BILL 13: A Continuation of Poor Governance
By David Sichone
Much like Bill 7 before it, Bill 13 is yet another ill-conceived legislative proposal that raises serious concerns.
With the UPND government, it is crucial to ask who stands to benefit from these bills, right up to the individual and group political and business interests of those in power.
The presidency, at the head of Cabinet is involved. So is the Speaker, whose leanings have become all too apparent, especially after her ruling that Bill 7 can still proceed in parliament despite the Constitutional Court declaring its initiation and process unconstitutional.
It is therefore reasonable to conclude that the motives behind Bill 13, as for Bill 7 before it, are far from altruistic or in the public interest.
President HH entered office in 2021 on a strong platform of promises to correct what was wrong under the Patriotic Front (PF). Among those promises was that the state would repossess land allocated to individuals after suspected illegal degazetting of Forest 27 in Lusaka. Yet, once in power, his government has failed to follow through on this commitment to right what was perceived as violations of procedure for degazetting land.
Now, four years later, his government is proposing to expand the powers of the Registrar of Titles and Deeds. While this office is distinct from the Registrar of Societies, it is also a junior office susceptible to manipulation by senior government officials and the ruling party, as has haooened to the former. The Registrar of Societies has been used by the ruling United Party for National Development (UPND), through the Ministry of Home Affairs, to destabilise the largest opposition party, PF, through arbitrary administrative imposing of stooges as office holders, while frustrating efforts by legitimate office holders to resolve leadership wrangles.
Bringung such potential manipulatiins ti the issue of cancellation of title deeds on land will be catastrophic, and has suspicious motives. for similar abuses.
Given this context, who can trust legislation coming from the UPND? The rapid succession of bills suggests a scramble to consolidate power and resources before the end of their term, which is beginning to look more likely for 2026.
Zambians have grown disillusioned, withdrawing their goodwill from a government they feel has betrayed them. The UPND has quickly descended into a group perceived to be a corrupt regime.
Continuing to churn out such dubious bills as Bill 7, and now Bill 13, will simply seal their quick exit.
Zambians are no longer gullible.