NGOCC board chairperson Sara Longwe says it is a waste of resources to allocate K2 million to consultations on whether or not to leave the ICC because it is a non-issue.

Shortly before departure for Muchinga Province where he’s gone for a working holiday yesterday, President Edgar Lungu said he was saddened by reports of those criticizing government’s move to consult citizens on the matter.

President Lungu said Zambia was a democratic nation which allowed citizens to decide what was good for the country and it was important to him that the choice of the majority took centre stage.

But Longwe wondered why it was necessary to hold consultations now when Zambians were not consulted before becoming members of the ICC.

“This is a waste of the national meager resources. It is an unnecessary expense because it’s a non-issue – especially that prior consultations didn’t happen when Zambia joined ICC,” Longwe said.

She listed issues which she felt should be prioritized.

“This also shows that the PF Zambian Government has money to hold a Bill of Rights Referendum that the People want anxiously for the betterment of their well-being. We the women of Zambia also want this Government to: 1) provide decent maternal and children health services; 2) End feminised poverty; 3) End VAW/G, to name a few priority issues,” said Longwe.