Zambia’s Youngest Party Issues Vision Statement The following vision statement was distributed by the Genuine People’s Platform (GPP) for Unity and Development (Jubilee Platform): BACKGROUND: THE ZAMBIA WE WANT CONVERSATION In January 2014, a group of citizens began meeting and talking about the significance of Zambia’s jubilee independence. It became clear, very quickly, that the group, made up of professionals, church leaders, civil society, labour unions, and politicians and eminent persons felt that there is still much to be done to transform our country quickly for the benefit of all citizens. Nelson Mandela once observed that if, after the liberation struggle there are still children sleeping in the streets who earn a living through begging, then the job is not done. After fifty years of independence in Zambia, the poverty levels are still quite high, many young people can’t afford higher education, later on get a decent job. At the moment, many families find the cost of living very high and can’t even access health facilities easily as they are few and not well equipped in many parts of Zambia. Even though we have seen major investment in the mining sector and some infrastructure development in the last ten years, much more is still needed to be done to promote Zambians to participate. It has also been clearly identified that our governance institutions have not been strengthened by all administrations since 1964 and at the centre of this problem is the failure to agree on a new constitution. The current constitution is tailored for a one party state and deposits too much power in one person, the President. Our constitution is not suitable for today nor the Zambia of the next fifty years. After much discussion, the group observed that it is pointless to apportion blame. National unity and a change in the way we do our politics in Zambia were identified as a priority. Unless our politics go back to the ideals at independence of a better Zambia for each one of us through good laws and equity we risk the next fifty years being another lost jubilee. 1. WHAT IS GPP The GPP is a political platform, a jubilee platform, for all Zambians for issue based politics. Our main objective is to champion a better life for Zambians through access to clean water and sanitation, adequate food, decent housing, health and education and wealth and decent jobs. At the centre of this process is a call for a good constitution which must provide for equitable distribution of national resources between urban and rural areas, between the genders, and in all provinces, and also strengthen our democracy to be about the rule of law and not a few good Men and Women, so to speak. The GPP calls for participation in politics on a common platform reaching out to each citizen, organisation, political persuasion and the church. We view this as a new and progressive method of doing politics in our nation to preserve peace, unity and fight tribalism and any kind of segregation. This will be particularly encouraged at local authority and parliamentary level where the GPP will welcome any candidates on the common platform regardless of their political affiliation, tribe, race, church or organisation. We believe this system will encourage many more Zambians to participate in political leadership, especially Women and the Youth. By taking away the need for a potential MP to stand only on their political party or as an independent, we open the wayfor LIKE MINDS, despite their political affiliation, to come to a genuine common platform and champion common issues. It is the belief of the GPP that citizens have the power to determine their future by embracing that which makes us all Zambians. We also believe that through competent and dedicated representatives in parliament, citizens can cause many good policies and laws to be crafted and enacted. 2. WHY GPP It has been observed that our political landscape is currently made up of political parties with very few members as many registered voters and potential voters do not belong to any particular party. This is even more so among the Women and the young people. It is felt that the current political parties are tightly knit clubs and whose leadership is closed to new members especially women and the youth. Many Zambians also feel that existing political parties are either personal to holder, tribal or regionally supported. THE GPP HAS NO PRESIDENT AND IS HEADED BY A COMMITTEE OF CITIZENS, WHO ARE THE TRUSTEES AND REPRESENT EACH PROVINCE OF ZAMBIA.There also seems to be a lack of synergy between political parties and the civil society and the church which has left many zambians with no confidence in any institution of governance. Even though politics are at the centre of national governance, at the moment many citizens view politics as only a game full of false promises and that it plays no positive role in their lives. The GPP aims to bridge this gap by providing a common platform for LIKE MINDS, despite their background, to work together on genuine common national issues. If one argues that politics is merely a process for the advancement of ideas to enhance the lives of citizens and our country, then clearly a critical mass of the citizens should not just be interested in politics but participate actively. As they say, it’s politics that determines the kind of agriculture policies implemented which ultimately determines the price of mealie meal. It is also politics which will determine the kind of laws which govern us as a country. It’s with this back ground that a number of citizens saw the need for a common, a genuine platform to be used by citizens to advance ideas to enhance our lives. It was observed that while the constitution has been a subject of debate for too long, an approach was needed to ganner support for a process supported by the law to enact a constitution that will stand the test of time. Specifically it was observed that a good constitution must provide for new budget laws to ensure equity and equality in redistribution of national resources, devolving of powers and resources to provinces and protection of human rights and civic rights such as the right to freedom of speech and assembly. 3. WHO IS GPP The GPP is an idea born out of a conversation held by a group of citizens since the beginning of the year. The GPP is managed by a Committee of Citizens, who are the Trustees representing each province of Zambia. THERE IS NO ONE PERSON WHO OWNS THE PLATFORM. The GPP is inviting volunteers and well wishers who wish to be a part of the Jubilee platform to look out for more information to be posted soon on the launch of the Platform 4. GPP STRUCTURE The GPP is headed by 20 Trustees representing each province from among whom a national chairperson will be elected. There is no position of President in the Platform to avoid past mistakes where too much power is deposited in one office or person. A Presidential candidate to represent the Platform in an election will be competitively elected as long as they are a citizen of Zambia and share in the Platforms aspirations. It will also be expected that the Platforms Presidential candidate will sign a citizens memorandum of understanding outlining the expectations of the Platform, as a social contract, in the event that the candidate was elected as republican President. A commitment to citizens access to clean water, sanitation, housing, education, health and jobs and enactment of a people constitution are non-negotiable. The GPP constitution will soon be posted on this site 5. We are grateful for the interest shown in GPP, a genuine platform for all citizens and we will continue to post updates on the launch and general assembly so that volunteers and all those interested in becoming members and taking up positions can contact us and participate. A special invitation is extended especially to Women and young people to participate. 6. The Central Office is currently selling membership cards for the GPP. You may contact the Central Office on the contacts on this page. Issued by the Central Office 18 September 2014 zambiareports/2014/09/19/zambias-youngest-party-issues-vision-statement/
Posted on: Fri, 19 Sep 2014 02:34:37 +0000
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