Guest Opinion:
74 BILLS IN 8 DAYS TO DISSOLVE PARLIAMENT.
One may ask the logic behind having 74 of the 77 2026 Bills before National Assembly by the UPND Government with eight days for Parliament to be dissolved.
Are these bills urgent compared to prices of commodities and other needs? They raise suspicion.
This is broad day capture of Parliament by the executive. Government must govern according to the aspirations of the governed who are the custodians of the governing authority. Have these Bills exhausted consultation with the people of Zambia in the processes?
Maybe it would have made a little sense if was 74 days left before dissolution of parliament, so that each proposed Bill is given a day to be scrutinized by the legislatures .
The bills should not be passed like doctrine of collective responsibility, they ought to be read and carefully, interrogated and understood by law makers for them to make an informed decision either to support the bill or not.
The proposed bills must not be pushed to parliament, the legal and moral thing Government can do is to suspend them untill after the elections or never.
Of particular interest are Public Gathering Bill No.71 of 2026 and Electoral Process (Amendment) Bill No 44 of 2026.
Going ahead will also be a serious act of abrogating with impunity parliamentary standing orders with regards to MPs who by their own mouths have announced their crossing the floor of the house and are essentially illegally in parliament as we speak.
The international community is closely watching and such acts are likely going to erode investor confidence and ultimately scare them away. Not long ago USA out-going Ambassador in his farewell speech pointed to this intended move through Attorney General ‘s office.
Going ahead with the bills at this stage will invite more negative speculations on government’s motive and will pose a huge risk to the legislative process thus diluting everything therein, largely placing the image of Zambia in a questionable state against democratic tenets.
The proposed legislation is voluminous to be properly done in the remaining few days of parliamentary sitting.
The Law makers require time to read through the proposed bills, pay particular attention to detail, consult and decide accordingly.
Rushing the bill to parliament now only goes to show that all those involved and those silent about it are no longer interested in the well being of our country.
Formulation of laws must never be taken lightly and should not be viewed through partisan lenses.
Law making doesn’t have to be rushed as if the world is ending tomorrow, the exercise requires ample time for wider consultation and stakeholder engagement through publication and thoughtful debate.
When rushed laws are established precedent is undermined in the process, we risk passing short-lived laws that may be reversed immediately by succeeding governments, laws whose unintended consequences might end up haunting their crafters and be burdensome to the people and the nation.
I hope government will listen to the many voices opposed to this move by suspending the process untill further notice.
I urge government not to squander yet another opportunity to prove its a listening government like several other past demands which seem to have fallen on deaf ears.
About the author:
Warren M Liywali is former Copperbelt Province deputy permanent secretary.
He is also Kabushi Constituency aspiring Member Of Parliament.