PRESS RELEASE – UPND TO REPEAL THE NGO ACT IN 2016

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UPND Secretary General Winstone Chibwe
UPND Secretary General Winstone Chibwe

IT has become abundantly clear that President Michael Sata and the Patriotic Front (PF) used deception and lies to deceive the Zambian people to vote for them in 2011 given their continued reneging on the promises they made to the Zambian people prior to the elections.

The PF manifesto is clearly nothing but a document that was used to trick Zambians. In their manifesto, the PF made a number of promises, which they have failed to fulfill. For instance, they promised the enactment of a constitution which was an obvious lie given the contradictory statements by the PF senior leaders.

Again, the PF in their manifesto at page 49, they promised the Zambian people that they would repeal the Non Governmental Organisations (NGO) Act of 2009, which again is turning to be another hoax that was used to dupe the people, especially the NGOs.

We are however not surprised that the PF are continually changing positions because deception is part of their culture. The NGO Act is a bad law that should never in the first place have been on our Country’s statutes books. In any country that professes to be a democracy NGOs must be allowed to operate freely without any interference from the Government. As UPND, we are committed to ensuring that NGOs continue to operate freely.

We are aware that most NGOs operating in Zambia today are registered under various statutes like the Companies Act and the Societies Act. It is therefore mischievous and unconstitutional for the Ministry of Community Development, Mother, and Child Development to want to usurp their powers.

As a party we want to promise the Zambian people that immediately we form Government in 2016, we will repeal the NGO Act because we believe that, a vibrant civil Society is key to the development of our country. NGOs compliment Government efforts and UPND in Government will certainly embrace the Civil Society as partners in national development not the current animosity we see between the Government and NGOs. We call upon President Sata to immediately ask the Minister of Community Development to halt the harassment of NGOs, as this is not health for our democracy.

Issued;
for/UPND

Kuchunga Simusamba
DEPUTY SECRETARY GENERAL

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