Mayoral elections

Mayoral elections
Written by Editor

The confrontation between local government minister Benny Tetamashimba and Patriotic Front president Michael Sata concerning the holding of mayoral election is bad for development and should be stopped immediately. And the only person who should stop this is President Rupiah Banda who is expected to make correct pronouncements of the matter.

We say this confrontation is bad for development because no meaningful development at the local level will take place for as long as this standoff between Sata and Tetamashimba is not resolved.

There is need for our people to follow this matter closely and ensure that right decisions are made by those who aspire to lead or are leading the country.

Confusion on this matter started when Tetamashimba, the other week, ordered the postponement of mayoral elections following his issuance of a Statutory Instrument to that effect. He said the elections would be postponed for at least six months because the government has no money to conduct such elections and organise installation ceremonies that will follow later on.

He justified his decision which he said was sound at law because all he needed to postpone those elections as minister was just to issue a Statutory Instrument. He said as a result, all mayors, their deputies, council chairmen and their deputies had their mandate extended by virtue of the Statutory Instrument that he had issued.

But Patriotic Front chairman for local government Wynter Kabimba opposed this stance, saying it is illegal. He quoted section 16(2) of the local government Act, Cap 281 of the Laws of Zambia which provides that the mayor, deputy, chairman or vice-chairman of a council shall be elected at the first ordinary meeting of the council held after 1st September in that year.

The meaning of this provision in the law is that the civic year for councils starts at the beginning of September and the first item on the agenda for the first meeting in the new civic year is the holding of elections for mayors, their deputies, chairmen and vice-chairmen. In short, any such meeting held without conducting such elections will be illegal.

Of course, Tetamashimba is arguing that his decision is supported by the law because he issued a Statutory Instrument to that effect.

This is where we need advice from Attorney General Mumba Malila because legal experts tell us that a Statutory Instrument cannot override the principal or superior law; in this case, the local government Act.

If this is the position, then it is clear that Tetamashimba's decision is illegal. And all the council meetings that have been conducted after September 1 can be said to be illegal and their decisions null and void, if such meetings were not for the purpose of electing mayors and chairmen.

Unless Tetamashimba had a very compelling reason to go against the law, this move should have been avoided especially that this government is said to be a government of laws and not men. Anyway, it will be interesting to hear Mumba Malila's legal opinion on this matter.

In postponing the mayoral elections, Tetamashimba said some councils did not have the money to conduct elections as they were preparing to control the floods and to prevent cholera outbreaks in their areas.

This kind of reasoning sounds ridiculous. We say ridiculous because we do not think there is a lot of money required to hold such elections, as well as the installation ceremonies that follow the elections. This is because such events are budgeted for by all councils.

In fact, if one has to be serious, it can be said that it is Tetamashimba's decision to postpone these elections which is costing councils some money. So far, Tetamashimba has postponed these elections about three times. This means that councillors were paid allowances whenever they travelled to conduct elections which Tetamashimba later nullified and postponed.

And talking about mayoral elections being costly, we wonder why they should be costly because voters in such elections are councillors who in most cases do not even go beyond the number 50. All that is required is to pay them the usual allowances. There are no other costs involved, as far as we know.

There is every need for President Banda to come in and help resolve this impasse between the Patriotic Front and the government. If allowed to continue unattended to, this stalemate is going to negatively affect development at the local level.

On one hand, the PF leadership has defied Tetamashimba's instructions while on the other, Tetamashimba says the government will not recognise those mayors who have been elected in defiance of his instructions.

And the PF councillors, who control or run all councils on the Copperbelt, among other areas, insist that if their newly-elected mayors do not receive government recognition, then they will never attend any council meeting.

What then will happen if these councillors stop attending council meetings? Without doubt, development at the local level will be affected because no decision will be made or implemented. This can lead to anarchy or chaos in the country because we would like to believe that development anywhere starts at a local level before it is allowed to spread to central government.

President Banda should intervene in this matter because it is such a big national issue which should not be allowed to go beyond what has happened so far. This is not an issue between Sata and Tetamashimba; it is an issue for the government to resolve and resolve correctly, not by manipulation of the law.

President Banda is head of government and what is happening so far in our local authorities is an indictment on his leadership, not Tetamashimba's. The relevance of local authorities to our communities cannot be overemphasized. This is a critical time for the country when development is threatened by a number of factors.

There are many problems in our communities requiring and waiting for urgent solutions from our local authorities. Cholera outbreaks in some areas have so far been reported. And all efforts must be channeled to finding solutions to the many challenges facing our local authorities, instead of starting misplaced fights which will add no value to our communities.

If Tetamashimba really wants to delay mayoral elections, it means no council meeting should take place if the law has to be respected otherwise the law will be broken. The continuation of mayors in their positions is totally illegal. And this must be understood. Tetamashimba cannot claim to respect the law when his actions are in total defiance of the same law.

President Banda must show leadership on this matter. Our people should not suffer because of one minister's complex. We know Tetamashimba is new in that position. But the system is not new. If he doesn't know, let him consult his officials in the ministry who will give him appropriate advice. The Attorney General is also there to offer help, including most town clerks in the country who are actually lawyers.

Yes, Tetamashimba is a minister and will direct all institutions under him. But his directives should be supported by the law. He is not minister to cause disorder and anarchy in the institution he is charged with the responsibility to run.