WE ARE NOT IN SUPPORT OF BILL 10, OUR MP DEFIED PARTY ORDERS
20/03/2020
The National Democratic Congress, NDC, would like to reaffirm the position on Bill 10 that it is not a good law and is still not in support of it.
‘Bill 10 is an affront to our democracy, an insult to Zambians that continuously voiced out their feelings on what they want their constitution to be like and we can never support such a bill,’ NDC president Chishimba Kambwili said.
Our Member of Parliament, honourable Joseph Chishala was given strict instructions to walk out with the UPND MPs when the Bill was brought to Parliament but he defied our orders.
Hon. Joseph Chishala was among the MPs that even attended the meeting at president Hakainde Hichilema’s house the night before the Bill was presented in Parliament to assure them of his vote and he met up with the president and vice president to assure them of the vote.
Other leaders of the party called the MP and he assured everyone of his vote and that despite the PF paying MPs a lot of money to vote for Bill 10, he would still not betray the party, alliance partners and country at large.
It was, therefore, very heartbreaking, shocking and embarrassing for the NDC to witness their only MP stay on in Parliament when he was supposed to walk out with the UPND.
It is always an emotional time when one has been betrayed and right now the party leadership and membership are undergoing a lot of pain and disappointment, and it is so hard to believe that someone we worked so hard for has done such a thing to us.
It has even been very hard on the membership of the party, especially that a key member of the party was even killed because of the Roan by elections. Obed Kasongo deserved to be honoured and respected for how he lost his life trying to help Chishala win the elections, and this betrayal is an insult to his memory and sacrifice for the party and Chishala in particular.
It is also not a secret that Roan was won as a joint effort of the NDC and UPND and Chishala’s loyalty should have been to both the NDC and UPND. The strength of the Alliance was tested in Roan and the victory was an Alliance victory.
‘We are short for words right now and we shall issue a comprehensive statement later,’ Dr. Chishimba Kambwili said.
*Issued by Saboi Imboela*
*Spokesperson NDC*