Zambia’s civil- and trade-union coalition on Wednesday threatened to picket a regional summit next month in Lusaka in protest over the political impasse in their country.
The coalition, the Oasis Forum, said that it wants the summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders next month in the Zambian capital to discuss the country’s political impasse on the constitution-making process.
Forum spokesperson Reverend Susan Matale said SADC leaders should take pre-emptive action on Zambia before the situation degenerated into conflict.
”Our message to SADC is do not wait until the constitution impasse in Zambia becomes a major conflict before you start convening special summits and appointing special missions to Zambia,” Matale said.
President Levy Mwanawasa and the civil-society groups have differed on how to fashion a new constitution that seeks to broaden human rights and reduce presidential powers.
”We will picket Parliament, we shall march on the streets, hold public discussions and petition even the SADC heads of state … ” said Matale, who is also the secretary of the powerful Council of Churches in Zambia.
The Federation of Free Trade Unions in Zambia (FFTUZ), an umbrella body of trade unions, said it would join the protest.
”We shall take part in the protest at the SADC summit because that is the only way the government is going to give Zambians a constitution that is people-driven,” said FFTUZ president Joyce Nonde.
Many Zambians want a totally new, home-grown constitution as opposed to amendments of the current charter, which was imposed by former colonial power Britain. — AFP
