Speaker Mutti’s biasness inbuilt – Kang’ombe

By BARNABAS ZULU

SPEAKER of the National Assembly Nellie Mutti should not be blamed for her perceived bias as the presiding officer in the House because she was directly nominated by President Hakainde Hichilema, a long-standing practice in the country’s parliamentary system, says Christopher Kang’ombe
Mr. Kang’ombe, the Patriotic Front Kanfinsa Member of Parliament explains that the way Speakers are chosen in Zambia inherently creates partisan leanings since the position is filled through party nominations.
“History will tell us that in Zambia that is a practice that will continue for many years. When MPs are elected, the first order of business is to elect the Speaker of Parliament. Now, where does the Speaker come from? You can’t just walk into Parliament and say you want to contest as a Speaker of Zambia. You have to be nominated by a political party that has MPs in Parliament,” Mr. Kang’ombe said.
He stressed that the Speaker’s role is compromised from the beginning because the candidates originate from political parties, often handpicked by the Head of state.
“So, for many years, and I don’t want to restrict it to the last four years, political parties have always brought candidates. The problem we have is that the Speaker comes from a political party. Whether you like it or not, it’s been a bad practice because we have a nominee of the President. The President who has been elected says, ‘Me, the President of Zambia, the person I want to be Speaker is this person,” Mr. Kang’ombe said.
He noted that since independence, Zambia has had seven Presidents, all of whom have been political party leaders who nominated individuals to serve as Speaker.
Mr. Kang’ombe also observed that this political background makes it difficult for the Speaker to avoid accusations of partiality.
“I have been thinking, is there the best way that we can have a Speaker who does not align with a political party? The last three years we have had instances where Madam Speaker has shown biasness,” he said.
However, he noted that Speaker Mutti has made noticeable efforts to improve her conduct after widespread complaints.
“But I have seen an improvement personally after we had all those complaints. Madam Speaker has been trying to adjust her way of conducting business in Parliament. There is serious room of improvement for her to even do better,” Mr. Kang’ombe said.