IT is insincerity and hypocritical for the PF to deploy intimidation tactics against their MPs who did not vote for the failed Bill 10, says GEARS Initiative Zambia executive director McDonald Chipenzi.
Three PF lawmakers did not vote for Bill 10 in Parliament on October 29, 2020.
They are Kabaso Kampampi (Mwansabombwe), Elario Musonda (Kamfinsa) and Frank Ng’ambi (Chifubu).
The PF’s trio has since been written to by their party secretary general, Davies Mwila, to exculpate themselves as to why they did not vote for the bill.
Chipenzi, in a statement, said it was astonishingly sad to hear and read now that President Edgar Lungu strictly instructed and directed all PF members of parliament to support and vote for Bill 10.
“It is insincerity and hypocritical for the PF to deploy intimidation tactics against their MPs who did not vote for the failed Bill 10,” he stated.
“In the first instance, PF publicly, through their chief whip, Cde Brian Mundubile, told the nation that the party had not issued a three-line whip strategy on its members in the House but told them to debate and vote freely without looking through their shoulders.”
He noted that the PF condemned the UPND leadership for what it alleged abduction of their members of parliament, “for not debating and voting for Bill 10.”
Chipenzi added that the PF also alleged that the UPND had issued a whipping system to its members of parliament, “not to vote for the bill; a decision it condemned.”
“The UPND was described as dictatorial for whipping its MPs, although three of them did not respond to the whipping,” Chipenzi stated.
“However, UPND has not taken the stance taken by their counterpart in PF to write exculpatory letters to the dissident MPs. This is very dishonest on the part of the PF, to now start harassing and intimidating their MPs for exercising their freedom of choice and debate.”
He expressed delight at the collapse of Bill 10 because: “with such strict instruction from the President, had the bill passed second reading and opened the Constitution, all those publicly rejected clauses by the PF would have been up for voting”.
Those clauses, according to Chipenzi, include coalition government, removal of retirees from the payroll, resignation of civil servants two years to election, non-approval of loans, agreements, treaties and also the merging or creation of provinces, among others.
Chipenzi noted that the governing PF was violating the privileges of their members of parliament by asking them to exculpate themselves on an issue they were protected by the laws and rules governing the business of the National Assembly.
He explained that lawmakers had freedom of debate and choice when in the House and that no one, “outside the House,” was allowed to harass a member of parliament for their activities, debate or choice in the National Assembly.
“However, confusingly, two of the three MPs had alleged that they were in the House and voted but the computer/technology let them down,” Chipenzi stated. “So what new evidence has emerged for the PF to issue those exculpatory letters to the three MPs? Is it that the MPs lied to the House that they voted for the Bill but the vote was graded absent?”
Chipenzi advised the concerned three PF members of parliament to lodge a complaint to the Speaker of the National Assembly for possible censorship of Mwila for his: “careless decision to try and intimidate the MPs for their non-availability to vote for the bill.”
In his charge letter to Musonda, Ng’ambi and Kampampi, Mwila stated that it had come to his attention that the MPs had decided to absent themselves from voting for Bill 10.
“Honorable member, you are aware that His Excellency, the President had directed that all our Members of Parliament must vote for the Constitution amendment Bill 10 of 2020 [sic] as it had important progressive clauses that would have seen us uplift the lives of the less privileged in society,” stated Mwila. “I find your action not in line with the Party’s interest and in breach of Article 74, regulation 29 (d) and (i) of the Party Constitution. I therefore, give you seven (07) days to exculpate yourself why disciplinary action should not be taken against you.”