemba” matter. or a tribal matter when the rights being enhanced belong to Zambians. Even if you have rights, it is not you to enforce those rights. Only when it is infringed do you ask for restoration or compensation or something.
@dodoma 8 at 10.09: Not clear what your issues are. It seems you are taking issue with: uneducated Zambians not understanding the Referendum; HH, GBM, NEZ and Miyanda against citizen’s rights; Referendum made a tribal matter. D. Enforcement of rights. A. The Bill if Rights was recently published in English by the government newspapers which cost K8 and K10 for Daily Nation; not many citizens have accessed these papers. B. I have not discussed this matter with HH, GBM and I dont know NEZ. These are my views after careful examination. HH and others have a right to have an opinion just like the President and you and me. I am putting forth my views for others to challenge or support. C. I dont know what you mean that the referendum is a tribal matter. Maybe you are cleverly trying to…
this man had opportunities to be Zambian president but I think he is a very dull man who doesn’t understand seasons. Past his ‘Sale By’ date. No wonder his political career is dead.
But his reasoning is sound
@One Zambian 9 at 10.11: Invigilator says ZERO marks for you not sticking to topic – now go and read my statement and comment factually and intelligently, giving your reason why you disagree with me. Then I will respond. It is you who doesn’t understand the season. In 1969 the Government called for a Referendum under similar circumstances as to day. When the Referendum went through with about 80-84 % YES VOTES the government introduced legislation that created the One Party State, which criminalised the forming of other political parties, allowing only the then Ruling UNIP to exist and people were forced to belong to that party. During that season there was unbridled violence, petrol bombs, people disappeared and lives were lost. The major task of the MMD in 1990/91 was to restore our…
General Miyanda raises very good points but the article is too long for us. What is interesting is that Gen Miyanda has a case pending at Concourt on the Referendum Issue. Why has Concourt not dealt with this issue on an urgent basis given that people are people asked to answer the Referendum question on the Polling Day? This is not the only issue which Concourt should have handled on an urgent basis. The judgment on the illegal Ministers after Parliament was dissolved is still pending and in the meantime the illegal Ministers have been busy abusing state assets and resources and looting funds from the National Treasury to enrich themselves and finance their Party’s campaign. This is criminal. Why is Concourt not acting in the best interests of Zambians? This is very sad indeed! We need…
@10 Concerned Citizen 10.19: Positive comments acknowledged. I guess part of the reasons for the delay by ConCourt was the inertia by the Government not appointing judges in time. I wrote a strong article on 2nd February 2016 titled “APPOINT JUDGES OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT NOW” (pse refer to LT Archives) and the judges were appointed. So my statements are not malicious but are my contribution to the development of our young country and nation. It is absolutely naive to conclude that one can only contribute if one has or belongs to a political a party. Thanx///
Ifwe ni YES, Miyanda ikala panshi iwe ala….
@11 Buju at 10.31: ba Buju, ala mukwai ninjikala panshi, nimpeta namakunda pakuti tukabushanye bwino mung’umfwe no buyantanshi bumoneke. Kanabesa, akoni kekala umuti katemenwe. Kafoteni pali YES palinso apomusalile; nomba mutangishe ukutwi pantu ichibemba chitilati ‘nshumfwa aile namafi kubuko’! Chiteni ifyo mutemenwe, namuchelela Kanabesa. Nine mushya wenu Miyanda/// Literal translation: Sir Buju, I am actually seated comfortably, so we can consult and make progress. Voting is by choice. Go and vote YES on the EYE symbol, not ignoring the EAR but remembering the Bemba saying that ‘one who rigidly refused to listen to advice arrived at his in-laws palace dirty’. Follow your heart’s desire; I greet you my chief. I am your slave (servant), Miyanda///
By the way, what will replace article 79 after it is repealed. Is it going to allow citizens to vote again when there is need to change the bill of rights or will the bill be changed by parliamentarians who mostrly are not trusted. Telling people to vote yes or no is not wise. The best is to give them the document and enough time to read and understand and decide on their own whether to vote yes or no. Right now peolple are being enticed like kids. That,s why i support you Mr. Miyanda. That is very wise.
My friend if you are an allien it’s better you zip up. The document you are talking about is in public domain and zambians living in Zambia have seen it already. Ngos are busy educating people about it and an 1diot like you with access to internet pretends to be ignorant about it. It’s a shame indeed.
Because of 1mbeciles like you who are busy transmitting lies about the bill of rights I ernerstly ask Lusaka Times to post this document so that people like you can read it for yourselves.
Lusaka Times please for once can you give us some educating material so people stops living in doubt before election date.
@12 RUINS AT UNZA at 10.46: Responding to your important contribution rubbished by @HH Techilema.
