Grade 12 Civic Education Lecture Notes: Zambia

The Zambia Bill of Rights

• Definition: The Bill of Rights is a list of fundamental rights and freedoms contained in Part III of the Constitution of Zambia. It is the supreme law of the land and the primary instrument for protecting individual rights and freedoms.
• Entrenchment: The Bill of Rights is entrenched, meaning it cannot be easily amended. Amendment requires a national referendum in which at least $50\%$ of eligible voters vote, and no less than two-thirds of those voters must favor the amendment.
• International Alignment: The provisions largely reflect the International Bill of Rights, including:
  • The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
  • The International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).
  • The International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
  • Relevant optional protocols.
• Ratified Conventions: Zambia has committed to various international instruments, including:
  • Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
  • Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
  • Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD).
  • Convention Against Torture and other Cruel and Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT).
• History of Zambia’s Bill of Rights:
  • 1963: First incorporated in the Northern Rhodesia Self-government Constitution.
  • 1964: Reproduced in the Multi-Party Democratic (Independence) Constitution.
  • 1972 (Chona Commission): Recommended One-Party Participatory Democracy; implemented in 1973, limiting certain individual freedoms.
  • 1991 (Mvunga Commission): Re-introduced Multi-Party Democracy and included children’s rights for the first time.
  • 1996 (Mwanakatwe Commission): Made amendments to the Constitution, but left the Bill of Rights intact.

Elements and Articles of the Zambian Bill of Rights

• Article 11 (Preamble): A general declaration of rights for every person regardless of race, origin, political opinion, religion, sex, or marital status. Rights are subject to limitations based on state resources and the rights of others.
• Article 12 (Right to Life): Defined as the "Supreme Human Right." It protects unborn children, prohibiting termination of pregnancy except as permitted by law. Includes state and individual obligations to protect life.
• Article 13 (Personal Liberty): Regulates procedures for arrest and detention to prevent arbitrary or unlawful deprivation of bodily movement.
• Article 14 (Protection from Slavery and Forced Labour): Prohibits human trafficking, serfdom, and child exploitation. Exceptions include hard labor as court punishment and compulsory military/national service.
• Article 15 (Protection from Torture): An absolute right protecting against inhuman or degrading treatment. Under the Convention Against Torture (CAT), states must extradite or prosecute torturers.
• Article 16 (Protection from Property Deprivation): Protects property except for legally permitted reasons like failing to pay taxes, rates, or fines for law breaches.
• Article 17 (Privacy of Home and Property): Prohibits unauthorized search of persons, property, or premises without consent except as established by law.
• Article 18 (Protection of the Law): Ensures due process for criminal charges. Includes an independent court, presumption of innocence until proven guilty, language interpretation, and legal representation.
• Article 19 (Freedom of Conscience): Guarantees freedom of thought and religion, including the right to change beliefs and practice worship/teaching in public or private.
• Article 20 (Freedom of Expression): Includes the right to hold opinions and receive/impart ideas and information through correspondence without interference.
• Article 21 (Freedom of Assembly and Association): Protects the right to assemble freely and form political parties, trade unions, or other associations.
• Article 22 (Freedom of Movement): Guarantees the right to move within, reside in, leave, and return to Zambia. Limitations apply during a state of emergency or for prisoners serving a sentence.
• Article 23 (Protection from Discrimination): Prohibits discrimination based on race, ethnicity, sex, origin, marital status, or belief.
• Article 24 (Protection of Young Persons): Prohibits employment that prejudices a child’s health/education and prohibits ill-treatment, neglect, and trafficking.
• Article 25 (Derogation): Allows for the suspension of certain rights during war or public emergency.
  • Derogable Articles: $13, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23,\text{ and } 24$.
  • Non-derogable Articles: $12, 14, 15,\text{ and } 18$.
• Article 26 (Restricted and Detained Persons): Detainees must be informed in writing in an understood language within $14$ days. After $3$ months, an independent tribunal must review the case.
• Article 27 (Special Tribunal): Allows $30$ members of the National Assembly to report legislation thatอาจ be inconsistent with the constitution. The Chief Justice appoints a tribunal of two judges.
• Article 28 (Enforcement): Aggrieved persons can petition the High Court for redress, with further right of appeal to the Supreme Court (if the case is not frivolous).
• Articles 29 – 31: Detail presidential powers regarding war and states of emergency.

Limitations and Weaknesses of the Bill of Rights

• Narrow Locus Standi: Only the person whose rights are violated can apply to the High Court for redress under Article 28. Litigants cannot challenge law/action in the public interest for others.
• Wide Derogation Clauses: Articles like Article 16 (property) have up to $26$ derogations, such as the Lands Acquisition Act allowing compulsory acquisition for "public interest."
• Gender Bias: Use of masculine terms such as "he," "him," or "his" throughout the text despite being a signatory to CEDAW.
• Missing Categories of Rights: Lacks specific, robust provisions for women's rights, comprehensive children's rights (scantly covered), people with special needs (elderly, disabled), and group rights (clean environment).
• Lack of Justiciability: Many Economic, Social, and Cultural rights are not legally enforceable in court. Citizens cannot sue for being denied health or education.
• Technical Language: The technical and legalistic phrasing makes the Bill difficult for ordinary citizens to understand.

