I cannot think of any reason (rational or otherwise) for a constitutional Article or Clause requiring the Republican president to appoint government ministers from elected or nominated Members of Parliament (MPs).
Apart from our failure to discern the benefits of a constitutional Article or Clause that provides for appointments of government ministers from MPs, and our apparent resistance to change, the opposition to the proposal concerning the appointment of ministers from the general public at large seems to be aimed at according greater control of the legislative arm of the government by the Republican president through ministers, and protecting the president from impeachment.
McDonald Chipenzi, for example, has quoted Ms. Mutale Nalumango as having said that the government rejected the recommendation to appoint ministers from outside parliament, saying doing so would put the president in a precarious position because he or she would have no control over parliament and, in the case of an impeachment motion, he or she would be vulnerable. (McDonald Chipenzi, “Government Rejects Recommendation by ERTC to Reduce Voting Age,” The Post Online, February 26, 2005.)
Impeachment is a damn good thing if and when a president is in violation of constitutional provisos, or when he or she engages in irregular behavior that is likely to tarnish the country’s image. As such, “impeachment” is a viable mechanism for peacefully replacing corrupt and incompetent leaders.
And the argument that it would be difficult for ministers who are appointed from outside Parliament to execute their duties as they would not understand issues affecting people at the grassroots tells us volumes about the emptiness of some of the government officials who are appointed to serve the people. This kind of thinking is snobbish, and it is clearly an insult to so many competent and hardworking Zambians who actually understand the problems facing the citizenry and are diligently serving their fellow citizens every day in various positions, but are not MPs.
One does not really need to be an MP in order to understand the socioeconomic problems facing the common people. It is, therefore, foolish for anyone to belittle the intellect and competence of Zambians who are not MPs to effectively serve their fellow citizens in ministerial positions.
There is actually the possibility that the ruling political party would want to use the Articles and Clauses relating to the appointment of government ministers as a campaign tool by telling voters that they should not vote for presidential candidates from political parties which do not have a majority in parliament, because such candidates will have problems in finding competent individuals among their few MPs to form government.
I admire the USA in this regard, where members of the president’s cabinet are not elected members of the U.S. Senate. And there are no nominated members of Senate or Congress! And all the members of Senate (and Congress) are directly elected by the people!
Of course not all aspects of the American system of governance are good enough to be emulated, such as the use of what is referred to as the “electoral college”—that is, a small number of representatives elected by voters in each of the 50 states to elect the country’s president and vice president, and which essentially provides for only 2 presidential candidates.
The appointment of the Vice President, Provincial Ministers and Deputy Ministers should be from Zambians who are qualified to be elected as Members of Parliament, but who are not Members of Parliament for the following reasons:
(a) It can afford a Republican president or President-elect a larger pool of competent people from which he or she can appoint ministers;
(b) It can provide for greater separation of powers between the legislative and executive branches of the government;
(c) It can afford presidential aspirants enough time to identify potential ministerial appointees well before tripartite elections rather than waiting for parliamentary elections to be concluded;
(d) It can lead to the distribution of income to more citizens and thereby reduce existing income disparities;
(e) It can reduce the apparent work overload on government officials who have to handle both ministerial and parliamentary functions; and
(f) It can correct the anomaly that a government official can be accountable to an institution of which he or she is a bona fide member, as stipulated in Article 51 of the 1996 Republican constitution, which states that “The Cabinet and Deputy Ministers shall be accountable collectively to the National Assembly.”
The Republican president can still be required to nominate at most ten members of the general public from groups which are ordinarily under-represented in Parliament, including women, the youth, the elderly, the handicapped, and chieftains.
The author, Mr. Henry Kyambalesa, is a Zambian academic currently residing in the City and County of Denver in the State of Colorado, USA.