1. Article 79 is a lock you put on a safe or door leading to valuables. Anyone proposing to change your lock must first inform you why, how and when the lock must be changed. Alternatively consider the replacement of Article 79 like giving a signed blank cheque to a habitual forger whom you do not trust, and leaving it in his or her custody! That, I say, is foolish wisdom. 2. The 66 clauses mentioned in my statement have been published in Daily Mail and Times newspapers since June 2016; add the current 22 and you get 88 clauses which you are allowed to answer only YES or NO to all of them.Newspapers are for sale; the Bill of Rights is in the newspapers; not all who read will understand,…
If you vote YES, it means that it’s no longer just the Bill of Rights that requires a referendum. Instead, any change to the role and terms of the President, VP, and ministers will also require a referendum. It will be impossible to change this PF Constitution without going for a referendum even for mundane positions like Provincial Ministers.
There you are; commit hara-kiri but do not say you were not warned of the Writing on the Wall – ‘I have said my own’!
This REF thing will not pass, because no normal person will be ticking yes on something not fully understood. A lot of voters will abstain from voting on this REF. Second its estimated that there are 7million voters and for REF to pass it needs 3.5million Plus votes. The concept of holding a REF alongside the elections was wrong because voter turnout has been declining recently, so i doubt if 3.5million voters will even turn up. Third, having political parties siding on the YES or NO side is why it is doomed. I see PF supporters voting YES and some some abstaining on on grounds of being ignorant. I also see opposition supporters voting NO and many abstaining as well.
@15 Mind your own names: Very sad for the Referendum to be turned into a partisan issue by the President combining the launched of the PF manifesto with the launch of the National Referendum at the Independence stadium. A general election is a partisan affair. Many ordinary, or common voters as one blogger put it, are viewing the Referendum with partisan spectacles: PF are viewing NO vote as a vote against their President and Party; opposition are viewing a YES vote as a vote for PF. The Referendum is a non-partisan issue and should have been held separately after the General Election. A NO vote in the Referendum, which I am advocating, will allow for a proper review and consensus-building on the single issue question.
We have no time to vote for Lungu’s Referendum Question. We are keen to vote for President, MP, Mayor and Councillor. Those who decide to vote on the Refendum should vote NO. We have all heard about “Christians for Lungu” is this Concourt a “Court for Lungu”? Why is this Court docile and seemly compromised? This Court is sitting on urgent cases at the behest of State House. Is this a Court where Opposition Parties can take their Electoral disputes to? The judgments on such urgent cases will be reserved for the next five years. The integrity of this court is very doubtful and does not inspire confidence in our Courts in the eyes of the public. We need a regime change in Zambia. Zambia Forward with HH and UPND.
@12 RUINS AT UNZA at 10.46: Responding to your important contribution rubbished by @HH Techilema.
1. Article 79 is a lock you put on a safe or door leading to valuables. Anyone proposing to change your lock must first inform you why, how and when the lock must be changed. Alternatively consider the replacement of Article 79 like giving a signed blank cheque to a habitual forger whom you do not trust, and leaving it in his or her custody! That, I say, is foolish wisdom. 2. The 66 clauses mentioned in my statement have been published in Daily Mail and Times newspapers since June 2016; add the current 22 and you get 88 clauses which you are allowed to answer only YES or NO to all of them.Newspapers are for sale; the Bill of Rights is in the newspapers; not all who read will understand,…
@16 Concerned Lawyer:apologies for mis-posting my comment at 16.1. Forgive but your comments well noted.
Mr.concerned lawyer you also sound like ‘lawyers for HH’ just as Christians for lungu,stick to issue based discussions, immediately you start including the HHs or the lungus, you sound so pathetic, keep your vote secrete,you ruin the whole thing.
To General Miyanda,
With all due respect sir, I don’t think you’re the right person to comment on our country’s constitutional issues because of two reasons.. Firstly, you once attempted to remove a regime by unconstitutional means. Secondly, god gave you an opportunity to defend and protect the constitution as the vice president under chiluba’s government; you then failed to oppose President Chiluba when he attempted to change the constitution to allow him to stand for the 3rd term. You actually said ” I WILL CONTINUE TO BE LOYAL TO PRESIDENT CHILUBA” instead of standing by what the constitution said at the time. Most Zambian will forget but it’s from that day that I always detest whatever you say. Some of us have forgiven you but will never allow you to raise again to higher…
I DO NOT AGREE WITH YOU, SAMMY. GENERAL MIYANDA HAS EVERY RIGHT TO COMMENT ON NATIONAL AFFAIRS WHETHER HE IS RIGHT OR WRONG. HE IS A ZAMBIAN AND THE CONSTITUTION GIVES HIM ENTITLEMENT TO PARTICIPATE IN NATIONAL AFFAIRS. YOU ARE NOT THE CONSTITUTION TO TAKE AWAY HIS RIGHTS. JUST ARGUE YOUR CASE ON WHAT HE HAS SAID.
