Friday, March 29, 2024

Speaker refuses to respond to HH

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Mr Hichilema speaking at a news conference at his residence.
Mr Hichilema speaking at a news conference at his residence.

SPEAKER of the National Assembly Patrick Matibini has refused to respond to United Party for National Development (UPND) president Hichilema’s letter regarding the Constitution (Amendment) Bill Number 10 of 2019 because the opposition leader is not one of the petitioners.

In a letter addressed to Mr Hichilema by Clerk of National Assembly Cecilia Sikatele, Dr Matibini said he was constrained to respond because correspondence in the matter was restricted as it was the prerogative of the parties to the petition.

Dr Matibini questioned in which capacity Mr Hichilema was acting regarding the petition to halt the amendment bill. Mr Hichilema on Thursday challenged Dr Matibini to state what clause he had used in the Constitution to reject the request by the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) that he halt the Constitution (Amendment) Bill.

Mr Hichilema said in his letter to Dr Matibini that a proposed law could be challenged at any stage of its development, even before it reached Parliament.

He said citizens had rights to challenge any bill before Parliament before it became a law.

Meanwhile, former United Party for Nation Development (UPND) vice president Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba has charged that Mr Hichilema should shut up because he does not know how Parliament operates.

Mr Mwamba said Speaker of the National Assembly Patrick Matibini acted in accordance with the Constitution and law that protect Parliament.

Mr Mwamba said Mr Hichilema had never been a Member of Parliament and therefore had little knowledge on how Parliament operates.

He said it was prudent that outsiders stayed away from the operations of Parliament because they did not know its jurisdiction.

He was reacting to Mr Hichilema’s move to challenge Dr Matibini to state what clause from the Constitution he used to reject the request by Law Association of Zambia to halt the Constitution Amendment Bill process.

Mr Hichilema said in a letter to Dr Matibini that a proposed law could be challenged at any stage of its development.

He said citizens had rights to challenge any Bill before it became a law.

Mr Mwamba said Dr Matibini was right in the way he reacted to the request by LAZ because Parliament was a supreme organ that was mandated to enact laws in the country.

He said no citizen had the right to stop Parliament from exercising its constitutional rights. “Mr Hichilema has no idea about what he is talking about, he has never even been a ward chairman or parliamentarian.

“So he doesn’t understand what the Speaker was talking about. Parliament is a supreme organ, so what the Speaker said was in line with the laws that protect Parliament and there is nothing sinister about it. He said it was important that people who do not understand how Parliament operates seek advice from those who know for them to understand its jurisdiction,” Mr Mwamba said.

32 COMMENTS

    • @ LT, please remove those pop-ups of “related articles by author”. And you authors can’t realize that balemisebanya, it is a way of embarrassing you as who writes the worst articles.
      Stop that Ba LT, mulekwatako amano, don’t think like Matibini.

    • Responding to a tribal agitator and thief is a waste of time and energy. He will never change his perception of stuff no matter how much you educate him. He needs a last vaccination at the UFC. Stop Children!

    • Ine dead.

      Speaking from an ignorant stand point.
      He almost always doesn’t know how Government works.
      He is an u5.

    • Yes Parliament enacts Laws but who vets the Bills to ensure they are consistent with the Constitution? Does Parliamentary Select Committee do this? In other Parliaments a Parliamentary Legal Committee ensures Bills brought on the Floor in Parliament are Constitutional. In the Zambian Parliament does the Speaker use his Discretion to decide which Bills are Constitutional which are not? It looks like Speaker Matibini is above the Constitution and Parliament itself. This must be corrected to avoid this Confusion.

    • Speaker Matibini has no answers to HH’ s questions. He has acted inconsistently in handling the Lungu Impeachment Bill and Bill No.10. Speaker Matibini does things on PF Orders hence these inconsistencies. If Courts don’t affect Parliamentary Process then the Speaker shouldn’t have blocked the Impeachment Bill on the basis that it has been Petitioned in Court. The Speaker’s discretion cannot be unlimited and unconstitutionalbecoz Matibini is not above the Constitution and Parliament itself.Matibini is a PF Cadre indeed.

    • This will be the first speaker this country has produced who will join a long queue of all masquerades who will be called to account one of these coming days.