Family Law in Zambia

• Definition of Family: Divided into Nuclear (parents/children), Extended (grandparents, in-laws, etc.), Single Headed, and Child Headed (often due to HIV/AIDS).
• Marriage: Defined as a legal union creating a status of husband and wife involving rights, obligations, capacities, and incapacities.
• Statutory Marriage (Civil Marriage):
  • Monogamous union for life.
  • Requires a Notice of Marriage (published for $21$ days).
  • Marriage should take place between $08:00$ and $18:00$ with open doors.
  • Regulated by the Marriage Act; deals with prohibited degrees of consanguinity (blood) and affinity (marriage).
  • Age: Minimum age is $21$. If between $16$ and $21$, parental consent via sworn affidavit is required.
• Customary Marriage:
  • Governed by ethnic customs and traditions.
  • Potentially polygamous.
  • Key requirements include parental consent and marriage payment (lobola or token).
• Void vs. Voidable Marriages:
  • Void: Null from the start (e.g., lack of consent, bigamy, prohibited relationships).
  • Voidable: Valid until invalidated by a court (e.g., STIs from a third party, non-consummation due to impotence, mental disorder).
• Divorce:
  • Customary: Grounds include adultery, cruelty, laziness, infertility, or lack of maintenance.
  • Statutory: Grounded in "irretrievable breakdown," evidenced by adultery, unreasonable behavior, desertion ($2$ years), or separation ($2$ years with consent, $5$ years without).
• Inheritance (Intestate Succession Act, Cap 59): Applied when one dies without a will.
  • $50\%$ to children (in or out of wedlock).
  • $20\%$ to the surviving spouse.
  • $20\%$ to parents.
  • $10\%$ to dependants.
  • The family house belongs absolutely to children; the spouse has a life interest until remarriage.

Development Planning

• Development Planning: The state's deliberate effort to achieve goals such as standard of living improvements and disparity elimination.
• Types of Plans:
  • Short Term: $6$ months to $1$ year (e.g., Annual National Plan).
  • Medium Term: $3$ to $7$ years (commonly $5$ years).
  • Long Term: $10\text{ to } 20$ years (large scale projects: dams, mines).
• Centralised vs. Decentralised Planning: Centralised is top-down (common in 1st/2nd Republics); Decentralised involves local communities identifying needs (introduced in the 2000s via activity-based budgeting).
• Financial Institutions:
  • Micro-Financial: ZAMSIF, Women Finance Cooperative, Bay Port Finance Services (provide small loans to entrepreneurs/communities).
  • Macro-Financial: IMF, World Bank, African Development Bank (ADB), Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (ABEDA) (fund large infrastructure).
• Indicators of Development:
  • Gross National Product (GNP): Monetary value of output including income from abroad.
  • Gross Domestic Product (GDP): Total output of goods/services within the country.
  • Human Development Index (HDI): Measures life expectancy, adult literacy, schooling, and purchasing power.
  • $\text{Per Capita Income} = \frac{\text{GNP}}{\text{Total Population}}$.

Poverty in Zambia

• Definition: Poverty can be absolute (lack of basic decencies) or seen through the Income Perspective ($1$ dollar/day), Basic Needs, or Capability.
• Human Poverty Index (HPI): Measures deprivation in life expectancy ($40$ years), knowledge (illiteracy), and economic access (clean water/health).
• Statistics (1998): $73\%$ total population was poor, $58\%$ extremely poor. Western Province was the poorest ($89\%$).
• Causes: Decline in copper prices, high debt burden ($10\%$ of GDP spent on debt vs. $5\%$ on social sector), HIV/AIDS (lost breadwinners), inequality, and poor work culture.
• Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP): Framework focusing on Agriculture, Tourism, Mining, Health, Education, and HIV/AIDS for sustained economic growth.

Environmental Education

• Environmental Degradation: Any process making the environment less fit for life.
• Causes: Overpopulation, Pollution (natural and synthetic chemicals/non-biodegradable), Resource Depletion (soil erosion, deforestation, overfishing), Climate Change (global warming and ozone layer destruction).
• Zambian Issues:
  • Deforestation: Charcoal accounts for $90\%$ of urban energy requirements. $20\%$ of forests cleared for commercial agriculture in Luapula, Northern, and other provinces.
  • Wildlife: Poaching and habitat encroachment threaten species like Black Rhino, Wild Dog (Endangered), Elephant, and Lion (Vulnerable).
  • Pollution: Mining effluents in the Kafue River; Mopani Copper Mines emissions of sulphur dioxide.
• In-Charge Institutions:
  • Environmental Council of Zambia (ECZ) - Created by Act of 1990.
  • Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) - Created by Act of 1998.
  • Zambia Forest Commission - Created by 1999 Forest Act.

Global Issues and Foreign Aid

• Global Interdependence: Nations' welfares depend on each other (e.g., OPEC oil price changes affecting world markets).
• Foreign Aid:
  • Bilateral: State-to-state (e.g., JICA, USAID, SIDA).
  • Multilateral: International agencies (e.g., IMF, World Bank).
  • Tied Aid: Loans requiring recipients to purchase goods from the donor or fulfill certain conditions.
• World Trade Organisation (WTO): Replaced GATT in 1995. Principles include Non-discrimination (Most Favored Nation status) and National Treatment.
• Debt Crisis: At end of 2004, Zambia owed $6.5$ billion US dollars.
• HIPC Initiative: Designed to reduce debt to sustainable levels. Zambia reached the "Decision Point" in 2000 and the "Completion Point" in April 2005.
  • Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs): Conditions for HIPC, including privatization, wage freezes, and removal of subsidies.
• Millennium Development Goals (MDGs): Eight goals to be achieved by 2015:
  1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.
  2. Achieve universal primary education.
  3. Promote gender equality.
  4. Reduce child mortality.
  5. Improve maternal health.
  6. Combat HIV/AIDS and Malaria.
  7. Ensure environmental sustainability.
  8. Global partnership for development.