Maravi

Caritas calls for efficient parliament

Caritas calls for efficient parliament
By Ernest Chanda
Tue 21 Feb. 2012, 12:01 CAT

CARITAS Zambia has advised members of parliament to avoid emotions but discuss substantive issues in the new session of Parliament. And Caritas Zambia has urged President Michael Sata to appoint a referendum commission that would be ratified by the current Parliament.

Giving his expectations from the second session of the 11th National Assembly which starts sitting today, executive director Samuel Mulafulafu said people expected a lot of serious bills presented in the sitting which deserve support from all members of parliament.

He said it was disappointing that from the previous sittings, members of parliament had chosen to be emotional over national matters.

"We want to see more substantial issues being discussed. I think one of the major issues that need to be discussed is legislations that have been demanded by the public; for example, the reinstatement of the Abuse of Office clause into the Anticorruption Commission Act. We are aware that there are many other legislative areas that have been billed for this sitting," Mulafulafu said in an interview yesterday.

"We would want to see an efficient Parliament that would take most of the
legal reforms that are required. Members of parliament are representatives of people. The trend that we had in the past is that we have a situation where members of parliament go to Parliament to present their own views as individuals or political parties; which is always an indication of a danger to democracy. These people are supposed to represent what the feelings of their constituencies are."

Mulafulafu urged the public to demand more from their members of parliament to enhance democracy.

He said the public should prevail on their members of parliament in order for them to speak on behalf of their constituents.

"So, we need to see a spirit of demand from the public that if they belong to a particular constituency, they must put pressure on their members of parliament to represent what their opinions are on a particular national matter. As long as we leave these parliamentarians to just speak their minds or that of their individual political parties, then the whole thing becomes meaningless," he said.

And Mulafulafu hoped that President Sata would take advantage of this sitting to appoint the referendum commission which should be ratified by parliament.

He said in the constitution-making process it was another matter that needed serious attention.

Labels: CARITAS, PARLIAMENT, SAMUEL MULAFULAFU

posted by MrK @ 5:14 PM