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President Edgar Lungu says Cabinet has agreed that the issue of holding dual citizenship should be among non-contentious issues in the draft constitution that should be taken to parliament for enactment into the constitution.
The President says Cabinet at its last sitting unanimously resolved that Zambians be afforded an opportunity to hold dual citizenship as outlined in the draft constitution currently under consideration.
President Lungu says his government has realised that it is important for Zambians to hold dual citizenship so that the country is in tandem with modern trends in the world.
President Lungu, who was accompanied by First Lady, Esther, was speaking in Pretoria, South Africa, last night when she addressed Zambians living in that country during a dinner hosted in his honour at the Zambian Ambassador’s residence.
President Lungu is in South African attending the 25th Ordinary Session of the African Union Summit currently taking place in Sandton City in Johannesburg.
He, however, told Zambians living in South Africa that it would be now up to Parliament to give favourable consideration to the proposals, saying he was hopeful that the lawmakers will support the will of the majority Zambians.
The President was responding to concerns raised by Zambians living in South Africa that their children who are holding South African citizenship have been severely disadvantaged as they cannot visit Zambia freely as they are considered foreigners.
And President Edgar Lungu has admitted that the local government system in Zambia has collapsed, blaming the situation on political interference by past government regimes.
The President said the PF government is, however, resolved to empower local authorities by first building capacity before finally devolving power so that they become autonomous entities.
“There was a lot of assault on the local government system resulted from political interference. This situation crippled local authorities to levels where they are not able to operate effectively,” he said.
President Lungu said his government will continue funding councils until they are fully empowered to stand on their own.
Speaking earlier, First Lady Esther Lungu assured Zambians living in the diaspora that Zambian is politically stable and that the country is enjoying peace.
Foreign Affairs Minister, Harry Kalaba, also assured Zambians in South Africa that government is currently working on finalising the diaspora policy that will effectively address concerns of Zambians living abroad.