@16 SAMMY 11.34 am: 1. With regard to your FIRSTLY allegation I advise you to know what you write and be careful what you publish against other people, even on this medium. Some are still paying me for a similar allegation. I will let this one pass for now as I believe you don’t know what you are talking about. My free advice to you is ‘STICK TO THE TOPIC OR JUST READ QUIETLY’ and you will never go wrong.
2. With regard to your SECONDLY comment I forgive you for your lack of proper research.I was the most senior of all the 22 MMD leaders who were allegedly expelled from the MMD FOR OPPOSING THE THIRD TERM. You were not yet born then, eh?This is what happens when you are told what to say or write. By the way, I am NOT, repeat, NOT asking for votes on this forum. Keep your vote. 3. As…
I am sorry but Miyanda talks a lot of nonsense
Sammy has made a reasonable comment and you stand there trying to threaten a person and do basically try and and force him to reason in your flawed beliefs
To my mind you are a great asset for your country and are a wise man
What I know is that you have nothing to offer to Zambia at all.
I see through you and whilst I respect an aspect of your contribution to the country, I have never understood your agenda and what cause your are trying to champion.
Keep yur thoughts to yourself.
I just read a piece of your work and theoretically it has substance but it adds nothing and just massages your ego yet again.
I expect you to disappear and appear in 2021 with similar deceptive contribution.
Thanks
Bb2014
@17.3 Mushota: Lady Mushota you are around? As usual you always contradict yourself. You say I am an asset then you say I must keep my thoughts to myself. I reject your advice and advise you to reject your own advice. 1. I did not threaten Sammy but advised him. It is up to him to accept or not as the matter was finally determined more than 20 years ago in my favour. My advice is not only about my case but for others who Sammy may offend and who may not be as generous as me. 2. Me disappear? No it is you who disappears. You are discussing human rights in the Referendum but you don’t respect my rights – what a contradiction. To keep my thoughts to myself is to avoid cross pollination of ideas that is taking place on this forum. I refuse, I refuse, I refuse!
Am voting YESSSSSSSSSS!
Wise man you are never late with your advise to the nation, we will take your advise.
This fool at it again.
@20 Sharp Spear: though your comment is irrelevant for your own good I advise you to pay attention even to fools; a fool may warn you of a ditch ahead of you or impending disaster.
only upnd can say no togather with miyanda ifwe bonse ni yes.
lyonse ili waikelefye
Gen Miyanda with his Nashala Neka party
The man has completely lost it finally. Simple question, where is Heritage Party? You want your issues answered by the President but YOU do not want to answer my question. I have been asking YOU the same question since last year, and you have not given me an answer. Goes to show what kind of person you are, retired general. According to you, nothing can be right until certified so by you and only you. The points you have raised have no merits at all, that is according to ME, and I will vote YES to the referendum and so will all the patriotic Zambians, except you! Empty Drum…..
The True General-I agree with The General is busy asking question while he is unable to peoples question. Where is HP and his followers? Ba Boss Ba General answer this True general. If you can’t answer peoples concern don’t then don’t ask.
The General is always on the opposite side of things.. If it’s to go by what you have said, how many pages will that referendum question have… On this one General be specific…There should always be someone to do things wether you like it or not. And for now Lungu is doing it.. You had your own time…
the problem with amending article 79 is that too much power will be given to parliament and those issues like gay right and all forms of dictatorship will be voted for by parliament. the current situation requires 50% of Zambians aged 18 years and above to vote yes in a referendum before amending it.
but if we replace article 79 the parliament can pass any bill they want.
“Enhancing the Bill of rights contained in Part III of the Constitution of Zambia” is okay but the second part is a fraud.
“repealing and replacing Article 79 of the Constitution of Zambia”
why should we give politicians so much power the power they never had before, just to make them change laws to their convenience.
