Avap backs Speaker over upnd mps’ ban Avap-upnd

Sat, 17 Jun 2017 11:24:23 +0000

By ROGERS KALERO

IT WAS wrong for opposition UPND Members of Parliament to boycott President Edgar Lungu’s address to Parliament and they should blame themselves for the punishment slapped on them, Anti-Voter Apathy Project (AVAP) Copperbelt provincial coordinator Poster Jumbe has said.

Mr Jumbe said UPND MPs were in Parliament to represent the people in their constituencies and it was irresponsible of them to boycott President Lungu’s address to Parliament when he was talking about issues of national development.

Mr Jumbe was reacting to the suspension of 48 UPND MPs last Tuesday when Parliament reconvened after recess as a consequence of the incident which happened on March 17, 2017.

The Speaker Dr Patrick Matibini suspended the 48 MPs for a period of 30 days with effect from June 13 and challenged them to resign on moral grounds if they maintained that they did not recognize President Lungu as duly elected.

Welcoming the suspension, Mr Jumbe said it was wrong for the opposition MPs to boycott President Lungu’s address to Parliament and should blame themselves for the punishment meted out against them.

“Politicians, especially those in the opposition, should not deliberately break rules and expect sympathy from people when the law catches up with them. No, it doesn’t work like that. So for the punishment meted out on UPND MPs, I think it is a sweet decision.

“I think for lack of a better word, it was poor judgment for the opposition MPs to boycott President Lungu’s address to Parliament and they should not blame anybody but themselves,’’ he said.

Mr Jumbe said it was shameful for the lawmakers to behave in such a manner when they were expected to behave in an exemplary manner to inspire their followers.

He said if the opposition UPND MPs did not recognize President Lungu they should tell the nation who was the republican President and Vice-President.

“If they do not recognize President Lungu, they should tell us who is the republican President?  They should also tell us where they got the powers to exercise their action of boycotting the presidential address to Parliament.

“We are happy that the Speaker exercised his powers to suspend them, but now the MPs should tell us which law they used to boycott President Lungu’s address and who instructed them to do so,” he said.

He said if UPND was not in support of its MPs boycotting President Lungu’s address it should also punish them.

“If UPND does not take any action on its MPs, then it will be concluded that the opposition party was in full support of the action taken by its MPs,” he said.