Africa-Press – Zambia. Advocates for National Democracy and Development ANDD has cautioned the government against forcing and making it mandatory for people to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
ANDD executive director Samuel Banda has since advised the UPND government to respect the bill of rights as guided by the constitution of Zambia, and not force people to get vaccinated.
“Zambia is not a dictatorship, we are a Christian democratic country guided by a constitution that respects an individual’s right to choose,” he said in a statement.
Mr Banda has however encouraged citizens to get vaccinated as one of the ways to combat the spread of Covid-19. He said getting vaccinated should however not be a forcing matter as the UPND government has made it to be.
He said the government should instead use constitutionally accepted methods to engage people respectfully for them to get vaccinated as opposed to threatening them with punitive measures such as being denied entry into government offices or threatening their jobs if they don’t get vaccinated.
“The UPND government promised the people of Zambia that they will respect the constitution and uphold the rule of law, hence our reminder to them to honor the constitution by respecting the bill of rights.
The government has heightened measures aimed at averting the COVID-19 fourth wave by, among other things, restricting unvaccinated persons from accessing government buildings. Health Minister, Silvia Masebo announced that measures will come into effect on Tuesday, November 30th, 2021.
Ms. Masebo also announced that wearing masks in public places including bus stations and markets will be mandatory and further announced that access to government buildings by anyone will require the production of a vaccine certificate
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