BEWARE YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED
@25 True Zambian: at least there is someone who understands my concerns. What you “enhance” will be undone by whoever is in power whenever they want to, especially if they sense that they will lose an election. I am not saying we should not improve our laws. Important to educate our voters to understand what they are saying YES or NO to BEFORE THEY VOTE YES OR NO. This has not and is not being done. What the Government and ECZ are doing is remind people of the importance of voting instead of what the Referendum Question means. As I have said Article 79 is the key or code to your safe; don’t leave it carelessly about, especially with those you do not trust. A consensus forum is preferable.
ignorance will be our downfall……people should read and understand or try to understand before condemning and insulting the General,,,remember the grade 12 clause? thats child’s play compared to this,,,,
@26 One Zambia: agreed. But also remember my Petition to the President in December 2015 advising him NOT to assent to the Constitution with his eyes closed (LT archives 23rd December 2015 titled “Ten Reasons Why President Lungu Must Read with Eyes Open Before Signing and Assenting to the Constitution Bills”)? Apparently he ignored my free advice and look where we are, and again where we are going!
voting YES to enhanced rights and not dreaming strategies
@27 Power: I hope you know that YES means YES to all the 88 clauses and NO means NO to all the clauses; there is no in-between. By the way what is ‘enhanced’? It is an undefined flowery word meant to excite those who hear it. This is what tricksters do, use sound bites to mesmerise, confound and confuse. Instead they should have stuck to good old AMEND!
Wasting people’s time
@28 Gawa Undi: I respect HRH Gawa Undi and I DO NOT believe he is the one posting here. Respect our, your parents. I have fond memories of the late Paramount Chief. Once he introduced me to his Indunas as ‘shamwali wanga’. He was truly a man of integrity, dignified and not compromised by bottles of whiskey as some of our chiefs today. Don’t abuse His Royal Highness’s name.
@General Miyanda,
You have ably disentangled the PF web of deceit and lies. You are not alone. One highly regarded professor with an IQ as high as yours also recently analyzed the referendum process and came to the same conclusions confirming what I found out three months ago. As for me and my household, we are voting NO! Unfortunately as evidenced by some comments here some Zambians are are hell bent on trivializing every issues. All they learned from their parents is disrespect, conjecture insult and innuendo. Please ignore them and know that there will be some NO votes in Lusaka East.
@29 Warlord: apology I had penned off yesterday and seen your post now. It is encouraging to learn that I am not alone. I know and believe that there will be some NO votes, two of them will be yours and mine. Thank you.
Don’t worry General Miyanda we are voting “NO” becoz there was not enough consultation and voter Education on the Bill of Rights. The issue was urgent so why didn’t Concourt make a Ruling b4 going to the Polls? If Concourt rules that the holding of a General Election and a Referendum is illegal then what? Concourt should have dealt with this issue b4 the Election. Concourt has still not ruled on the illegality of Lungu’s illegal Ministers after Parliament was dissolved. Why has Concourt not ruled on a matter of utmost importance and on an urgent basis? This Zambian Concourt has the potential to act like Gbagbo’s Constitutional Council which declared unilaterally and illegally Gbagbo the Winner of the elections. It looks like history will repeat itself in the case of the Zambian…
@30 Concerned Voter: I hear you. Consultation and Voter education are imperative, especially to the so-called uneducated or illiterates and poor who cannot buy the Daily Nation at K10 and the Mail and Times at K8 each. Daily Mail of 8th June 2016 (see how late) has two full pages of the proposed Bill of Rights in small font. Even many who read will not understand if indeed they will read. The regime is not serious about our rights but wants to take advantage of the voting season. CONCOURT has now ruled in the Ministers’ case. I am vindicated because it is one of those I have challenged in my Petition. Recall that early in the year I wrote strongly against the President’s unconstitutional decree and warned the Ministers that THEY WILL BE ALONE when judgement is delivered (LT archives)…
General Miyanda has clearly articulated the concern I had with the Referendum, However, instead of voting “yes” or “no”, I will simply not participate.
Whether he is a finished politician or whatever is completely irrelevant. If an im.becile told me to be careful when crossing the road, would I be wise in ignoring the advice because of it’s source?
I said this before but only that General Miyanda has elaborated put it more eloquently. Vote no if you know what is good for you. But I guess living is prison when you live among clowns seeing some of the comments. It is painful to see how stupid some Zambians can be! How do you start insulting someone giving you free advice?
@32Ngobola C Muyembe: pse do NOT give up; umupamapamo utula ing’oma (repeated beating on the drum-skin will eventually break the drum). I started last year on this current ‘crusade’, I even petitioned Parliament. Hang in there, we shall overcome. Remember in the time of the NCC I was threatened to be evicted from Mulungushi Hall for challenging matters to do with our precious land; I have NOT stopped and will not stop if it is the last task I carry out. I don’t do this for votes as others are insinuating. I am a patriot; but being a patriot does not mean saying yes to every nonsense. DO HANG IN THERE AND SPREAD THE WORD NOW AND AFTER THE ELECTIONS.
The only point I would like to agree with the General is the politicisation of the referendum. The mood and political environment is not conducive to conduct an “non-partisan” national activity of such great importance. But because all Zambian politicians, and I mean ALL, are in the business of self-preservation, always scheming on how to pro-long their stay in power or even wield more power than they currently hold, short term decisions are made with very grave long term implications. This Referendum could have been held a year or two from now, with no political under-tones and Zambia would have been better off.
