“ZAMBIAN PARLIAMENT PROVING TO BE THE WEAKEST LINK AMONG THE THREE ARMS OF GOVERNMENT”
By Chishala Kateka
26th November 2022
The New Heritage Party wishes to add it’s voice and sound a serious warning to the nation, that unless the growing partisanship and dictatorship in Parliament, by the Speaker of the National Assembly and her deputies, is curbed as a matter of urgency, this nascent multi-party representative democratic system is headed for a bad end, not dissimilar to some failed states on the continent. In addition major structural and procedural reforms are required in order to avoid the abuse of this position in future.
We say this in the wake of a disturbing but growing pattern of anti- democratic and clearly partisan rulings and conduct by Madam Speaker and her deputies, in favour of the UPND members of Parliament and Ministers.
There is a very compelling, historical imperative, that caused Zambians in 1991, to change the system of government from a one party system to the current Multi-party Parliamentary representative system. That reason is very simple, it was a rejection of a dictatorial, and autocratic governance system then, and Zambians are not prepared to go back to those days, by whatever subterfuge is employed by the UPND and it’s representatives in the National Assembly.
Parliament is the sovereign voice of the ordinary Zambians, through which they are able to check on their government and provide oversight.
We cannot, therefore, allow the Speaker of the National Assembly to continue in a position to silence this voice by curtailing debates and preventing our elected representatives from asking important questions that seek answers from the UPND government using pedantic rules and regulations just to protect the ruling party from being accountable for their omissions and commission of bad governance.
The role of the Speaker of the Zambian National Assembly is not to be partisan and partial in the conduct of the business of the house, but to be an objective, impartial arbiter and facilitator, for the people’s representatives – the Parliamentarians – to perform their duties without unnecessary hindrance, intimidation and threats to sanction them as her emotions lead her.
This was the case, during the debate concerning the scandalous “Defense Auditgate” where the speaker cut short the attempts of the opposition members of Parliament, including the leader of opposition in Parliament, to get clarification from the government concerning the legality of the contracts given by the Ministry of Finance to private audit firms to audit the Zambian defence forces.
The New Heritage Party wishes, to put on notice the Speaker of the National Assembly, who is not an elected member of Parliament, that our elected representatives are there not to earn allowances, but primarily to voice out the genuine concerns of the electors and no one person or persons should be in a position to silence them with threats, intimidation or any other anti-democratic means.
There is a clear danger that if members of Parliament cannot check on government in Parliament, the institution risks becoming irrelevant and our Parliamentary system moribund, a situation too disastrous to contemplate.
We, further call, on the Speaker to allow for the free flow of ideas, and open free debates on the floor of the house so that our country can reap the benefits of a truly Multi-party Parliamentary representative democratic system that we so sacrificed and fought for and won in 1991.
LetZambiansWin
CHISHALA KATEKA
President – New Heritage Party