UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema says the PF has been exposed as “naked” over its quest to pass the Constitution (Amendment) Bill No. 10 of 2019.

Addressing journalists at an opposition alliance briefing in Lusaka yesterday, Hichilema said

any amendments justice minister Given Lubinda claimed to have made outside Parliament were illegal.

“What Lubinda did offends Article 77 of our Constitution as amended in 2016. It does not allow what Lubinda did. He claimed that there was a parliamentary procedure he used. On that score too, PF lied. And we have caught you, you are naked. We’ve seen you; the people have seen you,” he said. “What he has done disregards Parliamentary Standing Orders No. 108 and No. 112. So even on the parliamentary procedures and orders, he’s lying. That is wrong because these two parliamentary orders 108, 112 require that parliament should table issues for debate before the House, before any changes can be publicised or gazetted. Has parliament debated? I’m not talking of the parliamentary select committee, I’m talking of the House. Has it debated? It has not debated. So how do you now purport to make changes through the gazette? Where’s your credibility as a government? It’s not there.”

Hichilema said Bill 10 could not be allowed to pass because it left out many stakeholders.

He lashed out at PF surrogate political parties that have supported the infamous Bill 10.

“Bill 10 cannot be allowed to proceed because it left out the owners, the owners did not construct it. It was constructed by a small group of selfish people in the PF, by and large, and their surrogate political parties. Don’t we know them? We know them, isn’t it?” Hichilema asked. “Those who always sing choruses even before the hymn is called out. They sing choruses for PF even before PF calls the hymn… But for the PF surrogate parties even before PF calls hymn number 22, they’re already singing the chorus for 30 pieces of silver. It’s not even worth to call yourselves political parties; you should be embarrassed to define yourselves as political parties because you’re not; you’re just surrogates. And we know you, the people of Zambia now know who you are.”

Hichilema maintained that the contents of Bill 10 were draconian.

He challenged people to imagine what would happen if they continued with PF after 2021.

“Now my fellow citizens, look at the pain you’ve gone through under PF. Just imagine, think for a moment. The unemployment levels, although they lied to us that there will be more jobs, look at the situation of how many youths are unemployed!” he said. “Look at the situation where households have no money. Now, because of the draconian Bill 10 which seeks to keep PF in office forever, can you survive another five years of PF in office? Can you survive? Who will survive? Only a small corrupt number of people. Is that what you want?’’

And Hichilema highlighted various flaws in Bill 10.

“Article 52 in Bill 10 seeks to allow [President] Lungu to go for a third term; that’s the intention of Article 52. Isn’t that an attempt to keep PF in office forever? It is. Are you going to allow it, the citizens? No. It’s dangerous business. Essentially, PF are seeking to return Zambia to a one-party state which we walked away from, which we worked hard together as a team across regions, across ethnicity to reject the one-party state in 1991. And that’s why we need to work together again to reject their attempt to return us to a one-party state,” Hichilema said. “No and never again should we allow a small group of selfish people to return this country to a one-party state because we know the dreadfulness of the one-party state. Twacula pafula (we’ve suffered enough); we’ve refused. They’re playing around with the psychology of people. Why would you allow Bill 10 to go through, which will allow ministers and MPs to stay in Parliament up to election day? So that they can use government cars, they can use government vehicles to campaign during the campaign period.”

He said President Lungu and PF were eager to twist the Constitution in their favour.

Hichilema said if passed, Bill 10 would also allow President Lungu to create districts and constituencies as he wished.

“What else are they trying to change? Because we took PF to court after 2016 dissolution of parliament when Cabinet stayed in their offices and we won the legal matter; and they’ve refused to pay,” said Hichilema. “In order to circumvent that, they’ve decided to amend through Bill 10 so that now they can stay in Cabinet up to election day. Have you seen how crooks behave? Can you see how crooks behave? We want our money. They want to change the composition of parliament as they wish so that they can have in-built numbers. Who will allow that? Which sane Zambian will allow that?”

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