MORE SENSITISATION NEEDED ON BILL NUMBER 10

Dear Editor,

THE constitutional amendment Bill Number 10 of 2019 was deliberated on by the Members of Parliament before the parliament adjourned sine die last year in December. Bill Number 10 became a contentious issue in parliament between MPs from the opposition parties and those from the ruling Patriotic Front party.

I recall vividly that some United Party for National Development (UPND) members with an exception of Professor Geoffrey

Lungwangwa and another, walked out of parliament.

The motion on Bill Number 10 will be continued during the next parliamentary session when parliament resumes sitting on February 18, 2020.

However, there hasn’t been much sensitisation on Bill Number 10 to the general public so that people can fully understand it. Some people have alleged that the bill will give excessive powers to the incumbent president and that most of the contents of the bill favour the ruling party.

Given this scenario, it is, therefore, necessary that the lawmakers and other stakeholders should sensitise people on Bill Number 10. This will put to rest insinuations that the bill is not a good one. Ultimately, they will either accept this bill or reject it.

I feel it is not fair to condemn this bill for the sake of parroting self-interest by some politicians.

Our lawmakers should take advantage of this period when parliament is in recess to sensitise people on Bill Number 10 which has sparked some mixed reactions.

ELEMIYA PHIRI, Lusaka.

The availability of these financial services has made people’s lives easy. This is because they enable people to conduct various business transactions.

These include sending and receiving money, buying talk time, paying for utility bills notably water and electricity. Through mobile money service, people can pay for DSTV and GOTV.

Mobile money booths are everywhere including residential areas as potential clients can just go to the booth within the vicinity of their homes and conduct a transaction without the hustle of standing in a queue for the service.

Unlike banks, mobile money service providers charge minimal fees for the business transaction they conduct. The minimal fees have compelled some people to save money with the former. The booming mobile money business is benefiting many Zambians through the creation of employment opportunities especially among the youth and also financially empowering the entrepreneurs in this line of business.

In a nutshell. these mobile providers are vital in that they complement the commercial banks by offering similar financial services.

Besides the benefits arising from the mobile money business, there is also the threat of these mobile money dealers being swindled by con men or rather crooks. The crooks may either swindle the dealers by depositing fake currencies. It is therefore important for the mobile money dealers to take appropriate security measures to avoid being swindled.

There is no doubt mobile money services play an important role in modern financial services as they complement the commercial banks. These mobile money services are quicker, easier and convenient to the users.

E. PHIRI, Lusaka.