Adjourn Parliament to Prevent more Covid-19 Deaths

Contact : UPND Media Director, Ruth Dante
0976503165/0977780397

 Email : upndhq@gmail.com

                      *PRESS RELEASE*

 LUSAKA (19.07.2020)

We need serious leadership in dealing with -COVID-19.If President Edgar Lungu and his government will manage COVID-19 the way they managed the Economy then we are gone.

At least with the economy it can be fixed just Bally will, but with COVID-19,  we are gone, dead till resurrection to face judgement.

 Close parliament and save our 156 elected representatives, members of staff and the entire parliamentary community

We as the UPND from the onset wish to advice Speaker of the National Assembly of Zambia to immediately adjourn sine die parliamentary sittings as the situation where more than 20 people including parliamentarians and members of staff have contracted and Members of staff have died of Covid 19 is alarming.

 It is a wonder that government and the Speaker are insisting on keeping the people’s House open to business despite reports indicating that three people at the institution have so far died while several others including parliamentarians have tested positive of the disease. This is at the backdrop of an increase in Covid 19 cases and related deaths which have gone beyond 2,500 and more than 100 deaths. This is alarming.

The Party shudders at knowing that the safety of our elected representatives is not guaranteed as evidenced by the rate at which the disease is being transmitted within the body of parliament which if left unchecked would lead to continued deaths, bye-elections and a drain on our already depleted treasury that is failing to support social services.

The right thing for Mr Speaker to do is to Quarantine all MPs and staff, test all and close the institution immediately . This is to save lives and protect family members and friends and avoid further spread because right now a number of MPs and staff could be asymptomatic to the pandemic.

UPND MEDIA TEAM