Some civil society organisations (CSOs) in Zambia have raised the alarm over perceived hijacking of government institutions in the country.

Briefing newsmen at Kapingila House in Lusaka, Zitukule Consortium Executive Director, Nicholas Phiri, said Zambia’s vision had been undermined.

CSOs, including Zitukule Consortium, ActionAid Zambia, Chikondi Foundation, William Harrington, Zambia Institute of Independent Alliance (ZIIMA), Centre for Trade Policy and Development (CTPD), Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ), Caritas Zambia, JCTR and GEARS Initiative Zambia, signed the statement.

‘Governance institutions such as the Zambia Police Service, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), and the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) and, to some extent, the judiciary, have been hijacked by the political elite’, he read.

‘Our call is that unless something is done promptly and decisively, we risk losing our collective aspirations and hope in the independent Zambia.

‘It is for this reason that we as citizens must come together and initiate a conversation about the Zambia we want towards 2021 and beyond.

‘We must start this conversation by interrogating the issues that we are facing’.

The CSOs named the issues weighing heavily on Zambia as the negative record of the rule of law, constitutionalism, debt, accountability and economy.

In a message to the government, the CSOs said, ‘Do not take Zambia on the tragic path taken by so many on the continent.

‘Take a leaf from what is happening in other countries across Africa and do the right thing for the benefit of the people.

‘What does it profit you as leaders to meet your personal ambitions while destroying the nation? The onus is on you to create a legacy that shall outlive generations to come’.

Source: The Mast Online

Photo source: Paul Kagame