MMD acting spokesperson Mike Mulongoti says Change Life Zambia founder Frank Bwalya should clear concerns that his organisation could be a political party.

Speaking in an interview yesterday, Mr Mulongoti said father Bwalya should state the objectives of his organisation.

“He should come out in the open so that people understand his organisation,” he said.

Mr Mulongoti was reacting to calls by Copperbelt MMD youths that Father Bwalya’s organisation must be scrutinsed to ensure that it is not a political party under the guise of a non-governmental organisation.

Mr Mulongoti said Father Bwalya owes the youths an explanation regarding their fears that he is using Change Life Zambia to realise his political ambitions.

“It is incumbent upon Father Bwalya to clear the concerns of the youths so that there are no questions about his organisation being a political party,” he said.[quote]

MMD youths have challenged Father Bwalya to declare that he has allegedly joined politics through the formation of his organisation.

Father Bwalya launched Change Life Zambia in Ndola on Saturday, saying formation of the organisation has been necessitated by continued poverty levels and other challenges the country is facing.

[Zambia Daily Mail]

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

“Write the vision [dream] and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it.”
(Habakkuk 2:2, NKJV)

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria

Have you ever known someone who had an exciting dream to do something great but did nothing to make it happen? It’s so important to act on the dreams that God has given you. You can take ownership of your dreams by planning and preparing for them. Remember, success is not accidental. Where do you see yourself in your career, finances or relationships? Put some action behind what you’re believing for. Maybe you don’t see how it can happen in the natural. The good news is you don’t have to have it all figured out. With your faith and obedience, God will work supernaturally in your situation to turn things around for good.

Believe in your dreams today. I encourage you to write down your short and long-range goals. Keep them in front of you so you will stay focused. When you make a move, God will direct your steps. He’ll make sure you come across the right people, at the right time. God will give you wisdom, insight and favor as you take steps to bring your dreams to pass.

A PRAYER FOR TODAY

“Heavenly Father, thank You for the dreams You have given me. Today I will take steps toward seeing them come to pass. Help me to set goals and map out steps for victory so that I know where I’m going and how to accomplish my dreams. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.”

Henry Kyambalesa

The National Constitutional Conference’s proposal to increase seats for Members of Parliament from 158 to 280 makes very sad reading, especially that it is coming at a time when tens of thousands of Grade 7 and Grade 9 students have continued to be spilled onto the streets every year, the healthcare system cannot meet the basic needs of the majority of citizens, the majority of Zambians have no access to clean water and electricity, a critical shortage of decent public housing has compelled so many of our fellow citizens to live in shanty townships nationwide, public infrastructure and services are still deficient, civil servants are still not adequately compensated for their services, crime and unemployment are still widespread, and, among many other socio-economic ills, taxes and interest rates are still very high.

It seems the huge allowances which members of the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) are receiving have intoxicated them so much that they have become incapable of thinking about the catalogue of socio-economic woes which cannot be addressed mainly due to the lack of financial and material resources.

Zambia cannot afford to implement the proposal they have recommended. There is really no wisdom in seeking to increase the number of constituencies when some of the existing constituencies cannot even generate enough tax revenue to meet the cost of maintaining their MPs.

Rather than increase the number of MPs, we should actually have been considering the prospect of reducing the number and restricting their functions to legislative matters. Parliament would still be representative and able to function effectively as the legislative organ of our national government with only 72 elected MPs, for example, so that 1 MP could be elected from each of the existing 72 districts.

If we cannot reduce the number of MPs, we need to continue to have a Parliament with 158 members.[quote]

And MPs should not be involved in the implementation of development projects; this should be the function of government ministries and local authorities. Besides, the provinces are already saturated with such portfolios as District Commissioners, Provincial Ministers and Provincial Permanent Secretaries, all of which are supposed to complement the executive branch of the government in the implementation of development projects. To reiterate, we need to restrict the role of Parliament to legislative functions — that is, law-making.

Our country’s meager tax revenues will not be sufficient to maintain such a large Parliament and the highly bloated Cabinet. And we cannot continue to borrow until we push the country back into the debt trap. Besides, donor countries, too, are not likely to continue extending a helping hand while we continue to misuse our meager resources.

There is a need for NCC members and the government to realize that donor countries, like Zambia, do not have unlimited resources. They have to make do with scarce resources by going through public expenditures line by line, program by program, agency by agency, department by department, and ministry by ministry in order to eliminate unnecessary application of public funds.

