By Isaac Zulu
Catholic Bishops have urged Speaker of National Assembly Nelly Mutti to embrace criticism and accept that she is not a speaker of a given political party or another arm of government
In a pastoral letter on the state of the nation, the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops told Mutti that the election of different leaders in the National Assembly should be guided by law and not precedence, and that precedence must only in circumstances where that precedence is constitutional.
“Parliament is a place of honour and endowed with the privilege to legislate on behalf of the Zambian people. However, some of the recent happenings in the House fall below the expectation of the citizenry. We, therefore, urge the House and especially the presiding officers and lawmakers to conduct themselves above board and instill confidence in the people with regard to this important arm of government. We urge the Speaker to embrace criticism, build multi partisan consensus, and accept that she or he is the Speaker of National Assembly, not of a given political party or another arm of government,” they stated. “It is also important for presiding officers in the National Assembly to follow the Constitution, not precedence or tradition, when dealing with issues that touch on the supreme law of the land and whose resolution has a significant bearing on the character of our Republic as a multiparty democracy. The election of different leaders in the National Assembly, for instance, should be guided by the Constitution, not precedence, especially in instances where that precedence may be unconstitutional. Precedence is to be observed only in relation to following the Constitution of the Republic, not its violation.”
The Bishops expressed concern at the way civil liberties are being trampled on by state institutions in the country.
They observed that human rights such as freedom of expression and freedom of assembly are arbitrary being trampled on, especially against individuals considered to hold dissenting political views or persons belonging to opposition political parties.
“A serene and conducive political environment is the hallmark of human society. We acknowledge the good intentions by government to bring sanity to the political landscape in the nation by reducing cadreism in public places and political violence. However, we note the following; shrinking of democratic space. Human rights such as freedom of expression and freedom of assembly are arbitrary being trampled on especially against those considered to hold dissenting political views or persons belonging to opposition political parties. Intimidation of media houses by state institutions, based on guests they invite, and the content discussed on their platforms, curtails both media freedom and free speech,” the Bishops stated. “This practice also sends an indirect message to media houses to stay away from discussing uncomfortable but very important topics of public interest and shun or marginalise certain voices whose views may be deemed as unfavorable to those in authority. The right to peaceful assembly is a fundamental liberty that sustains the activities of political parties and civil society groups in Constitutional democracies. On several occasions, however, the police have denied opposition parties the opportunity to exercise this crucial right on grounds of lack of adequate manpower and unspecified security concerns. There is also a growing selective application of the rule of law. For instance, it has become a tradition for the police to arrest members of the opposition in a violent manner, keep them in detention longer than necessary, and never take their cases to court, long after being finally released on bond. All these serve as examples of undemocratic practices that fall far short of the respect for civil and political rights that the Constitution obliges the State to uphold.”
They stated that it is a mark of leadership to embrace criticism, especially that which is crucial and constructive.
The Catholic Bishops stated that the demeaning of Lusaka Archbishop Alick Banda as Lucifer of Zambia is simply a demonstration of the spirit of intolerance towards criticism.
“We are abhorred by the way politicians in general and those in government in particular respond to public criticism. Some resort to the use of uncouth and abusive language. Others employ intimidation, name calling, and rogue websites to maliciously scandalize critics and political opponents. We don’t expect this uncalled for behaviour from leaders in a democratic society where divergent views must be accommodated. It is a mark of leadership to embrace criticism, especially of crucial and constructive kind. The public has a right to provide feedback on government performance and activities. The responsibility of public officials is to harness this feedback, regardless of the medium through which it is conveyed. We urge politicians to use respectful language in public discourse and be tolerant to divergent views,” they stated. “The denunciation of Archbishop Alick Banda as the Lucifer of Zambia by the UPND secretary general Batuke Imenda was not only an affront the Archbishop Banda but the entire Catholic Church and its leadership in Zambia. Until now, the Chief Executive Officer of the ruling party has not retracted his words nor apologised apart from the party and its government calling for a ceasefire. The demeaning of the Archbishop by the UPND is simply a demonstration of the spirit of intolerance towards criticism as alluded to above.”
They also urged the UPND administration to come out clearly on the LGBTQ+ agenda, stressing that homosexual acts are intrinsically disorded.
“We have noticed with concern that LGBTQ+ agenda is gaining ground with clandestine support from some organisations that are swiftly championing this cause. We wish to state unequivocally that homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered. They are contrary to natural law. Under no circumstances can they be approved. We, therefore, urge the government to come out clearly in defence the Christian identify as enshrined in the Constitution and defend the marriage between man and woman, in accordance with the natural order,” they stated.
The Catholic Bishops further urged government to address the high cost of living, which they said has become unbearable for most households.
“Both the exchange rate and inflation have risen considerably in recent months and the trends are adversely affecting the economy. Consequently, the cost of living and doing business has escalated. While we commend government for the Zambia National Service mealie meal initiative that has seen the price of the commodity slightly reduced in some areas, however, we consider the price is still too high for the ordinary Zambian. We ask government to identify the root causes of the high mealie meal prices and put in place effective measures that would reduce the price to ones that even the poor can afford. Like water, food is life. We call on the government to provide affordable and accessible food to the citizenry as a matter of urgent priority since the cost of living has become unbearable for most households,” the Catholic Bishops stated. “To generate increased public revenue for alleviating poverty and investing in social programmes, we urge government to review mining concessions and tax holidays given to multinational corporations. Mining is the mainstay of Zambia’s economy, and it is unacceptable that the industry continues to contribute far less the national treasury than it should. Due to increasing use of technology, mining employs significantly lower numbers of people today than it did in earlier decades. As a result, the most assured way of deriving maximum benefits from this vital industry is through effective tax and shareholding policies such as those implemented in Botswana, Chile, and other countries rich in mineral resources. We urge government to increase its stake in mining companies in relation to shareholding and actively promote local ownership.”
They also called for transparency in economic restructuring programme and subsequent debt contraction.
“We have noted with appreciation the good will by the government to restructure the economy to create an enabling environment for the development of the country. We are aware of the government’s efforts to restructure the national debt. These efforts are commendable. However, we urge government to be transparent in the whole process and subsequent debt contraction. We demand full disclosure of all bilateral and multilateral agreements as well as transparency in publication of the mining agreements with investors so that the Zambian people know what their public leaders are signing on their behalf,” they stated.
They also pointed out that politicians have concentrated on fighting to outdo each other, politicking and trivialising national matters, instead of giving priority to serving the people.
“Political parties have a huge responsibility in the promotion of peace and democracy. However, we have noted that the political situation is being characterised by the continued politicking and trivialising of important national matters. There is need for a genuine and right way of doing politics. Politicians ought to realise and appreciate that their priority should be service to the Zambian people and the ruling party should lead and seen to lead the way in practicing good politics,” stated the Catholic Bishops. “It seems that political parties are more concerned with eliminating each other. However, political parties should be concerned with strengthening themselves by not fighting to outdo each other but presenting policies that are competitive in the improvement of the welfare of the people. We are also of the view that intra party politics should be handled in a mature and measured manner amongst the political players within the party.”
