President Lungu said this follows United Party for National Development (UPND)’s agreement that the process must be locally driven.
Special Assistant to the President for Press and Public Relations Amos Chanda confirmed this to ZANIS in an interview at State House.
Mr. Chanda said President Lungu had noted that UPND which has been against a locally-driven dialogue process is now in agreement that the church must be at the Centre of all efforts in consensus building.
He explained that the new development is uplifting because all along UPND has been opposed to any locally driven process if the Zambia Center for Inter-party dialogue (ZCID) is involved insisting that Commonwealth Secretariat should lead the process.
He added that President Lungu said since the space of dissent on the leadership of the process is narrowing the church will promptly respond to calls made to them to join the dialogue process.
“This Country has seen remarkable efforts of the church in pushing for consensus and achieving admirable results out of previous processes of political dialogue. Our confidence in the church in this regard is therefore unquestionable. I therefore welcome the UPND’S affirmation that a locally-driven process with the Church at the Centre of it, is the way to go” said Mr. Chanda.
Mr. Chanda said President Lungu further urged ZCID to immediately find necessary space for the church to join the leadership of the national dialogue process.
Meanwhile, United Party for National Development (UPND) President Hakainde Hichilema says his party does not regret boycotting the first stage of the Zambia Center for Interparty Dialogue, (ZCID) led dialogue process that was held at Mulungushi international conference center last week.
And Mr Hichilema has accused the ZCID of withholding a resolution which he says was agreed upon by stakeholders at the summit that the dialogue process be led by the Commonwealth.
Mr. Hichilema claims that he has been reliably informed that during the national democracy stakeholders’ summit, a question was raised on who should lead the dialogue process during which it was resolved that the Commonwealth leads the process
He says the ZCID has failed to disclose this resolution because it was in favour of the Commonwealth and not them to lead the process.
Mr. Hichilema states that he is glad not to have been part of the process which he says was marred with confusion.
He is essentially saying no dialogue. Politicians te fintu.
Let’s roll …
He is a time waster why wasn’t he advocating for locally driven dialogue in the first place?? He knows most of the potential mediators especially under ZCID can easily be bought off or they will feel obliged to request patronage
ECL, what is so special about the involvement ZCID and not the Church alone to facilitate the peace/dialogue process?
Dialogue should go ahead with or without upnd. We need to put the country back on tracks. Those who think they’re big headed can stay away, if anything they may not even form government.
Why does lungu refuse for a neutral body to lead the dialogue?
Hypothetically if Lungu is overthrown today, would he refuse mediation by the commonwealth to restore his power? Let him continue going to eswatini and one of these days he seak asylum there! People are working hard to remove this pathetic dictator in the background.
Lungu is a selfish id1ot who does not care about any Zambian except those he uses to steal Zambian resources.
Lungu must go by any means possible.
The UPND are members of ZCID and have interacted with the people who run it and have assessed their capacity through these interactions. They are not passing judgement on the capacity of complete strangers but people they have met and talked to. Through these meetings, the ZCID officials’ standing on various issues must have come out and the UPND must have been displeased with what they have heard. Further the ZCID officials’ capacity to control a meeting properly by ensuring order and presiding over issues impartially must have been established. ZCID membership is drawn from political parties and there is a tendency to support views advanced by respective party positions.
ECL man of the people. Chikubabe!
Lungu man of the people? Iwe mwe. Lungu is man of the thieves and a foreigner who came to plunder and will continue to plunder in death. Stole from unsuspecting widow and he has never looked back! Uyu wena chisoswa! From State House to Chimbokaila flanked by RB, Dora and all his cabinet mafias.
Let’s roll what? Ifyamba!
Locally facilitated is the way to go yes but the likes of Raphael Nakachinda team and Bishop Pukuta Mwanza and his team should not be any near the dialogue table because they all dine at PF table. Which dialogue can Nakachinda bring? When HH say the church, he does not mean christian for Lungu, he means men of God not men of gold twapapata.
LET’S HAVE PROGRESS WITH THOSE WHO CARE.
============================
You don’t beg to talk to a fellow or national. If double h does not want to talk to anyone unless his conditions are met, let him be. But can progressive parties hit the round table please?
Do not trust lungu who was watching and cheering on while pf thugs under instruction of kapoyongo brutalized the opposition while police watched.
Infact when ck was a senior minister in his GRZ lungu encouraged and cheered on CK to issue tribally loaded and offensive remarks on air against the Tongas…..
Do not trust lungu….
Hh is surrounded by spakalilos lol
Awe sure and spaka is 100% sure speaks and look at votes he gets
Are these followers hypothesized
If hh stood against Barack Obama is sp who can win
Ask Ck?
Imwe ma koswe blaming every one else but the lungu……iam not UPND.
But I don’t support the misrule of this corrupt theif lungu.
Who can trust a leader who encourages a senior minister , CK to go on air and issue disparaging tribunal statements against other tribes ?? That is on national tv and radio.
And today who can trust this corrupt theif ?
You PF rats can call lungu your president, not me. The man is simply not up to the job…….i repeat , lungu watched and cheered on when ck was lying and issuing tribally loaded statements aganst Tongas….on air……i am not Tonga and I am not UPND but this lungu is not someone who can lead Zambia in unity…..