GOOD ARGUMENTS. THE DOCTRINE OF SEPARATION OF POWERS WOULD BE BETTER SERVED IF THE CABINET WAS ACTUALLY COMPLETELY SEPARATED FROM PARLIAMENT. BESIDES WE HAVE WAY TOO BIG A CABINET FOR A COUNTRY OUR SIZE. THE CURRENT SET UP ONLY ENCOURAGES CONFLICTS OF INTEREST FOR THOSE THAT BELONG TO BOTH CABINET AND PARLIAMENT. ALL WE NEED IS ABOUT 19 MINISTERS
1) FINANCE
2) DEFENSE
3) HOME AFFAIRS
4) HEALTH
5) AGRICULTURE
6) EDUCATION
6) TRANSPORTATION
7) INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING
9) COMMUNICATION
10) UTILITIES AND SANITATION
11) COMMERCE AND CONSUMER PROTECTION
12 ) TOURISM
13) LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND HOUSING
14) SOCIAL WELFARE ( INCLUDE GENDER, YOUTH AND SPORT)
15) JUSTICE.
ONE MINISTER FROM STATE HOUSE AND THE VICE PRESIDENT. ALL GOVERNMENT FUNCTION CAN BE DEPARTMENTS WITHIN…
People in diaspora think there are very good analysts. I have been there and it makes a difference when home
Just vote for UPND and all in the draft constitution shall be given unto you.
I support the separation of powers wholeheartedly.
I would knock off #7,9,10 and 15. They don’t add value to the quality of statecraft.
I would take it a step further and eliminate the position of deputy minister. Unless one can demonstrate a real danger to society that would arise from not having the position, I would implore the lawmakers to rid the system of unnecessary cost.
Each minister would have specific improvements they would have to bring to their portfolios in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. I would also want that done in measurable way. Maintaining the status quo must end.
This is Magufulism 101
@Miya
So why don’t you analysis then and contribute your knowledge on this selfsame issue if you have learned anything from your travels abroad!!
*So why don’t you analyse then …
The problem of nepotism or wako ni wako should also be considered. if you look at promotions today you would agree with MPs. MPS come from different regions thus ministers follow that pattern. leav it open lungu will appoint friends and relatives only.
The best we can do is to have credible MPs and we shall have credible ministers. I have seen both educated and those who have not gone thru formal education who cant perfom as ministers. Credible Zambiand stand as MPs
Comment: Why do people want to appointed without any participation.Work hard and stand as MP so that u stand a chance to be minister than wishing that by chance someone will wake u up from your sleep to me u minister. The president already has 8 nominations from outside parliament which is enough.
The fact that you think the current set-up does not pose a problem is a problem in itself. And it’s gotta go!
Is it out of parliament or out of the party? This is African democracy. Any president will chose from cadres, those closest to him or to his party? So does it matter really?
PERMANENT secretaries are civil servants.
In theory, Ambassadors and PMSs are not supposed to belong to belong to a political party. But whose music do they dance to once appointed? Whose line, ministers who don’t belong to the President’s party toe?
Ministers are appointed outside parliament in the USA. Nearly all of them end up as professors, consultants or Director at universities or of companies. Do we such academically and financially independent caliber in Zambia who can challenge a president at his word?
In the USA when a president appoints somebody to a position in the civil service, unless that person commits a crime is proven to be incompetent (which is rare), he or she becomes immune to the presidents axe. That’s how they get to work for and under any administration. They know they are beholden to the people and not their appointing authority.
The current dual roles of those appointed ministers makes them ineffective as constituency representatives! By the way which benefits apply, minister, MP or both?
Have we Zambian’s matured political yet to have members from outside parliament to be members of cabinet? Just observe reactions to this contribution.
Yes, we have.
Comment: appointing executive from legislature does not guarantee separation of powers, but its still OK for a young democracy like Zambia. its very possible to critic your boss even if you belong to the same party. remember hon Kavindele stood his ground on President parentage in 1996 constitution which was used to stop KK to recontest the election
Kavindele has always been financially independent. Everyone else is looking for a job. They know how not to rock the boat.
Henry has lived too long in the States that he has forgotten that people REJECTED HIM and Aka. The Zambian public choosing Cabinet Ministers? They are already chosing useless people as MPs, let it remain at that.
They can elect judges too if you allow them. People are only as stu.pid as you make them believe.
All your concerns are properly handled by having a complete people driven constitution which takes care of who appoints who, not only the president appoints every one in the country. The problem is we are using the old one party constitution in a multy party era. It can’t work by piecemeal amendments. We just need a Multy Party Constitution which can now be amended if you want. Democracy is never cheap, and it shall never be cheap.