@33 Uwakwisano: I hear you. But politicisation of this particular Referendum was by President Lungu personally. He did so by combining the launch of the PF Manifesto with the launch of the National Referendum at Independence Stadium; this was a deliberate stratagem by the Government. So those who support the President and PF are voting yes as directed by the President and his Central Committee as he himself revealed. Some of the opposition are voting no as guided by their parties (UPND and Rainbow); the other opposition are voting yes because of their alliance and endorsement of President Lungu. It is a real Partisan Circus! Pse re-read my article and understand its thrust; I am not against improving our laws; I am against deceitfulness to achieve improper designs.
I do not agree with the General that the Census will bring on board Zambians who are eligible for voting to attain 50+1 for the Referendum to succeed. ECZ conducted new voter registration which has seen increased voters to about 6 Million who may exercise their right to vote on 11th August, 2016. For me it is YES for the Referendum. General take note that UPND is for NO not because they share your views, they don’t support marriage of opposite sex clause 47(2) of The Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Bill 2016. I doubt if UPND is agreeable to Zambia being declared a Christian Nation. I envy the Servant-Leadership life and Critical Thinking Jesus is portrayed to have lived in the Bible. I also love Socrates for the truth disposition. The PF’s deeds may be perceived or construed as…
@34 Ubulanda Bwakwa Mulanda: Your vote is your right. But you have misunderstood my article. 1. The ECZ has no mandate to conduct census; registration of voters is NOT census. Voters voluntarily go to designated centres to register themselves. Others choose not to register. 2. A census officially counts the whole population by officers who visit homes to collect data. For the Referendum they identify those 18 years and above by their NRCs. 3. The 6 million are those with green NRCs and registered by ECZ as voters, the rest are those 18 years and above who have come of age since the last census or were not registered before. Need for full-proof system to preserve the integrity of the Election and the Referendum. 4. I have NOT discussed and will NOT discuss the content of the Bill at this…
Dear Fellow General, I agree with you. Let me reiterate some comments made by Prof. Muna Ndulo, a world renown constitutional lawyer based in USA at Cornell University just recently when he was in Zambia.
I quote: PROFESSOR Muna Ndulo has advised that Zambians should not go to a referendum, unless its results are certain as the process currently has no base. – See more at: http://www.postzambia.com/news.php?id
The problem here is that first of all, we are going into a referendum, not having determined the base, I mean, who has this number of those entitled to vote? No one, isn’t it? Sometimes, people talk about 2010 census, which could be wrong because many years have passed and technically everybody above 18 years should be counted. Article 79 is an example of bad drafting…
@35 General Tzu-Sun: General, I appreciate the information. I know Professor Ndulo personally and have great respect for him though not seen him for many years. I shall look up The Post article and I know I will benefit.
As for the bad drafting of Article 79 the solution does not lie in cheating and bulldozing. A genuine consensus get-together will do the trick. If this Referendum succeeds it will definitely be the subject of serious litigation. President Lungu should have stopped it.
Is this godfrey miyanda the general who has reduced himself to be debating with Upnd retards? Honestly speaking general this is a forum for you to open your brain. I feel sad for you. You are now at the same level with Tayali and those 1diots from ZWD. Please tell me you are not the one.
@HH Techilema: Ha, ha, ha; you are also on this forum participating and even insulting only me and other bloggers. What are you doing here? Are you confessing that you are a retard? LOL! Be serious; you want to vote yes to the Bill of Rights when you do not respect the rights of others on this platform? No, that is NOT democracy or freedom of speech. I shall continue speaking out on this platform and elsewhere as long as I feel I have something useful to contribute. Early this year I was one of the first to condemn the continuation of Ministers after the dissolution of Parliament and called for their arrest on this LT platform; it was wrong, illegal and unconstitutional. I am vindicated by the ConCourt decision. So why stop now?
In my area of specialization, the results of the referendum would be trash and tossed in the garbage bin. I will illustrate: Suppose that you wanted to investigate gene expression using mRNA or protein signals. For your results to be valid you have to have a loading control (typically a house-keeping gene like actin) to enable you state that the XYZ gene expression in the experiment was three times higher than in the control or background. Without a baseline there will be no basis to state that 50%+1 of voters voted yes. This is the gist of General Miyanda’s census imperative. Hopefully this helps you folks who are hard of hearing!
@37 Warlord: This is powerful and reinforces my article. Thanx. “Folks who are hard of hearing” – LOL! See @36 above.
It’s up to me to decide for I have read a simplified explanation issued by the Catholic Church. Just check with the Ndola Diocese for a copy. By the way Uyu Mudala naimanina?
