President Edgar Lungu’s State of the Nation Address on Friday morning is expected to nightlight his administration’s key focus areas for the next four years.
In line with the amended constitution, President Lungu is expected to return to Parliament on Friday in order to fulfil a constitutional requirement in Article 86 which mandates that the Head of State may address the National Assembly at least twice in every year.
During the ceremonial opening of the first session of the 12th National Assembly last September, President Lungu made some landmark pronouncements including his desire for Zambia to adopt nuclear energy as a way of addressing the energy deficit.
Four memoranda of understanding have since been signed between the Zambian government and Rosatom, Russia’s state-run nuclear agency, with a view to signing a nuclear deal believed to be worth $10-billion.
He also announced Government’s intentions to create one million jobs over the next five years through the Industrial Development Corporation.
President Lungu further revealed that within the next five to ten years, state owned enterprises are to be listed on the Lusaka Stock Exchange so as to ensure broader citizen economic empowerment.
He also promised to offer 3,600 youths with affordable loans to own a bus, a garage or a car wash bay.
The Head of State also announced that governments will be undertaking the national land titling programme beginning in Lusaka Province and created four new ministries.
During the last address, UPND Members of Parliament boycotted the session in protest against the handling of the presidential petition.
It would be interesting to see whether the UPND MPs will again stay away from the House especially that Speaker of the House admonished them and forced them to apologise for their actions.
And Electoral Expert McDonald Chipenzi says what remains is the guessing among citizens and perhaps MPs of what the president is going to say and whether this will take a form of the State of the Nation Address (SONA) and would allow MPs to ask him questions of concern and contribute to his speech while he is present in the House.
“Or will take the usual academic form of debating his speech in his absence despite the Speaker always citing rules of the house that it does not discuss individuals who were not able to defend themselves and not in the house?” he asked.
Mr Chipenzi has since proposed that Zambian takes the South African way where the president is engaged right there and then by parliamentarians after addressing them.
i dont see anything good out of that speech. all he is to say is that he must be recognized. Zambia is moving back wards every day,. there is too much thuggery and corruption in the Edwards government, i wonder when citizens will say ‘now we have a working presida for every one Zambian”
Kikiki yaba LT ati nightlight, kaya kapena ndiye highlight muchi nyanja, kikiki.
If this address is constitutional then, i guess it doesn’t serve any purpose, it’s a school pupil, he is mandate to go to class every morning, whether he will be dosing in class he just have to be present, this is just academic, i wish it was a situation were MPs were given an opportunity to for a question and answer session, maybe it would have made sense, that’s why am not attending it’s shear waste of time.
All lies.
Ati 10 billion nuclear deal. You can’t even pick rubbish from your streets in lusaka and you think you can go nuclear ?
One million jobs ? We are still waiting for the 500,000 promised by lungu in 2016.
Give loans to youth ? That all you are capable of…..borrowing and giving free money and ordering youth to steal plots and take over public places.
Mr lungu you are a GRZ of theives and thugs and jokers. Look how kaiser zulu entertained the crowds with some kung-fu against CAF and a police woman in front of all those dignitaries ?
Can a day go by without Lusaka times reporting on this ugly rat. Lungu do Zambia a favour and hold your breath for 2 hours
Just hollow speech/utterances…wasting taxpayers funds
“He also promised to offer 3,600 youths with affordable loans to own a bus, a garage or a car wash bay.”
This is just useless…the headline and the contents are just misplaced.
Ugly cow Nez can you please hold your breath for 2 hours.
So his priority areas is offering 3,600 youths with affordable loans to own a bus, a garage or a car wash bay….when there is land to cultivated.He wants to give money out and flood the streets with cheap Chinese buses…really laughable!!
Viva UPND.
Thank our gallant MPs, for not supporting irregularities.
Until the petition is heard.
Viva UPND.
Lungu will say he is already in State House so everyone should recognize him as the Legitimate President of Zambia. He will say Elections are over and its time to work and develop Zambia. The UPND Petition has run out of time so its dead and burried. He will finish off his Speech by showcasing his Dununa Reverse Dancing skills b4 jumping on a Plane to go to the SADC Summit in Swaziland. It is expected that Heads of State at the Summit will give him a standing ovation for organizing and winning peaceful Elections in August 2016.
Is there anything that Lungu will do that upnd and hh will appreciate? Lets give credit where it is due
Is there anything that Lungu will do that upnd and hh will appreciate? Lets give credit where it is due
Useless president! What can you address you failure? Stupid!
I agree with Me Chipenzi that the President needs to start answering questions from the MPs. Matter of fact it shud be made mandatory that 3 times in a year he shud show up to answer questions
UPNDonkeys, and they think that we should be listening to them, listen to donkeys like NEZ, presidential candidate Hh, his running mate gbm, etc, sure mwebantu? …..kikikikikikikiki
Ndiwe mbuzi “terrible”
Upnd is just trash of a party, your dictator HH failed to bring one evidence within 14 days. Just bitter and bad leader, he will not be a president of this country. He has brought division in the country.
One person in plot 1 at a time, until 2021 otherwise you will die complaining while others are working.
Stop being petty, grow up with your so called leaders and move the country in the right direction. Everything is political, when you divorce or have differences with your wife you point at PF, nonsense move on chaps, it’s 2017 to cry out loud