Fund 2019 referendum , Govt told

Sun, 17 Dec 2017 11:53:54 +0000

By CHIKUMBI KATEBE

GOVERNMENT must bear costs of conducting the next national referendum proposed for 2019 coupled with the spirit of volunteerism among stakeholders as a cost saving measure, says Young African Leaders Initiative president, Andrew Ntewewe.

Mr Ntewewe said hosting of the national referendum should rest on Government’s commitment to providing minimal funding in the 2019 National Budget with support from stakeholders to reduce the finance burden.

He explained that international donors only accounted for a small fraction of the required funds to carry out a referendum, which makes it possible for Zambia to host without too much dependence on donors.

“While Zambia’s cooperating partners, including the Commonwealth, must be engaged on the possibility of funding the Referendum, YALI is alive to fact that about 90 percent of funding for these democratic processes – including the 2016 general election – have been borne by Zambia’s taxpayers through Government. Donors contributed about five percent of the total costs in the last election cycle.

“Stakeholders who are genuinely concerned about conducting the next referendum must seek means of greatly reducing costs associated with the referendum,” he said.

Mr Ntewewe advised that the culture of expecting Government and donors to pay allowances must be cast-off and that Government must be allowed to invest in cost effective measures to avoid extravagant expenses of the process.

“We need to engage Government Printers in the printing of the referendum ballot papers at very minimal costs and work with the media as a crucial vessel in educating the  public on the importance of the referendum and removing misinformation on the content of the Bill of Rights,” he said.

He said YALI was confident of Government’s willingness and commitment to the process, but that there was need to effect it through the 2019 National Budget.

Mr Ntewewe has called on the government to expedite the process of conducting a referendum on the Bill of Rights to facilitate the repeal and enactment of the new Constitution of Zambia before the 2021 general elections.