‘Bill 10 Collapse Unifies Zambians’ - HH

Opposition leader of the UPND Hakainde Hichilema (HH) has addressed the impact of the recent attempts by the ruling PF to pass the Constitution Amendment Bill No 10. The Bill was voted down last week when Parliament rejected the highly controversial legislation. 

“There is no doubt that the whole process surrounding the attempted enactment of Bill 10 has polarised our communities, perhaps to levels never seen since our independence in 1964. This is an indisputable fact and one that calls for a collective national soul searching,” Hichilema writes. 

He calls on the nation to use the fallout to “to foster an energy of unity despite our political differences, because Zambia's greatest strength lies in its diversity.”  

“The intense debate the Bill generated must strengthen our democracy, our values and ideals that provide that even though we hold different views, we are one people and citizens of one mother land under one God,” he continues. 

Hichilema calls for the rekindling of the shared values which Zambia was founded upon.  

According to the UPND leader, “We must strive for the ability to exist as one people in which we see each other as people first, without defining ourselves by race or tribe or deploy fear mongering by pitting citizen against citizen in order to maintain political power.” 

“The rejection of Bill 10 must not provide an array of weaponry by those who opposed it against those that were its proponents. Instead it must provide all stakeholders an opportunity to inspire renewed hope, brotherly love and support to our nation and its citizens and also help us search for answers on the best way forward to resolve many challenges (and there are many of them) that still face our nation, especially on the electoral process as we lay the groundwork for the 2021 election,” he continues. 

Hichilema thanked all the citizens who moderated the intense national discourse for or against Bill 10. He also extended his gratitude to the various professional bodies, Civil Society Organisations, labour unions, and religious bodies for their participation.