By Arthur Sikopo
Zambia Centre for Inter-party Dialogue (ZCID) has embarked on a mission to engage Political parties and other stakeholders in governance as a way of enhancing dialogue, consensus, confidence building and achieving exclusivity among players.
Newly elected ZCID Board Chairperson, Jackson Silavwe, says there is need for political parties and other key stakeholders in the country to come together and work for the development of the nation.
He called on political parties to get to their platform, ZCID, which was solely formed for them to operate, dialogue and work together even when they still stand as independent entities.
“ZCID was created for all political parties to dialogue from even as they retain their independence and contest against each other in elections. All differences political parties face are meant to be discussed and solved from the Centre, it is our platform we should utilize for the good of our country,” Mr Silavwe said during a meeting with Democratic Party President and officials.
Mr Silavwe on Tuesday led a team of ZCID Board Members in meeting Democratic Party Leader, Harry Kalaba, and his party officials at their Secretariat.
Mr Silavwe, the Golden Party President, who recently took over Chairmanship from Forum for Democracy and Development National Secretary Nathan Mulonga said the meeting was just the beginning of ZCID’s engagement with other political parties to discuss matters of interest and corporation and dialogue.
Accompanying him to meet the DP leadership were Board Members, Highvie Hamududu who is also President of Party of National Unity and Winnie Zaloumis of the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) and Acting ZCID Executive Director Ms. Doreen Njovu.
And the ZCID Board Chairperson, Mr Silavwe, said that the body operates independently as opposed to some speculations from some sections of society.
He said the Centre is also currently working on a robust plan for resource mobilisation from other funders so that the perception of being compromised due to funding would be erased.
He and his team assured Mr Kalaba, the DP leadership and the nation that the Centre is on a project to strengthen its roots and needed all political parties to get on board.
And DP President Harry Kalaba expressed gratitude at the mission by ZCID to engage stakeholders’ especially political parties as it will yield positive results for the organization and the political field in the country.
“It is very important that we keep dialoguing, because we only have one country as we have said and our Constituency all of us is Zambia. You talked about Unity in diversity, that is what we also belive in,” Mr Kalaba said.
Earlier, Mr Kalaba had raised concerns over the funding of ZCID after noting that part of it financial support comes from the Government through the Ministry of Justice, thereby raising fears of the Political Mother body of being compromised.
But the ZCID Team clarified and assured that it was autonomous.
And Mr Hamududu said dialogue as political parties is a prerequisite to effective good governance.
ZCID continues meeting key players in the political realm and governance to ensure inclusiveness in enhancement of democracy in the country.
