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| Political governance in Zambia: A Civil Society Perspective |
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Appendix I
Extracts from the Government of Zambia's Good Governance Policy Document
- Constitutionalism and Human Rights
The core undertakings being:
- Repealing all discriminatory provisions in the Laws of Zambia so as to ensure laws of general application that are acceptable in a democratic state; and revisiting the Constitution, especially Part III, so as to remove certain derogations and restrictions that impede the full enjoyment of human rights and freedoms while ensuring that the rights of others are not impeded having regard to the current provisions of Article 79 of the Constitution (c.f. page 76 - 77 of Good Governance Document);
- ratification and accession of international human rights instruments (c.f Appendix II), and incorporation of these instruments into the laws of Zambia;
- expression of intent to review "existing legal provisions that appear unjustifiable or compromise freedom of expression and those that derogate freedom of the press in Zambia";
- institutionalisation of human rights in all law enforcement agencies through capacity building;
- "revisiting all laws relating to security in order to introduce laws that are just and reasonable in a democratic society";
- improvement of prison conditions through infrastructural development and capacity building, and adhering to the provisions the relevant legal instruments – local and international;20
- expression of intent to work towards eradication of torture through provision of "human rights friendly investigative technologies", introduction of strict and enforced disciplinary and supervisory procedures and, human rights training for the law enforcement personnel;
- Expression of concern to ensure that law enforcement officers abide by the provisions of the Public Order Act, and provision of training/retraining on implementation of the Public Order Act and "the rights of the individual under the Constitution to assemble and associate."
- Democracy, decentralisation and strengthening of local government
The core undertaking being:
- Acknowledgement of strengthened civil society and opposition political parties as a way of providing effective and efficient checks and balances to government, and consideration of mechanisms for assisting political parties through constant dialogue and provision of a for a at which their concerns can be addressed and considered for input into the governance process;
- Consideration of issues aimed at ensuring that public media institutions abide by the provisions of the Electoral (Conduct) Regulations 1996, as a means of promoting free and fair elections, and providing equal and fair access to the public media for all political parties;
- "Ensure that the Electoral Commission and other agencies of the Executive enforce the provisions of the Electoral (Conduct) Regulations 1996, and reviewing the Electoral (Conduct) Regulations to provide for deterrent penalties for any breach of such regulations";
- expression of studying concerns and commitment to action with respect to the independence of the Electoral Commission with the view of reviewing the relevant legislation;
- Expression of intent to make voter registration a continuous process, and assessment of adequacy of alternative identification documents (e.g., NRC, Passport) as prerequisites to voting.
- Expression of urgency institute decentralisation by devolving the management and delivery of services to local governments, local communities, NGOs and the private sector, and; intensification of civic education "in order to create greater awareness of civil society's responsibilities".
- Accountability and transparency
The undertakings aimed at ensuring accountability and transparency (in addition to derivatives from the foregoing (cite?) as a means of ensuring that people (shall) have controlling influence on the decisions and affairs of government, and in recognition of the fact that the exercise of public authority is derived from the people include:
- Recognition of the role of civil society/NGOs; the formulation of a policy document and legislation on NGOs that seeks to increase Government – NGO collaboration, information sharing and, increase public participation in formulation and implementation of programmes and projects
- Determination to strengthen "institutional framework and human capacity of government investigatory agencies;
- Harmonisation of the Anti Corruption operations "with other institutions dealing with law enforcement so as to strengthen the execution of criminal justice", and training especially investigative and prosecution training;
- Consideration of measures and penalties for effective drug control;
- Expression of intent to enhance accountability and transparency in the public procurement system by decentralising the functions of the National tender Board, and enhancing the capacity of the Tender Board;
- Recognition of need for urgent redress of the Auditor General's funding and human resource constraints;
- Commitment that government will ensure that persons in public office shall exercise their authority within the confines of the law;
- Institute strategies aimed at increasing awareness of the significance of the Office of the Investigator general, with such strategies including civic education campaigns and streamlining the operations of the Office of the Investigator General;
- Consideration of moving the corruption-related functions of the Parliamentary and Ministerial Code of Conduct Tribunal to the Anti Corruption Commission "in order to achieve greater justice".
Footnote:
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i.e., the Constitution, Prisons Act and the UN Minimum Standards of Treatment of Persons Deprived of Liberty and the Rules of Conduct Stipulated
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