Lungu needs to appologise to the Zambian people for the disunity he has sowed…..
In my humble opinion this was the biggest blemish on lungus record ……all the allegations of corruption pale against this one sinister crime a supposed president should not condone in our once one Zambia one nation…….letting and encouraging one of his minister to go on air , tv and radio and literally defame and attack another tribe !!! Those things only happened in Rwanda….but lungu let this happen in our once united country.
2.4, Whether you like it or not you are affected by his decisions.
Zambians, sorry to say that we are all jokers. We all seem to have no clue over national matters. Egocentric in every Zambian has destroyed this country.
So because this Lazy thing is not on airport tarmac he can not come out and answer questions…he has to hide behind Amos as if he is the President
Spaka spaka ck is hh best best today . Why
Because ck is today insulting ecl
If hh had morals and principles he would not be cohabiting with ck lol
Spaka listen people like ck are tired tools available to any bidder
When ck was fainting who was providing first aid. Was it not hh
Was CK issuing trivially loaded statements against any tribe when he was with CK ? Like he was doing when he was with the supposed president of the country ???
Tribally
Ba jay jay ecl is president of Zambia
We majority voted for him
When you insult him we also feel insulted
Unless you don’t care your insults make us disdain hh
Take it easy easy easy lol
You id10t did you not see Chulu’s admission that he rigged the elections by giving Lungu and HH a total of 100% votes as though its only the two people who contested the elections.
Lungu is afraid to visit the UK for fear of the UK media.
Lungu must go at any cost!
You must be that dull PF blogger cadre called Zambian Citizen who is thick as Roller meal porridge who has just changed his name!!
Trying to reason with you guy s you can end up losing weight
It’s time to move on. Let Zambians dictate their own destiny when it comes to such serious issues.
There’s no animal in this world that’s not partisan, Hichilema wants the Commonwealth to lead the process because he thinks they might favor him since they pushed for his release. Why isn’t he mentioning the SADC, COMESA or AU? He thinks in a straight line, he only becomes clever when he sees an opportunity to cut deals and he’s consistent on that. He changes positions because he doesn’t know what he really wants. Woe to his blind followers.
COMESA, SADC or AU?
Ayattollah, can you please mention just ONE dispute which either of this three “rulers associations” have solved?
As a matter of fact, establishment of AU Court of Human Rights has not been ratified by the Republic of Zambia, never mind that is neither operational nor its eventual Rulings are enforceable.
President Edgar Lungu says he is encouraged that the space of disagreement over the national dialogue process is now narrowing.
That means the parliament is not doing its job and it’s not holding this administration accountable.
How do you expect “Christians for Lungu” to be credible facilitators for any meaningful dialogue? What is special about ZCID? Similarly, why should the Commonwealth come in before the local Church which has always been the credible mediator? Do we even need this dialogue to even overshadow obscene revelations of corruption? BA Opposition, you seem to be begging PF at the time you should have a clear agenda and strategy. I’ll be with CK to protest PF obscene corruption! How does light dialogue with darkness?
Ichalo lifupa: it is on this same blog that the church has been lambasted left, right, centre because of obvious events with the church. One pastor in the name of ‘ex kabanana’ wanted to conduct a partisan crusade for HH; His honour the Bishop of bishops the king of the jungle, the l know everything Bishop John Mambo who behaves like Munkombwe, who does know what he say – ‘muselela kwakaba’ . The new clique of them in the name of the ‘new cathedral team’, it is another group of suspects. The recent past arbishop of Lusaka Zambia Telescope Mpundu is another cadre in the name of the church. So, sir which church? So atleast the mixture MAY breed some neutrality and of course it must be locally done. ECL show leadership here it has to be local!!!
THE THIEFS HAVE BEEN CAUGHT WITH THEIR HANDS IN THE COOKIE JAR AND NOW SUDDENLY THEY WANT DIALOGUE AND OF COURSE HAVE TO BRING THE CHURCHES IN TO THE MATTER………………………..
Whats amazing is if you hear the Ghanaian President give a speech. makes you wonder if we even have a president at all… very worrying.
These are wasted years for Zambia!!
Wasted years indeed!! The head of ZCID has vividly and officially said there was no vote on who should lead the dialogue. But we have an 1.mbe.c.ile heading the largest opposition who doesn’t care about publishing lies and misleading the nation, really we have poor quality opposition that’s why our country is wasting away. If we had the calibre of Andy Mazoka or Sata, the government would be on its toes.
Politicians think this nation belongs to them.They have put Zambia in their pockets.Dialogue should not have a ransom attached to it.It is a common citizen who is feeling the heat from failed policies.You cannot hold people to a ransom just because you have been given a party to rule.Zambia is bigger than all these parties.No wonder,you are at liberty to push your fingers in national coffers.People expect you to do better as politicians.You cannot be holding people by the neck.People need to be respected and governed according to God’s desire.There is no point of creating road maps which are not desirable by the masses.You are the same people who created ZCID and now you are running away from it.What a mockery!!!!
HH wants just to be relevant. He is a loser and not a factor in Zambian politics that is why he is calling for “dialogue!” It is time to ignore this HaLouser!
Animo Farm rep is mad and jealousy!
To-date i don’t get any agenda or dispute for the dialogue.what is it? Is it police brutality or the rigging of elections or POA?