Another by-election in Lwangwa

Within the space of two months the country will witness four parliamentary by-elections.

Obviously the motive behind our greedy politicians is to destabilise the opposing political parties.

Livingstone Central, Mpongwe and dates are already set for Lukulu and Kapiri Mposhi by-elections.

Our country Zambia desperately needs development and as such every ngwee or kwacha must be saved for that purpose and there is also a great need for the opposition and the ruling party to work together.

Both opposition and ruling party members of Parliament need to be alive to the fact that when they are elected to Parliament the idea is not to serve their party or personal interests but that of the Zambian citizenry. So it is not about some members of Parliament scheming that certain bills do fail to pass in order to undermine the opposition or ruling party.

It is worth noting that when all members of Parliament assemble, they constitute the whole country in terms of representation since the country is subdivided into constituencies for ease management.

The Head of State manages the country as his constituency implying that anyone MP who does not cooperate with the government actually undermines the President by breaking the developmental-chain.

However, since we are in the multiparty dispensation, it is also cardinal for the ruling party or the Head of State to engage or go through the opposition party leadership as a matter of procedure and courtesy when he wants to appoint any member of the opposition into government as there is nothing legally that stops Him from making such appointments.

Even in a home someone cannot marry your daughter or son without your approval. If it happens that way then you are deemed as un-responsible parent.

But as you all may be aware, a political party operates like a club with its own rules and regulations which all its members must obey especially that an MP who is elected on a party meaning that such an MP needs to respect their political party at all costs because it sponsored them.

It is different if you stood as an independent MP. Why do you think PF as an opposition political party had labeled some MPs who attended the failed National Constitutional Conference (NCC) as rebels?

It’s because PF has a party did not agree with the government then on certain issues and resolved not to be part of the NCC. And those PF MPs who defied that consensus stood expelled but for the court injunctions until their tenure expired.

So far MMD has lost Richard Taima, Stephen Masumba and Gabriel Namulambe among others.

People should not be taken for granted. In avoidance of such unnecessary by-election, that is why proportional representation system (PR) is being recommended in the current Republican Draft Constitution so that instead political parties will begin to own Parliamentary seats.

The bottom line here is that let President Sata who rules on “ten commandments” sort out issues through an indaba with his fellow opposition political party leaders. Otherwise all MPs are expected to be rational in Parliament not cynical.