PARLIAMENT UNDER CAPTURE
…Speaker protecting MPs who have crossed the floor – Dr Kalumba
By Adrian Mwanza
THE current Parliament is under capture and no longer serving the people of Zambia but the partisan interests of the ruling party, former home affairs minister Dr Katele Kalumba has said.
In an interview with The Mast at the weekend, Dr Kalumba said the conduct of parliamentary business was troubling.
He said sadly, Speaker of the National Assembly Nelly Mutti, who was supposed to uphold the law, was on the frontline breaching the Constitution in an unprecedented manner without thinking about the consequences.
Dr Kalumba said what was happening in Parliament was shocking.
Mutti had willingly continued to allow constitutional breaches with impunity.
“There’s parliamentary capture with the Speaker in the forefront of committing these breaches with impunity,” he said.
Dr Kalumba said the issue of members of Parliament crossing the floor of the House while still attending proceedings was a clear breach of the Constitution as the act automatically forces someone to relinquish his or her position immediately.
He said it was shocking that despite several Patriotic Front (PF) members of Parliament crossing the floor, business had continued as usual with individuals who had crossed attending proceedings.
“It is very disheartening because what we are seeing is not normal. There is no way people can cross the floor but continue to draw salaries and even emoluments. It’s unconstitutional,” Dr Kalumba said.
He urged Mutti to do the right thing and not appear to be partisan or politically biased.
“I’m not surprised because even her conduct when Bill 7 was passed clearly indicated that she was not impartial,” Dr Kalumba said.
Yesterday, Mutti protected the opposition MPs who have crossed the floor and ruled that they should continue sitting in the House.
