By OLIVER SAMBOKO
THOSE not happy with some provisions in Bill 10 should communicate their concerns to their Members of Parliament so that their issues can be brought to the floor of the house, Eastern Province Minister Makebi Zulu has said.
Mr Zulu said while the bishops and any other Zambian has the right to freedom of expression, parliament also has a duty to pass laws in the country.
He was reacting to a statement by the Catholic bishops that the bill should be withdrawn from parliament,
Mr Zulu wondered why the bishops want the bill to be withdrawn when the process has reached an advanced stage and that what was remaining now was the actual enactment in parliament.
“The process has achieved enough progress and what is remaining now is the actual enactment of the bill and what should be known is that Parliament cannot be stopped by anyone,” he said.
He said the bishops belong to constituencies and if at all they have anything to say about some provisions in Bill 10 at this stage, they should communicate concerns to their respective Member of Parliament who will then carry the same to the floor of the house for debate.
“It’s their right to express their views but overall you can’t segment one grouping of people and say they constitute the whole people of Zambia, what about others who want the bill to pass, are they not citizens of this country?,” he said.
And the government has published the Constitution Amendment Bill number 10 of 2019 in Gazette number 12 of June 12, 2020.
Justice Minister, Given Lubinda, said this was to stop the peddling of misinformation among citizens.
Speaking during a press briefing where he presented the gazetted version of the Constitution Amendment Bill number 10 of 2019 in Lusaka yesterday, Mr. Lubinda urged the public to read the Bill to give themselves comfort and assurance.
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