    • This Constitutional Problem has arisen becoz Zambia Parliament doesn’t have a Powerful Parliamentary Legal Committee (PLC). In most Constitutional Democracies u have a PLC whose mandate is to vet the Constitutionality of every Bill b4 It is tabled on the Floor in Parliament forDebate and Voting. If PLC passes an adverse Report on Bill then that Bill is amend to ensure that it consistent with the Constitution. No Bill can be Tabled in Parliament without a favourable Report from the All Powerful PLC. In the Zambian Parliament there is No PLC to vet the Constitutionality of Bills b4 they tabled for Debate and Voting. In the absence of the PLC Speaker Matibini is doing the work of PLC and using his biased Discretion on orders from his Handlers.The writing is on the Wall.

    • Speaker Patrick Matibini is the Problem regarding the Lungu Impeachment Bill and Bill No.10. The Speaker should have appointed prominent Legal MPs to the Parliamentary Legal Committee (PLC). The Function of PLC is to Vet all Bills b4 they are tabled for Debate in Parliament. The main Duty of PLC is to ensure that all Bills placed b4 Parliament are consistent with the Zambian Constitution. No Bill can be placed b4 Parliament until it is approved by PLC. Where an adverse Report is given by PLC it has to be amended b4 it is tabled on the Floor. PLC is an Independent Committee of Parliament and the Speaker of Parliament should not interfere with its the work.This what is currently lacking in the Zambian Parliament. Speaker Matibini has usurped the Powers of PLC. This must be Reviewed to…

    • Speaker Matibini is causing this Constitutional Crisis. Instead of appointing an Ad hoc Select Committee to deal with Bill No.10 Submissions the Speaker of Parliament should facilitate the establishment and Election of Parliamentary Legal Committee (PLC) Office Bearers as an Arm of Parliament. PLC’s mandate should be to vet and approve all New Bills b4 they are tabled on the Floor of Parliament. An Independent PLC composed of MPs who are Lawyers should vet any New Bill and ensure their compliance with the Zambian Constitution. If a Bill receives an adverse Report from PLC it must be Amended and made compliant with the Constitution. Speaker Matibini should not interfere with the work of PLC. Had Zambian Parliament had an Independent and Powerful PLC the problem we have currently with the…

  1. HH? The boy is just looking for relevance, in the wrong ways.
    HH recognises that there is a government in Zambia and even writes to some of its organs eg parliament, but still refuses to recognise the head of the government and country President Lungu. He sounds absurd when he refers to the President as Mr Lungu. And believe me that absurdity does not sit well with many people who are supposed to be his potential voters. Wait and see in 2021.

  2. Bitter Hakiende h and his inherited under 5 gathering with no veep on an allegedly boycott of national issues but sending snippets on matters not addressed to them. To be bitter is one thing but to be insatiably kernelled with the belief you know it all is on itself poor judgment. So now there’s no response let’s wait for those who are actually constitutionally given to hear JS petition not some vuvuzela hiding behind title of prof.

  3. I may have issues with President Lungu’s governance and handling of the economy, but he IS THE President of Zambia, the one and only “His Excellency the President of Zambia” until we decide again in 2021. So iwe ka HH no state house for you until you learn manners, good manners not bad, trbal manners.

  4. HAKAINDE THINKS HE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN PEOPLE WHO WERE ELECTED DEMOCRATICALLY.HE EVEN WANTS THE SPEAKER TO RESPOND TO HIS NONSENSE.NO WONDER HE WAS TALKING TO THAT AMBASSADOR AS HE IS GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL.LET HIM HUMBLE HIMSELF.

  5. In other Parliaments in other Countries Parliament has Legal Committees to vet and ensure that Bills Tabled in Parliament are not in breach of the Constitution. Which Committee in our Parliament deals with this issue? Who vetted the Impeachment Bill and Bill No.10 within the Zambian Parliament? Why then did Lungu go to Court over the Impeachment Bill and the Speaker of Parliament in Response suspended debate on the Impeachment Bill becoz of the Subjudice Principle? Why did Speaker Matibini suspend Debate on the Lungu Impeachment Bill? Surely the Speaker’s discretion must be Legal and Constitutional. Speaker Matibini is Managing Parliament as if its his personal Chicken Run. It’s not the Speaker’s discretion that should matter but Parliamentary and Constitutional Procedures. Speaker…

  6. .dont mislead your senior cadres who are off side . umulandu taubola, tomorrow you will deny them more than three times . help them to do the right thing at the right time. remember this is something that is going to affect the majority of zambians you are bulldozing..

