HH scares MPs from debating - Tutwa

UPND president Hakainde Hichilema has a tendency of scaring his MPs from freely debating Bills in Parliament whenever he feels the provisions won’t personally benefit him, Kabwe Central Member of Parliament, Tutwa Ngulube has said.

The lawmaker said the record of Mr Hichilema had always been mischievous and marked with dictatorial tendencies.

Mr Ngulube was speaking during a Public Forum organised by the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) held at 3 Seasons Hall in Kabwe on Friday where he also explained to his electorates on how a number of provisions were arrived at during the National Dialogue Forum.

He said Mr Hichilema did not want to entrench the declaration of Christianity in Zambia which prevents some cultures such as homosexuality to be legalised in the country.

“The Christian clause is meant to entrench the declaration of Christianity in Zambia and not give room to some cultures such as homosexuality which some donors had been assured by some party leaders will be legalised in Zambia through the back door,” he said.

Mr Ngulube alleged that some lawyers and activists had also been hired to discredit the Bill by falsely saying the Bill was meant to abolish the Financial Intelligence Centre when there was nothing that abolishes the FIC.

However, Kabwe residents encouraged their MP to go and debate the Bill objectively in Parliament and safeguard people’s interest.

Meanwhile, YALI president Andrew Ntewewe said Zambia was failing to come up with a Bill because people who had remained unpatriotic and could effectively sit to debate, agree or disagree on the provisions of the Bills.

“One professor was flown into Zambia to coincide with the introduction of amendments to the Constitution in Parliament so he could spread lies that amendments to the Zambian Constitution have departed from international norms and practices on the Constitution when in fact the proposed amendments fall in line with long held international practices which require constitutions to only speak to principles,” said Ntewewe

He said in Zambia, only Parliament had the mandate to change the Constitution and that MPs were elected them to speak on behalf of the people in such a process.

Mr Ntewewe dispelled claims that the Bill seeks to weaken the judges but argued that Bill 10 strengthened their security of tenure in matters where a judge must be removed from office.

And MISA Zambia vice chairperson Hyde Haguta lambasted some opposition leaders who he said wanted to frustrate the process of enacting the constitution just because they had so much money.