ZAMBIA FIRST - LUNGWANGWA ...it’s unacceptable to take partisan stance at the expense of citizens
THE strong stance taken by some people on Bill 10 at the expense of the nation is unacceptable, United Party for National Development (UPND) Nalikwanda Member of Parliament Geoffrey Lungwangwa has said. Professor Lungwangwa said there was no need to turn a blind eye on the will of the people. He said this after fellow UPND MPs walked out of Parliament when Bill 10 was tabled for second reading yesterday. “What is contained in Bill 10 is the will of the people and it is important that every individual in the House support it, he said. The people of Zambia, Prof Lungwangwa said, want a President who would ascend to power when he or she won elections with 50 plus one votes which needed to be respected by Members of Parliament. The Constitution is a document for all of us, it is important that it is refined for the betterment of this nation, Professor Lungwangwa said. “We may not agree on the number of issues in Bill 10 but we should know that we develop a nation through a process of consensus, this is how other countries have developed. Even developed economies like America they developed through consensus. Bill 10, Prof Lungwangwa said, was above partisan politics, therefore, MPs needed to act responsibly and give Zambians what they wanted. And Three UPND MPs refused to join the 53 MPs who walked out of Parliament when Minister of Justice presented Bill 10 in Parliament for second reading. The three include Prof. Lungwangwa, Senanga MP Mukumbuta Mulowa and Teddy Kasoso for Solwezi Central. Leader of the opposition in Parliament Jack Mwiimbu who led the UPND legislators in storming out of Parliament has accused the three MPs of having been ‘bought’ by the ruling party to defy their order. In an interview, Mr Mwiimbu said UPND did not approve of the conduct of its MPs, who refused to walk out of Parliament when the Constitution Amendment bill number 10 of 2019 was presented in Parliament for second reading.