We need to start doing the same in order to wean our country from its current addiction to loans, its over-dependence on donor funding, as well as attain economic independence and sustained socio-economic development mostly with our own local resources.

THE National Constitutional Conference (NCC) has approved an increase in the number of Parliamentary seats from the current 150 to 240.

The NCC has also approved the proposal contained in the Mung’omba Draft Constitution to introduce a new type of elected representative in the National Assembly where 30 members of Parliament (MPs) will be elected under Proportional Representation (PR) through an Act of Parliament.

The Committee also adopted Article 159(1), which, once enacted in the new Constitution, will allow the 200 MPs to be directly elected on the basis of the simple majority under the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) segment of the mixed member representation system provided for by the Constitution and as may be provided by or under an act of Parliament.

Under Article 159, 30 MPs would be adopted on the basis of the PR segment of the mixed member representation from a list of candidates submitted to the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) by each political party contesting the elections as provided by the Constitution and by, or under, an Act of Parliament.

When supporting Article 159, some Commissioners said the adoption of the PR in the new Constitution would improve the representative nature of Parliament and increase the number of youths, women and disabled people elected to Parliament.

The Committee approved that the PR be set at 30 seats of the number of constituency-based seats elected through the FPTP system.

The Committee created a Parliament consisting of 251 members, out of whom 200 members are to be elected on FPTP system, 30 members to be elected through the PR while a maximum of 10 members are to be nominated by the Republican President.

The NCC Commissioners, who supported the adoption of all clauses under Article 159, said that the adoption of the Article would ensure a mixed-member Parliament that will make the National Assembly more inclusive by targeting the PR seats at women, youths and persons with disabilities.

Vice-President George Kunda, who supported the clauses, said the adoption of Article 159 will play a pivotal role in Zambia’s democratic system as it will ensure that people in the country have full representation in Parliament.

Chief Mumena, who also supported the adoption of Article 159, called for affirmative action in coming up with a 50-50 representation in Parliament.

And Anti-Voter Apathy executive director Bonny Tembo supported the adoption of Article 159, saying the adoption of all the clauses under Article 159 will embrace all the people in the country.

“Democracy is not static but dynamic and I feel that Article 159 should be adopted to ensure that we come up with an inclusive Parliament, and this will help us to promote development in the country as there will be equal representation,” he said.

[Zambia Daily Mail]

THE MMD has warned Kafulafuta Member of Parliament (MP) George Mpombo of stern action if he continues issuing malicious statements against President Rupiah Banda and the party.

MMD national chairperson Michael Mabenga said in an interview in Lusaka yesterday it was unfortunate for a person like Mr Mpombo who was a party member and former Cabinet minister to continue attacking his party and the same Cabinet he once served.

Mr Mpombo was quoted as having said in yesterday’s Post newspaper that if President Banda continued to surround himself with political “nincompoops”, the MMD would suffer heavier defeats in 2011 elections than UNIP suffered in 1991.

But Mr Mabenga said in reaction that Mr Mpombo’s remarks were an insult to the party and its leadership, especially that he also served in the same Cabinet formed by the party.[quote]

“I have since confronted Mr Mpombo over his continued attacks on the party. I had a talk with him today (yesterday) and asked him why he has continued saying these kinds of insults against the party.

“He told me that he would not do it again but I reminded him that the damage has already been made and if continues like that we shall be forced to do what we would not want to do to him,” Mr Mabenga said.

He said President Banda and the entire MMD leadership were morally upright people who deserved respect from every Zambian, including Mr Mpombo.

Mr Mabenga said it was unacceptable for a person who served as a full Cabinet minister to call people he had worked with in Cabinet as nincompoops.

He said Mr Mpombo did not have any right to insult the MMD and the Cabinet because he had resigned from the Government.

“Every person in Zambia, including Cabinet ministers has seen the change the MMD has brought to the country. We see no reason why Mr Mpombo can fail to see and appreciate this change,” he said.

Mr Mabenga said when Mr Mpombo served under the late president Mwanawasa’s Cabinet and partly under Mr Banda’s administration, he never called anyone a nincompoop.

He said if the MMD were nincompoops, why did Mr Mpombo decide to stay quiet when he was in Cabinet but only insulted the party and its leadership when he had resigned.

[Times of Zambia]