Dark sided draft constitution
The biblical book of proverbs says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Probably the Zambian draft constitution seeks wisdom by acknowledging God in the preamble .
“We the people of the Zambia, in exercise of our constituent power: acknowledge the supremacy of God Almighty…” reads part of the preamble.
However, on the discipline of children, it violates the biblical principle of the book of proverbs.
“Spare the rod and spoil the child”, reads one of the biblical proverbs.
But the draft constitution ,which claims to acknowledge the supremacy of God is totally against ‘the rod’ as stated in article 30 which says a person shall not be subjected to torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment or other like treatment.
It is very clear. No one in Zambia will be lawfully allowed to beat his or her child once the draft constitution becomes the new constitution!
Since this is a Christian nation, by sparing the rod, Zambians should realize that they have agreed to spoil their children and future generations.
Zambia should realize that she risks grooming spoilt future leaders. Period.
People who were educated in the Kaunda era will agree that when they misbehaved, corporal punishment was on hand to reform them.
Because the schools of today have spared the rod, the misbehavior in schools has contributed to the plummeting education standards. Certainly, failure is one of the fruits of pupils’ indiscipline.
This is one of the down sides of the draft constitution. Zambians have to choose wisely. It is either the nation moulds up the children with the rod , or ruin them without it. Surely, this country is to regret sparing the rod and spoiling her children.
The other prospective down side is the gender based recruitment of female teachers in rural areas in line with the strong gender advocacy in the draft constitution.
More female teachers who have urban husbands will go to rural districts just for jobs only to leave a year later to join their spouses at the expense of poor rural pupils.
This way rural school will remain chronically understaffed as they are virtually going to be turned into employment agencies for urban schools.
As long as rural schools employ equal men and women in line with the draft constitution, education standards will continue going to the dogs.
It is sheer common sense that there are no suitable men to marry the single female teachers apart from charcoal burners, peasant farmers, fishermen and head men.
Once they are transferred to urban schools where they can marry professionals, rural pupils suffer .Ministry of Education authorities need to learn from President Sata who appointed Guy Scott amidst deafening calls from gender activists that he get a female vice. He put merit before gender.
Meanwhile articles 62 and 65 which say that a person has that right to accessible and adequate housing…clean and safe water…reasonable conditions, will disadvantage rural areas as teachers will refuse on that premise to be posted to the remotest areas of Zambia where teaching services are desperately needed.
Another ironical article is 54(2) which says a person who is eighteen years of age or older has the right to freely choose a spouse of the opposite sex and marry!
An average eighteen year old in Zambia will either be in Grade eleven, twelve or a school leaver. Here comes a constitutional clause which entices children to marry. What will happen to that individual’s education who marries at Grade eleven?
And if that person is a boy, we expect his spouse to be younger. He would probably marry someone who is between fourteen and seventeen and this is unpleasant to every progressive Zambian.
If this clause is allowed in the new constitution, child marriages will spiral beyond control and contribute to rocketing poverty levels.
The other impracticable article is 52(e) which says women have the right to choose a family name.
This totally violates Zambian culture and Christian values because it could mean that if the author married a Janet Phiri,he could change his name from Irvine Syazyombo to Irvine Phiri.
But if you did that, neighbors would be rightfully forced to rush you to a psychiatrist to assess your mental health!
Zambians still have time to think twice about some questionable contents of the draft constitution. Any oversight might have devastating social consequences. Prevention is better than cure.