Tue, 26 Sep 2017 13:42:31 +0000
By Chikumbi Katebe
THE ‘wamuyayaya’ effects attached to unlimited presidential term of office must also apply to councillors and Members of Parliament as they are all elected constitutional office holders, says Isaac Mwanza.
Mr Mwanza was one of the petitioners who have picketed Parliament to consider limiting MPs and Councillors’ terms of office in line with the limited terms for Presidential office holders and Mayors and Council Chairpersons respectively.
He said it was hypocritical for anybody to try and justify limits to the presidential and mayor/council chairperson tenure of office but that the same could not apply to MPs and councillors.
“The 2016 amended Constitution has limited the term of office for Mayors, Council Chairpersons and President to two terms of 5 years each.
“As the petitioners, we have asked MPs to engage in an honest debate on limitation of terms as both terms for Mayors and President have already been limited to two terms. We are simply asking why the same limitation must not be extended to offices of councillor and MPs,” he said.
Mr Mwanza was reacting to MMD national secretary, Raphael Nakachinda’s comments that there was no justification in limiting MPs and Councillors’ tenure of office as they could be voted back as long as people still voted them back.
He said if the MMD was indeed genuine in its justification that the two term limit for the President was because of Dr. Kaunda’s 27 year “wamuyaya” stay in power, then they should also have been concerned about how MPs from the 90s would also overstay in office.
Some citizens have petitioned Parliament over the unlimited period of service for MPs and councillors when the law was very strict on Presidential and Mayoral/council chairperson stay on office which was limited to two- 5year terms respectively.
Mr Mwanza who was lead petitioner said the national convention on the Constitution organised under the MMD by the Technical Committee unanimously resolved to limit the term of office for MPs to two term only, but that the recommendation was not adopted.
He said the hypocrisy being exhibited by the MMD to only limit the presidential term and not MPs and councilors was because the move would negatively impact their chances in the 2021 elections but that it gives them leverage for the top position.
“Mr. Nakachinda’s reasoning on limiting the presidential term and having limitless terms for Councillors and MPs is confirmation of how the MMD is using the advantage of serving in government to advance its own interests, because if the Party was genuine, they would have asked their MPs to vote in favour of levelling the term for all elective positions,” he said.
He has since called on all MMD Parliamentarians to objectively debate the motion when it is tabled in the House.
