Thu, 23 Mar 2017 10:03:14 +0000
By JACK MAPAPAYI
THE opposition UPND Members of Parliament do not mean well for the people that voted for them by continuously boycotting Parliament whenever the Head of State is addressing it, say the North Western MMD and the Patriotic Front (PF).
Speaking in separate interviews, the two political parties told the Daily Nation that boycotting Parliament simply because the Head of State was addressing it was a sign of lack of respect for the people that voted for them.
MMD provincial chairperson Dan Mikosa said when MPs were elected they represented all the people in their various constituencies and not themselves.
Mr Mikosa said MPs should put the interest of the people first and not that of the party or themselves because they had been intrusted with powers and authority from the people that voted for them.
“They are our eyes, our ears and our mouthpieces to speak on our behalf. Now when they absent themselves from such functions I can say they don’t mean well for the people that voted for them,” he said.
He said the MPs should swallow the bitter pill and accept that President Edgar Lungu was the Head of State because there could never be Parliament without the President.
“They are actually a letdown to the people of Zambia because I have never head of a Parliament which has been opened without a President,” he said.
And PF provincial youth vice chairperson Jackson Kungo said UPND MPs were being hypocritical by not recognising President Lungu because they took oath of Parliament and pledged their allegiance to him.
Mr Kungo said Parliament was opened by President Lungu not by their leader Hakainde Hichilema.
“So if they don’t accept and recognise the Head of State, why do they sit in Parliament and ask questions to the Vice President, Madam Inonge Wina, who is the running mate to President Lungu? They should not waste our time; people want to see development,” he said.
He said the address by President Lungu in Parliament was an opportunity for MPs to interact with him and lobby for development.
“But they decided to boycott, they are useless because how do you run away from a man who is supposed to help you? We actually demand serious disciplinary measures to be taken against them,” he said.