I thought the General, was at one time part of the delegations that were helping structure our constitution amendments in Zambia? and many other learned folks of this great Nation…………….I will say YES to the question period!
All the best!
From your friends in Livingstone, Viva ECL 2016
General Miyanda – Will you please respond to Livingstone @39?
This general is boring…..I urge ALL Zambians to vote YES to the referendum, except THE general. Again, what has happened to the Heritage Party? How can you keep quite about a party you where so passionate about? I beg you to answer just that one question.
@40 The True General: another Red Herring!
We’d advise you to expend your energy by endorsing and campaigning for a voice of reason than wasting time on this, Sir!
I have heard. I will vote No.
Miyanda just go to sleep. You are a time waster.
I admire General’s wisdom. We thank God for your life. While I don’t think that you are Presidential material, you intelligence and insightful mind is am indepensible asset for our Country. God bless you.
Dear General ..Miyanda,
Please do not get frustrated by nasty comments made by simple minded brain washed PF carders..
Your opinions, are not wasted, those with ears have listened… Like I said before, we shall challenge this at the right time in the constitutional court. This was a political gimmicky to cheat electorate, Lungu new that the opposition would have taken this as a campaign issue..so by way of hoodwinking people, the chose to lie that it was costly to hold it as stand alone activity. But any sane person can see that they (PF) caused more the 7 by elections costing more than 30 -50 billions, Kwachas,..The money was not an issue then???
As Prof Ndulo hinted, and similar to the view of #34 @Warlord, whe shall challenge it. By the way, Breaking news, CONSTITUTION COURT HAS…
@45 General Tzu-Sun: Thanx for encouragement. I am tough tested and enduring; nearly impossible for any one to frustrate me. I know their crude strategy. They have realised that my articles are appreciated and supported by many so they want me to be discouraged and stop. I am here and will stop only when I want to or LT says I have done something wrong that deserve being blacklisted. The breaking news on ConCourt is good news especially that I called for the arrest of those guys and warned them that they will be alone when the judgement is passed. Well that Hour has Come! Thanx.
The General has encapsulated the Referendum Question Very Well. It is too loaded And I wouldn’t for the life of me know what answer to give. And trust me I’m intelligent enough. This Lungu chap will be the death of Zambia with such role models as Mugabe and Museveni, we are in for a hell run and disappearances into the cold of night. Referendum questions should be simple and never loaded. Simple “Yes” or “No” to a simple question eg the Brexit Question was simple: “Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?” and we all heard the very robust and well articulated pro and con arguments that preceded the UK referendum. The General, may God Bless him, is being shot down for perceived past misdemeaners at the expense of the message. He…
@46 Ba Folosho: Well said, well summarised of my case. I think even those hard of hearing must surely hear now!
Hello ALL; I am signing off for now. It is my practice to try to respond to queries and contributions on my articles. I have enjoyed the exchanges today so far and even learnt from some of the strong language. I intend to resume later in the night or tomorrow as there are many interesting questions and views that I have to respond to. Bye for now; Godfrey Miyanda, Brig Gen///
General please don’t confuse people because you have NO PROPER EXPLANATION. JUST STATE THINGS WHICH DESERVE “NO” IN REFEREDUM INSTEAD OF PROCESS or MEADERING
@48 Political ADIVISOR: The secret about learning is this: when you do not understand an issue just ask a direct question. Tell me which part has confused you and I will assist you. Even better read @Ba Folosho above you will learn something. .
General please don’t confuse people because you have NO PROPER EXPLANATION. JUST STATE THINGS WHICH ARE BAD IN THIS PROPOSED ARTICLE INSTEAD OF LOKING AT THE PROCESS or MEADERING
I’m sorry to say Gen. that yours is an argument against the process leading to the referendum on the BoR & not against the BoR itself. You clearly state that you agree with BoR. On this basis you want Zambians to be denied their further God given rights which GRZ is merely facilitating? The BoR is our part of Constitution that GRZ can’t take away & must respect & must consult us thru referendum before touching it. Yet you are telling us that people of Zambia must be denied these rights because of your perceived failures by GRZ to live up to your standards of procedure. I’m sorry but you being petty!
