Speaker saluted for suspending UPND MPs

Fri, 16 Jun 2017 13:13:49 +0000

By SANDRA MACHIMA

THE Speaker of the National Assembly has been saluted for bringing sanity in the House by suspending some UPND MPs who wanted to use Parliament as a platform to satisfy their political vengeance.

Gallant Youth in Zambia executive director Henry Mulenga said Parliament should not be used as an avenue to settle political scores because that was where the laws were made.

Mr Mulenga said the ruling made during the re-opening of Parliament sitting on Tuesday was meant to awaken minds that wanted to divide the nation.

He said parliamentarians were in the House to represent their electorates and ensure they delivered to the expectation of electorates.

Mr Mulenga accused the UPND MPs of playing double standards on grounds that they had continued sitting in the House where government business was led by President Lungu’s running mate  Inonge Mutukwa Wina, when their party had refused to recognise the legitimacy of President Edgar Chagwa Lungu.

He challenged all UPND parliamentarians to resign on moral ground and give chance to those MPs who wanted to deliver to people’s expectation.

“If they do not want to recognise the leadership of President Lungu, why are they sitting in the same House and accept to be paid through national budgetary allocation under the Ministry of Finance headed by an appointee of the same President whom UPND has refused to recognise?” he said.

Mr Mulenga said wanting to copy the style and conduct of some parliamentarians in some known SADC parliaments might not only perpetuate violence but promote indiscipline and break down of the rule of law.

He said suspended UPND MPs deserved a 90-day suspension as a lesson not to underrate the laws of the land because they were using taxpayers’ money to serve people and not their party scores.

“Any well-meaning citizen expects opposition MPs to apologise to the nation failure to which they must completely stay away from attending Parliament.