By ADRIAN MWANZA
BEING the first female Speaker should help you preside over making laws for the people and not those that blocked citizens from enjoying their rights, President Hakainde Hichilema told new Speaker of the National Assembly Nelly Mutti.
The President said he expected Ms Mutti to be above board and stick to the constitution in presiding over parliament in its noble task of making laws.
President Hichilema said this when he received credentials from the three presiding officers of the National Assembly at State House in Lusaka yesterday.
He said the National Assembly should make the lives of the people easier and amend laws that infringed on human rights.
“What I expect is the house to work as a collective to make laws for the people of Zambians,” he said.
He said having a female Speaker for the first time in Zambia was a landmark for the country and that there was need to support her deliver.
President Hichilema said that it was a huge achievement as a country and hoped that she would carry out her duties diligently.
He said Ms Mutti, a prominent lawyer, was appointed as Speaker and that she was up to the task
“It is important to express how happy we are that we have for the first time a female Speaker in Zambia. I think that is a huge achievement,” he said.
The President said the appointment was bridging the gender issue and that it was a plus for women in the country and that he had no doubt that she would deliver accordingly.
President Hichilema said that the country had for a long time had male Speakers and that it was time for change.