STATEMENT BY HON. CHUSHI KASANDA, MP, MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND MEDIA AND CHIEF GOVERNMENT SPOKESPERSON
MEMBERS OF THE PRESS
May I take this opportunity to welcome you to this press briefing.
As you may be aware, His Excellency, Mr Hakainde Hichilema President of the Republic of Zambia, is in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, participating in the 36th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union.
Like he always does when he travels out of the country, His Excellency the President is holding bilateral talks with fellow Heads of State and Government and also conducting meetings on the side-lines with various business leaders and cooperating partners in order to push the transformation agenda for Zambia and the African Continent at large.
Yesterday the President held a bilateral meeting with His Excellency, Mr Félix Antoine Tshisekedi President of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The meeting was centred around resolving the challenges at the Kasumbalesa Border Post. The two leaders have agreed that operations at the border are quickly improved in order to accelerate the conveyance of goods between our two countries, without losing much time.
I wish to assure the nation that His Excellency, the President is busy marketing Zambia and unlocking rigidities. There are many positive sentiments coming through from Addis Ababa, just as it has been from all the other countries, which the President has visited.
Let me take this opportunity to dispel some falsehood circulating on various social media platforms that the President makes decisions of national importance single handedly without consulting.
MEMBERS OF THE PRESS
There is a well-laid down decision-making procedure in the new dawn government. First and foremost, as a nation we have a shared vision, which we call the Vision 2030; secondly, we have the UPND Manifesto; then we have national policies; and finally, we have Cabinet.
MEMBERS OF THE PRESS
Let me elaborate on the aforesaid decision-making process:
1.0 VISION 2030 AND THE UPND MANIFESTO
The country has a Vision 2030 through which we aspire to be a prosperous middle-income nation by 2030.
As we are aware, the Vision 2030 guides the general direction of our national development efforts. This Vision was arrived at after wide consultations with various stakeholders at district, provincial and national levels.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
The UPND Manifesto is anchored on the Vision 2030 with our firm belief that Zambia is able to attain the Middle-Income status as long as there is proper leadership in our country. Therefore, the President of the Republic of Zambia, His Excellency, Mr. Hakainde Hichilema, who is also the UPND President, is the Chief Vision Carrier for Zambia, having been given the mandate by the Zambian people arising from the outcome of the August, 2021 General Elections.
2.0 UPND MANIFESTO AND NATIONAL POLICIES
When a political party forms Government, its policy pronouncements as outlined in their Party Manifesto, are translated and actualised through national policies. The formulation of these national policies begins in respective Ministries under the leadership of each respective portfolio Minister.
By their nature, national policies are implemented by various public, private and non-state actors. It is for this reason, therefore, that the formulation of policies is undertaken through a broad consultative process. The stakeholders that are normally consulted are the civil society organisations, faith-based organisations, academia, civic and traditional leaders, business and technical experts, professional bodies, the community among others. This is done to get inputs and buy-in from the various stakeholders, and also allow for participation in the implementation of national policies.
3.0 NATIONAL POLICIES AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANS
National Development Plans such as the 8NDP are derived from national policies. The preparation of National Development Plans is undertaken through a wide consultative process involving various stakeholders at community, district, provincial and national levels. At national level, National Development Plans are approved by Parliament.
4.0 DECISION MAKING PROCESS BY CABINET
According to Article 114 (1) of the Constitution of Zambia, one of the functions of Cabinet is to approve and cause to be implemented Government policy, among others.
Cabinet Meetings are convened to consider the policy recommendations as presented by the respective Ministers under whose portfolio function the subject matter falls.
For example, the Minister of Health is the one who presents any health-related policy proposals. Before the Minister presents the policy proposal in Cabinet, the proposal is circulated to all Ministers for their input before the actual Cabinet Meeting. The circulation, therefore, enables Ministers to consult their technocrats who are the Permanent Secretaries, Directors and other staff within the Ministries, before providing input in the policy proposal.
This is to ensure that as opposed to individual comment, the comment provided is as agreed upon by the Minister and other officials of Government at Ministry level.
During the Cabinet Meeting, after the Minister presents the policy proposal in Cabinet, open discussions are held whereby each Minister presents their opinion on the policy proposal presented.
The final decision on the proposal is made through consensus. When the decision has been made by Cabinet, all Members are bound by the principle of Collective Responsibility, in accordance with Article 114 (2) of the Constitution. This entails that all Ministers own the final decision arrived at in Cabinet. The policy decisions of Cabinet are, thereafter, implemented by all Ministries and stakeholders.
In 2022 alone, the New Dawn administration convened a record 30 Cabinet Meetings. This shows how consultative the President is.
5.0 CONCLUSION
As can be noted in the outlined process above, wider stakeholder consultations are undertaken even before Cabinet deliberates on any policy proposals before arriving at agreed decisions and this is done in a collective manner and not at individual level. As these matters are tabled in Cabinet, decisions are made collectively after free debate by Ministers.
It should be noted, therefore, that His Excellency the President who is the Chairperson of the Cabinet, as provided for in the Constitution, at Article 115 (4) (a), the President provides leadership and guidance in this process.
MEMBERS OF THE PRESS
It is my sincere hope that I have adequately clarified the government decision-making process.
I thank you once again.
Hon. Chushi Kasanda, MP
MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND MEDIA
AND CHIEF GOVERNMENT SPOKESPERSON
19th February, 2023