@50 The Chosen One: 1. I have NOT discussed the Bill of Rights so I have not told you that I have agreed or not agreed. I am questioning the procedure used. To follow procedure means assured justice, no guesswork in governance, no favouritism, no arbitrariness in decision-making. E.G. President wakes up and announces that chiefs will get K15,000 from K4,000. 2. Where have I said that Zambians must be denied their rights? no where – this is your hate speech. 3. You declare that GRZ cannot take away people’s rights. Where were you when GRZ under UNIP banned the formation of political parties? It happened soon after the First Referendum in 1969. Cabinet decreed that it was an offence to form a political party; it was an offence to hold an opinion. Why do you think MMD was formed? And you…
You’ve totally misunderstood my comment Gen. unless you’re answering another comment. The referendum is about the Bill of Rights & you say you’re not opposing it with emphasis in your 2nd paragraph. Then you start talking about chiefs’ salaries. How? All I’m saying in my original comment to put it differently is that its being petty to throw the baby with dirty water especially when you think you’re standing on moral high ground on mere procedure issues. Thats plain wrong. Let the people have their rights. Such opportunities as a referendum are rare. Don’t confuse Zambians we’ve been waiting for these rights for so long. May God make you see the light.
Good day senior citizen General Miyanda. I have read your article and the concerns you raised. I want to zero in on your concern on “no census” before taking this exercise. Ba General if you had listened to Dr. Nsemukila’s ZNBC explanations on this issue, you could not have posed this concern. He articulated that legally the CSO can make population estimates they can use to estimate the current eligible referendum voters. They have opted for this for among other reasons,cost saving considerations. Secondly the current registered voter count has a link to the eligible persons who can take part in the referendum. Given this, there is a minimum % of yes votes from the cast votes which is linked to the eligible referendum voters that can make this referendum valid or not. It is not linked…
@51 chipoya chipya: I have not heard Dr Nsemukila’s. The word legality must always be applied in context. CSO collects data for various uses; you cannot use same criteria for all possible problems that require resolution by statistics. I really must hear his presentation. The ECZ record of six million voters is NOT a census but for elections only. Citizens go to ECZ centres to register as voters; voting is not compulsory some people do not register. CSO counts the whole population. The Referendum Act has a threshold of more than 50 percent for the question to pass; I contend that there is no room nor excuse for estimations or guesstimates and no justification for not holding a census since 2010, just an excuse by a lazy regime.
General are you contesting in the forthcoming elections,if not why?then whom are you voting for?
Go to [email protected] so that you get a better explanation than this long winded discourse by my elder brother
if we repeal and replace article 79 then we give power to parliament to amend or repeal any article simply by voting in parliament (M.P.s voting for or against).
Power is in your hands don’t give it away
Vote NO (on the symbol of an ear) in the referendum
@54 True Zambian: you got it!
Again Gen. That’s dangerous & careless misrepresentation. This is disappointing. Please take the referendum seriously. It’s not a joke. These are peoples rights we are dealing with. Art. 79 is being proposed to be repealed & replaced by Art. 303 by changing the threshold from 50% eligible voters to more than 50% registered voters provided @ least 50% of registered voters have voted. The # of items that will be subjected to a referendum is increased. It’s a lie & irresponsible of you Gen. to advise people that Parliament will freely amend the constitution & bill of rights following repeal of Art. 79. Please retract that comment if you really love this country & are a responsible person because what you’re advising is not correct.
the bill of rights in its current form;
1. allows for right to life and that birth starts at conception (against abortion)
2. does not allow same sex marriage (against gay marriages)
3. we have social cultural and political rights
enhancing the rights in the new bill of rights would have been better but repealing and replacing article 79 is giving away our democracy to the parliamentarians to do what they want without consulting us.
so whether its PF or UPND with majority seats in parliament, they can make laws to suit themselves
SAVE YOUR DEMOCRACY AND VOTE NO
Ba general, if at all you are a general, why don’t you answer my simple question? What has happened to YOUR Heritage Party? Simple question requiring a simple straight answer, no debate. Why should we listen to your crap when you refuse to listen to anyone or even to respond to a simple question. I wish I get the chance to meet you face to face, because I will make sure that you answer me to my face. Again, what has happened to YOUR Heritage Party bwana general? Are afraid to say that you a failure?
@56 The True General:The topic is “SAY NO TO REFERENDUM IN DEFENCE OF GOOD GOVERNANCE AND CONSTITUTIONALISM IN ZAMBIA!” Is this language too complicated for you?All you need to do is ask and I will explain it to you in simpler language. Or are you so hard of hearing or you cannot read and understand the topic at the top of the page? Maybe you are just jealous of the many messages of support? Open a different page, you are lost here. Bye bye forever///
@ TO ALL: I have tried my best to respond to those sticking to the topic; I have run this course and will return if there are further serious queries on the topic at hand. I have enjoyed your company since yesterday. Go and vote as you please, it is your right – AM VOTING NO IN THE REFERENDUM; and no violence or hate speech. Am done; thank you all. Godfrey Miyanda///
Chumbu munshololwa, you can not run away from my question. What has happened to YOUR Heritage party?
