HH Urges MPs To Reject Bill 10

UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema has urged all MPs to reject Constitutional Amendment Bill 10 when it is presented in the National Assembly today.

In a televised message yesterday afternoon, HH said that the UPND would maintain its opposition to the bill, describing it as “black mamba poison”.

“We ask all well-meaning members of parliament … to reject Bill 10 and to reject it outright,” he said. 

The opposition leader argued that any good clause which the PF government pointed to in the bill was ‘nullified’ by its numerous ‘despicable’ clauses, which will “roll back years of democratic progress in our country”. 

In particular, Hichilema called on his own party members to stand firm against the bill and hold the party line of rejecting the controversial legislation. 

The bill has drawn significant criticism from church and civil society figures, something which Hichilema mentioned in his speech. 

Opponents, from the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ), ActionAid and Linda Kasonde’s Chapter One, have objected to the Bill on the basis that it strengthens the existing powers of the executive and President to the detriment of Zambia’s democracy.  

The Bill also contains some worrisome provisions relating to Government’s economic and financial management, giving the President the power to contract debt without requiring parliamentary approval. This has served as another red flag ahead of elections.