FORTY SEVEN YEARS DOWN THE LINE ZAMBIA FAILS TO ENACT A CONSTITUTION.

FORTY SEVEN YEARS DOWN THE LINE ZAMBIA FAILS TO ENACT A CONSTITUTION. With only a few months before Zambia clocks forty seven years when it got its independence from colonial masters the country’s efforts to have a new and people driven constitution have all been thrown into the drain by parliament failing to pass the constitution bill. Zambia had her first constitution in 1964 the year when the country gained its independence. Four years later which is 1968 Zambia under the United National Independence Party-UNIP amended some clauses which saw the country go for referendum. In 1972 a first commission was set up with Mainza Chona at the helm of it. Zambia was reviewing its national document and it was during this commission that saw all political parties except UNIP WERE abolished. Eighteen years after the Mainza Chona commission the UNIP government set up yet another commission now led by professor Patrick Mvunga to look at the Mainza Chona reviewed National Document. This saw the country returning to multipartism and in the process the new movement that turned into a political party was born. This movement and a number of of big brains in the name of the Bob Sichinga, Akashmabtwa Mbikusitak Lewanika, Dipak Patels among others brining together their brains to liberate Zambia from from the misery of one party rule under Dr. Kenneth Kaunda. Due to this pressure Zambia’s first republican president Dr. Kaunda cut short his term of office to pave way for the an election that took place in 1991. In 1991 Zambia changed government that saw the MMD led by a Former trade unionist Frederick Chiluba at the helm. Three years with the MMD at the helm a John Mwakatwe commission was appointed and Zambia was during the same period declared a Christian Nation. Other aspects that saw themselves into the national document included any presidential candidate to have both his and her parents born in Zambia. The commission further included in the amended constitution that any person wishing to contest for presidency to have lived in the country for twenty years. This was between 1994 and 1996. Seven years later, under the late Levy Mwanawasa in 2003 set up yet another commission led by Lusaka Prominent lawyer Willa Mungomba to look at the 2996 amended constitution that saw a National Constitution Conference birthed to look at the recommendations gathered by the Willa Mungomba led commission that went around the country getting comments from Zambian people. Huge amounts of money were spent on these two projects that saw the Zambian National Assembly failing to allow the Zambia Constitution Bill of 2010 to go through the second reading. George Kunda, the Republican Vice President was hopeful that Zambia was going to have a new constitution by 2011 but alas this was not the case as the law makers rejected the document with impunity leaving the country without any option but to fall back on the 1996 amended constitution. Zambia is this year 2011 expected to go for the polls but under an old condemned constitution as the constitution bill will only qualify to go back to parliament after six months. But once this bill is taken back to parliament what will change as to warrant this bill succeed as from what the writer’s view is that almost all the parliamentarians in this house of representatives are not willing to step aside to pave way for new comers in the house? .