  7. Am trying to find out who’s reasoning is flawed here. How and why would HH react to correspondence not meant for him?It’s very clear now that LAZ is being used to fight hh’s battles. Laz president must be impeached.

  8. GBM kaya! If he really has such money he claims to have he cant reduce himself to such levels. Even PF cadre Chileshe sounds more knowledgeable than this relevance seeker.

  9. Matibini is right. What purpose will it serve to respond to a self-centered, narcissistic, know-it-all HH? Whatever response Matibini gives, and however rational, intelligent, objective, and logical, it is will not satisfy the likes of Nostradamus, Jay Jay, Wanzelu, or their ilk. So why bother wasting one’s valuable brain cells by responding to their type!

  10. “ Two things are infinite: Human stupidity and the universe, and lm not even sure about the universe.”. See how almost all the comments do not bother to argue about the amendment bill, most people would rather argue about the people involved. And just so you know, HH makes a valid point, so does common sense – parliament is made up of people’s representatives, people we send to make laws on our behalf, so why wouldn’t a court ve jurisdiction considering the courts are there to interpret the same laws that Parliament makes…?

  11. HH can’t change anything what PF is planing and doing.HH can only change what he sees to be wrong when he becomes a republican president.
    HH should just hits the ground in campaign unlike wasting time wrestling on constitutional matters with Dr Matibini.HH do campaign and campaign strategically.2021 is just around the corner.
    HH’s taunting of Dr.Matibin to reply to him concerning the letter of LAZ is just wasting of time.Talk to voters on the grassroots.
    Just a thought.

  12. Fellow Zambians be careful with politicians. Avoid being subjective.Do not throw away criticisms.criticisms may be beneficial for the nation and future generations
    Please when you criticize a person or an individual provide reasons to show case. That’s being professional even if you belong to beneficiaries of the current arrangements
    Bear in mind that systems come and go especially none scientific arrangements Like politics. Yes. Politics is a subjective sector of life and always leaves man with discontent.
    Let people explain properLy why some clauses in the constitution should be modified and justify ,why now and not after 2021 general elections
    Some of these movies maybe as a result of selfish reasons not basically correct mistakes

  13. Godfrey Bwalya Mwamba is a st**pid idi**t. Where are his brains? Mwamba was busy insulting Edgar Lungu and his morons just yesterday. This fool has no principles. Hunger has made him to start licking Lungu today.

  14. Supreme leader HH of the UPND thinks he’s intelligent and yet not…Only UPND sycophants and zealots and enemies of progress worship him due to group think mentality… The Speaker should not respond to a privatisation crook who has hidden the privatisation loot in the paradise papers because the dictator wants to tame every one the way he’s managed to do so to his MPs and treats them as children and not grown-up Adults

  15. Any Citizen can write to the Speaker of Parliament. There is no law which forbids this. It seems the embattled Speaker of Parliament is enticing HH to Petition him over his handling of the Lungu Impeachment Bill. It’s not just HH who wants to know. The whole Nation wants to know why Speaker Matibini suspended the processing of the Impeachment Bill in Parliament. If Courts have no Jurisdiction over proposed Bills and Laws then why did he stop that Bill on the basis that it had been Petitioned in Court? Is Speaker Matibini the Parliamentary Legal Committee( PLC) which vets the Legality and Constitutionality of Bills b4 they are tabled in Parliament for Debate and Voting? Which Clause in the Zambian Constitution gives Matibini Authority to stop a Bill in Parliament? Speaker Matibini must…

  16. Speaker Matibini is contradictory. If Courts have no Jurisdiction over proposed Bills and Laws then why did he stop the processing of the Lungu Impeachment Bill on the basis that the Bill had been Petitioned in the High Court? If Courts cannot vet the Legality and Constitutionality of the Proposed Bills and Laws then who does? In other Countries the Parliamentary Legal Committees do this. In fact if PLC makes an adverse Report on a Bill that Bill must be Amended b4 it’s Tabled for Debate in Parliament. Do we have a Parliamentary Legal Committee (PLC) in the Zambian Parliament? If so has PLC vetted the Impeachment Bill and Bill No. 10? Such important matters cannot be left to the Discretion of Speaker Matibini. Is above Parliament and the Constitution? We need answers to these questions!

  17. I have just seen the letter the Laz President has written to Tutwa mp for Kabwe and circulating in social media.Though it’s not addressed to me I am excercising my democratic right as a resident of Kabwe to respond to the letter especially on freedom of speech

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