Siliya Condemns Bill No 10 Opponents
By Mary Mwiinga-Chief Government Spokesperson Dora Siliya says opposition Members of Parliament and some Non-Governmental Organisations opposing Constitutional Amendment Bill number ten of 2019 are a let down to the people because they have no real argument against the bill.
Ms Siliya says it is surprising that the opposition has now moved from talking about the articles in the Bill to the process, which shows that the opposition is not being objective and patriotic.
Ms Siliya, who is also Information and Broadcasting Minister, says the people of Zambia are disappointed with the MPs, who plan to boycott when the Bill is presented in the next legislative meeting between February and March 2020.
She told ZNBC News in an interview that it is good that the people of Zambia now see the opposition for who they really are and what they stand for.
Ms Siliya said it is not practical for all 17 Million Zambians to be in one place and debate the Constitution amendment bill number 10 of 2019 , which is why members of parliament are in place to represent the people who elected them.
She said said the people of Zambia now know that government means well and the opposition was speaking from an in informed position.
Ms Siliya explained that government listened to the people when they said the current constitution had lacunas and it is for this reason that the NDF was constituted.Ms Siliya also said later people were invited to make submissions during the parliamentary select committee whose report will be presented to Parliament in 2020.
She observed that it is Not possible to have hundred percent consensus on a bill as it is a give and take situation.
And Ms Siliya has challenged leaders of NGOs who think they can masquerade as MPs on various media platforms and mislead the public on the constitutional amendment bill number ten, to read the bill before issuing statements.
She said it is surprising that some people are discussing contents of bill ten from an uninformed position and want to act like they know better than the people who are part of the legislative process.