Chabinga says Lungu lied that government intends to temper with the constitution
PATRIOTIC Front (PF) Mafinga Member of Parliament and Leader of opposition in Parliament, Robbert Chabinga has dusted off former president, Edgar Lungu’s assertions that the UPND government intends to alter the country’s constitution using the parliament.
Yesterday, Lungu posted on his Facebook page, in a statement that he wrote based on hearsay accusing the UPND government of attempting to alter the Zambian constitution for political gain, inciting the public to protest against the alleged changes.
Lungu claims that the UPND aims to revert to the “first past the post” system, replacing the current 50 percent plus one winning threshold for presidential elections, a reform he introduced in 2016 to ensure more democratic governance.
However, Chabinga says Lungu’s statement is not not only inaccurate but also false, adding that no such maneuver has been instigated in the National Assembly.
“As Leader of the Opposition I can confirm that there is no such agenda on the floor of the National Assembly and no Order Paper concerning the proposed constitutional amendments has been submitted,” Chabinga said.
He added that, as a responsible government, through the executive the state has been proposing through the National Assembly to come up with non – contentious constitutional amendments.
Chabinga said this was to ensure that there isn’t any catastrophic roadmap as the Bill 10 process that was marred with factionalism and partisan approach.
“I further wish to place on record the need for our country to continue fine-tuning our supreme law of the land (The Constitution) and make it more responsive to the needs and the aspirations of Zambians,” Chabinga said.
The leader of opposition also proposed to parliament for the Women representation, representation of people with disabilities or the physically challenged, retention of Members of Parliament to the local authority or councils so that they participate in decision making of councils, particularly on land delimitation.
Chabinga also proposed that members of Parliament should also be put in the forefront and control of Constituency Development Funds (CDF) instead, especially that the amount has been extended.
“Such a clause in the constitution should include delimitation of vast constituencies that have been difficult administratively for a single member of parliament to manage.”
He also added that the Emoluments Commission Act should be repealed, as its administration interferes with the autonomy of the Legislature and the Judiciary or it should be amended to only apply to officers in the executive.
“Since time immemorial, conditions of service of Legislators have been determined by the Standing Orders Committee in consultation with the executive in order to have uniformity of benefits with other constitutional office holders.
“Let me hasten, to say that this should be expeditiously dealt with to address perceived gaps impacting the country’s governance visa vis the Separation of Powers,” said Chabinga.
By Buumba Mwitumwa
Kalemba July 30, 2024