Zambia has a functional constitution in place, Lungu tells Parliament Time Posted: July 24, 2014 5:01 am 1,073 views | 13 Comments | Email This Post | Print This Post | Edgar Lungu Parliament heard yesterday that the Minister of Justice and Attorney General will advise on the roadmap and steps to be undertaken on the draft constitution once the document is tabled before Cabinet. Government has maintained that there is a functional constitution in place. Acting Leader of Government Business in parliament Edgar Lungu says government would depend on the learned counsel of Justice Minister Wynter Kabimba and acting Attorney General Musa Mwenye on the roadmap to enacting a people driven Constitution. Mr. Lungu who is the Minister of Defence said the PF Government is keen to follow the legal framework without ‘injuring’ the Zambian people. He said this when he presented a ministerial statement in Parliament today that government is fully alive to the time-frame and will give Zambians a people driven constitution. Last week, United Party for National Development (UPND) Mazabuka Central MP Garry Nkombo raised a point of order to find out an update on the draft constitution and which level the document was at. Mr. Lungu reiterated that the issues of the constitutional making process is not a dead-one as government was addressing a lot of issues among them education, health, roads and others. He added that the PF Government is determined to implement and fulfill its 2011 campaign promises as others have already been fulfilled. He denied that the PF Government is changing goal posts on the draft constitution document but that the Zambian people would judge for themselves. Mr Lungu said Zambia still has a functional constitution that can be used at the moment untill the draft was ready . “The current constitution is still functioning and we can use it until the new constitution is out,” Mr. Lungu said. Meanwhile, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Mkhondo Lungu yesterday afternoon threatened to send the entire members of the executive bench out for allegedly making noise in the House. Mr. Lungu in guiding the House observed that the front bench had made noise for the second time translating that it had breached the parliamentary procedures. “Please, order, order…..You risk the whole bench on my right being sent away from the House. This is the second time l’m saying observe order in the House,” the Deputy Speaker warned. Meanwhile, the House also heard that Government would consider increasing the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) allocation to rural-based constituencies. Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda informed Parliament he was concerned that rural-based constituencies were receiving the same amount as those based in urban locations. Mr Chikwanda said Cabinet would seek the guidance of parliamentary committee on the matter to enhance an all-inclusive governance approach. “Allocating CDF equally to all constituencies is not fair, as rural constituencies face serious challenges compared to urban-based constituencies. We hope the relevant parliamentary committee will guide us on this issue and how we can go about it to ensure there is fair distribution of resources,” Mr Chikanda said in response to a concern raised by Chadiza MMD MP, Allan Mbewe. And Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Mkhondo Lungu advised MPs not to be derailed by comments from members of the public on calls for their increased emoluments. Mr Lungu said this when he made a ruling on a point of order raised by MMD Mafinga MP Catherine Namugala who expressed concern over reactions from the public indicating outrage on the issue of increasing emoluments for MPs. “Don’t get derailed by comments coming from outside, I have also heard them but if you concentrate on them, we will not function as a House,” Mr Lungu said. “We know the challenges we face in the constituencies and so we should not be deterred by attacks.” Parliament would resume sittings in September ahead of the presentation of the 2015 national Budget. Related News: Acting Minister of Justice Edgar Lungu assures the Parliament that the Constitution will not be doctored
Posted on: Thu, 24 Jul 2014 06:38:16 +0000
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