The infamous Bill 10 must condemned and stopped by all well-meaning parliamentarians because it does not represent the will of the Zambian people,” says United Party for National Development Lusaka Province deputy Chairperson Anderson Banda.
Mr Banda said the out come of Bill 10 after it is debated and voted tomorrow will determine whether the Members of Parliament from both the ruling and opposition parties carry the aspirations of their electorate.
Speaking at the party secretariat this morning, Mr Banda stated that Members of Parliament had the obligation to do what majority Zambians who elected them into office expected of them.
He said Bill 10 was neither a PF nor UPND issue, but one which bordered on the welfare of majority Zambians.
“This issue is not about PF or UPND but about the people of Zambia and should our MPs vote in favour of the Bill, we are up to the task. If the PF decide to take their thugs to Parliament to pressure our people to vote for Bill 10, we will have no option but to send our youths also to go and pile pressure on them to counter them,” warned Mr Banda.
He said the contentious clauses in Bill 10, if enacted, would usher in a dawn of dictatorship adding “that the reason why Parliamentarians need to reject it.”
“This infamous Bill 10 is so bad that if it is allowed to pass, it would usher in a new dawn of both political and economic darkness that would set an era of detested authoritarian rule.”
“The Bill is so bad because it allows the president to create provinces and districts without consulting Parliament while making fundamental changes to the constitution not asked by Zambians. It also makes an already too powerful president even more powerful while rendering the judiciary and parliament ineffective,” stated Mr Banda.
The Constitutional Amendment Bill Number 10 of 2019, which was arrived at at the recently held PF-orchestrated National Dialogue Forum (NDF) has left the country largely divided as most citizens feels that most of the clauses are aimed at cementing PF’s hold onto power.
Various Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), NGOs, the Church and opposition political parties have questioned the rationale behind the Bill stating the proposal to bring back expensive and unnecessary deputy ministers and increasing the simple majority vote in Parliament.
The Bill also allows the president to interfere in who becomes a traditional chief.
*UPND MEDIA TEAM*
