By Tetiwe Mweemba

Development Activist Lewis Mwape has demanded that Justice Minister Given Lubinda releases the draft constitution amendment submissions that were declared in Siavonga.

In an interview with Kwacha Newspaper, Mr. Mwape said Mr Lubinda should be ashamed to have presented such a bill in parliament.

He added that the resolutions from the National Dialogue Forum which were presented in Parliament should be re-written as they do not represent the will of the people.

“I think Mr Lubinda must be ashamed to have presented such a bill in parliament. I think it must be re-written; it needs to go into consultation with the people. Most of the things that are in that… were not what the people cried for. So, for it is a question of holding on, and ensuring that if it is very important that we have a Constitution, it must go back to the people,” Mr. Mwape said.

He said what has happened with the NDF should serve as  a caution to the Members of Parliament who have neglected representing the will of the people.

“I think it is a caution for our MPs. it is important that they stand with the people because they represent the people and the political parties whether you are from the Patriotic, Front, UPND or Independent MP. What is more important is that you represent the will of the people. And for now, the writings are clear on the wall that the NDF constitution has been rejected by the people,” He said.

He added that there was no way a nation could have a process and a content that thrived to entrench more powers in the political actors than the citizens, further, stating that this left President Lungu with an opportunity to set up a constitution committee which ensure that they work on the lacunars in the constitution with the interest of nation at heart.

He added that that kind of abuse of public resources by a minister like  Lubinda should not be accepted because all that money that was used in Siavonga would have gone into procurement of drugs or students allowances.

“After all, Mr. Lubinda opened up the debate for the constitution and he even lodged people in Siavonga who were working on the refining of the Constitution. He had given resources to those drafters in Siavonga and we want to see that report whatever is in there is what we want to see and not resolutions from the NDF. Let him use the NDF report in his toilet or anywhere else where he dims it fit,” he said.