@Godfrey Miyanda. IN MY INITIAL COMMENT I HAD SAID “ABA BA MUDALA BA PUBA”. AM SORRY GENERAL, I WILL NOT CHANGE MY MIND. 1) BA MIYANDA, YOU HAVE CHANGED. YOU ARE NO LONGER THE MIYANDA WE USED TO KNOW OF THOSE DAYS. YOU WERE AN INSPIRATION TO YOUNG PEOPLE. BUT NOT ANY MORE. YOU ARE A VERY STUBBORN ADULT WHO DOES NOT CHANGE EVEN WHEN IT IS CLEAR THAT YOU ARE WRONG. JUST LOOK AT HOW YOU KEPT APPEARING ON BALLOT PAPERS IN THE PAST. WHEN PEOPLE HAD ALREADY SEEN THAT YOU WERE GOING NO WHERE. I REMEMBER YOU EVEN RESPONDED THAT “THE DEVIL IS A LIAR.” CLEARLY THE DEVIL WAS LYING TO YOU. 2) YOU HAVE KEPT RESPONDING TO EVERY COMMENT THAT PEOPLE ARE PASSING ON THIS BLOG. THAT TO ME LOOKS CHILDISH. ITS LIKE BEING IN A “WILD GOOSE CHASE” 3) YOU AS AN ADULT I EXPECT YOU TO HELP US, HELP THIS…
@Godfrey Miyanda. …..continued… COUNTRY. WE HAVE THIS ONE CHANCE OF A LIFE TIME TO ENHANCE OUR RIGHTS, AND YOU, OF ALL PEOPLE ARE OPPOSING THAT. I AM SHOCKED. YOU HAVE TAKEN A PARTISAN STAND SIR. THERE WILL NEVER BE A PROCESS THAT WILL BE VERY PERFECT. BUT WE HAVE THIS TIME GOT AN OPPORTUNITY TO ADD MORE RIGHTS TO THE BoR. BUT YOU ARE OPPOSED. YOU ARE LIKE UPND WHO ARE THINKING THAT IF THE REFERENDUM PASSES, THEN ECL WILL BECOME POPULAR, THEREFORE WE HAVE TO OPPOSITE. THAT IS THROWING THE BATH WATER TOGETHER WITH THE BABY. I DONT THINK THE PF HAS ANYTHING TO LOSE OR GAIN IF THIS BoR DOES NOT PASS. IF ANYTHING, IT WILL BE A RELIEF TO THEM. BECAUSE IT WILL FREE THEM FROM ALL THOSE OBLIGATIONS. WE KNOW BOTH HH AND ECL WANT TO MAKE POLITICAL MILEAGE ON THIS. BUT THAT SHOULD NOT MAKE US…
@Godfrey Miyanda. …..continued…BLIND. IN FACT YOU AND CHILUBA DECLARED ZAMBIA A CHRISTIAN NATION WITHOUT A REFERENDUM FOR POLITICAL GAIN, AND YOU NEVER MADE THIS NOISE. WE ARE A POOR NATION, DO YOU WANT A REFERENDUM ON EACH OF THE RIGHTS EVEN IF THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF THEM? OR IF YOU DISLIKE ONLY ONE OF THE RIGHTS OUT OF SAY 300, ARE YOU GOING TO REJECT THE WHOLE BILL JUST BECAUSE OF ONE BILL? DOES’NT COMMON SENSE DICTATE THAT FOR THE GOOD OF POSTERITY IT IS WISE TO ACCEPT THE BILL THAT GUARANTEES MANY RIGHTS WHILE YOU REMAIN POLISHING THE ONE OR TWO THAT YOU DO’NT LIKE? INSTEAD OF THROWING THE WHOLE BILL OF RIGHTS TO DEBATES WHICH WILL NEVER END. AND WE MAY HAVE TO WAIT FOR ANOTHER 50 YEARS BEFORE ANY POLITICIAN IN GRZ GETS INTERESTED IN THE BoR.
all the coments posted is nosence bt needs a wise man to reason and take sence out of nosence. Its kudo General u ‘ve spoken well.
@General Miyanda Please contact me through webmaster @ LT. I would like to engage you in a discussion after voting NO!
@63 MB at 10.01 on 15.08.16: apologies I had penned off and just seen this now when I was casually browsing. Although my vote is secret, I am proud and satisfied to confirm that I too voted NO. I will contact webmaster to verify how to handle your request. By the way, the ECZ Chairman, in announcing the results, stated that the Referendum was held under Article 79 (3); that is NOT true as the Referendum was held under The Referendum Act CAP 14 of the Laws of Zambia. It is surprising tat that the Judge got this wrong when S.I. Number 35 of 2016 signed by the President clearly states so///
Congrats General Miyanda! You won and ordinary Zambians lost! Waiting for your wise counsel on which other things that could be in the interest of ordinary Zambians that we must campaign against!