Many Zambians have not read Bill 10, we therefore would like to explain in simple terms the devastating consequences when this Bill becomes law.
Bill 10 is a crooked crafty law designed to perpetuate the PF’S stay in power and to break down all forms of checks and balances between the three arms of government.
Bill 10 is written in such a vague way that most of its consequences will be decided after it has gone through.
It’s not clear and concise, in most cases it refers to statutes that will be designed in the future to give meaning to Bill 10 clauses by simple majority after the Bill becomes law.
BELOW ARE THE KEY FEATURES OF WHY WE OPPOSE BILL 10
1: REMOVAL OF 50% PLUS ONE FOR ELECTION OF PRESIDENT
Bill 10 removes this clause from the constitution as the only way for one to be elected president and proposes what they call a coalition government, this means someone can become President without being elected by the majority.
The PF understands that President Edgar Lungu has become incapable of reaching 50% in 2021, Afterall he only got 50.2% in 2016.
It’s fairly obvious to anyone that under the current constitution Edgar Lungu will not return to State House in 2021.
2: CHANGE OF COMPOSITION OF PARLIAMENT
Bill 10 removes the limit of number of MP’s in the house, what this means is that we could end up with 500 MP’s, most of who are not elected by the people but appointed by the President under the Bill 10 Mixed Member Electoral System.
The ruling party will be able to change the number of MP’S in parliament at anytime they wish by just a 50% simple majority vote.
3: REINTRODUCTION OF DEPUTY MINISTERS
Bill 10 reintroduces Deputy Ministers and does not put a limit. What this means is that every MP can be a Deputy Minister. You can have 5 Deputy Ministers in one ministry under Bill 10.
4: DISSOLVING FIC TO BECOME A DEPARTMENT OF DEC
Under Bill 10, The Financial Intelligence Centre will cease to exist, it will be abolished and a new department under the Drug Enforcement Commission will take over the functions of the FIC.
5: NO LIMIT ON NUMBER OF CONSTITUTIONAL COURT JUDGES
Under Bill 10, the President can appoint an unlimited number of judges to the constitutional court.
What this means is that you could have 51 con Court judges.
The President can increase the number of judges at anytime if he needs them to assist him in deciding a case, just as they did on the third term judgement.
If the president feels insecure, he just appoints more of his friends to the bench of the court to tip it in his favor.
The constitutional court will become a toilet to rubber stamp the ruling party’s authority.
6: REMOVAL OF MONETARY POLICY FROM BOZ
Under Bill 10, the Bank of Zambia will be stripped of its authority over monetary policy.
What this means is cabinet will be in control of printing money and directing monetary and interest rates.
Fellow Zambians, this is what Zimbabwe did and look at where they are.
Inflation skyrocketed to over 10 Million % and the currency became worthless, it was worth less than a roll of tissue, you had to go with a wheelbarrow full of billions of Zimbabwean Dollars to buy a loaf of bread. In the end Zimbabwe abandoned its own currency and adopted coupons and U.S Dollars.
Monetary policy should be left to experts in the fields of finance, banking and economics.
Can we entrust monetary policy in the hands of the likes of Bowman Lusambo, Stephen Kampyongo, Nkandu Lou, Michael Katambo and Ronald Chitotela?
7: REMOVAL OF PARLIAMENT OVERSIGHT ON NATIONAL DEBT
Under Bill 10, the PF government will be able to borrow with impunity. They will not be required to obtain authorization from parliament to borrow money.
Zambia is already sinking because of excessive debt, the kwacha and the economy are collapsing because 50% of the national budget goes towards paying debt.
As debts increase taxes will also increase on all Zambians because the government will need to raise money to repay that debt.
8: CREATION OF PROVINCES AND DISTRICTS WITH IMPUNITY
Under Bill 10, the president will be able to create new districts and provinces with impunity and by declaration, this power was stripped off the President in the 2016 amendment.
What this means is that a government can create new provinces and districts in its strongholds to increase the allocation of funds and resources to those areas and deprive other parts of the country.
11: ELECTION OF MAYORS ABOLISHED
Under Bill 10, the people of Zambia will no longer be able to elect their mayors. Mayors will now be appointed by the party in the council chambers.
CONCLUSION
In a nutshell, BILL 10 is effectively a constitutional declaration of a dictatorship in Zambia. This law will be very destructive to this nation. We owe it to future generations, our children and grandchildren to stop this Bill from becoming law.
Unfortunately, some MP’s including our own in Joseph Chishala have succumbed to the offer of dirty money and filthy riches.
These MP’s have betrayed the people of Zambia and have sacrificed Zambia’s democracy in order to obtain filthy riches for themselves.
They are not looking at the consequences of what they are doing.
It only takes one vote to destroy the republic but it will take another two generations to repair the damage that will be done with Bill 10.
For President Lungu, this is a matter of survival, he has run the most corrupt government in Zambia’s history. He’s frightened of what will happen to him, his family and colleagues once he leaves office.
He stands no chance of being re-elected President in 2021 under the current constitution, he needs Bill 10 to hand him extraordinary powers to impose himself on the people of Zambia as president for en extended period of time.
Copyright @ NDC MEDIA 22.03.2020