.MATIBINI

By CHARITY MOONGA –

OPPOSITION members of Parliament (MPs) yesterday remained defiant as Speaker of the National Assembly Patrick Matibini echoed his warning against their continued absconding from Parliamentary proceedings to press on for a Constitution roadmap.
Dr Matibini has since warned that he would monitor the situation and the conduct of the opposition MPs, especially where their absence was unjustified.
He was responding to a point of order raised by Patriotic Front (PF) Kafue Member of Parliament (MP) Obvious Mwaliteta and his Lupososhi counterpart Chungu Bwalya, who wondered whether it was in order for the opposition MPs to continue ‘loafing’ outside the House when Parliament was in progress.
Dr Matibini said the continued absence of the opposition MPs from the House was totally unacceptable.
He said it was not in order for the MPs to just register and disappear from the business of the House the whole day.
“I will continue monitoring the situation and get hold of them sooner rather than later. It is a matter of concern to me that what we are seeing cannot be a matter of coincidence,” he said.
Earlier, the opposition MPs rose on different points of order before they walked out of the House.
United Party for National Development (UPND) Kalomo MP Request Muntanga rose on a point of order on whether the Government was in order to threaten and intimidate newly-elected UPND Katuba MP Jonas Shakafuswa using the Police.
But Dr Matibini said the issue was beyond his jurisdiction.
Alliance for Democracy and Development Luena MP Gertrude Imenda questioned why the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation had tendered a bill of K1.2 million for airing the Public Accounts Committee sittings.
The Speaker said he would study the matter.
And Parliament yesterday heard that the Nitrogen Chemicals of Zambia (NCZ) was poised to produce 150,000 tonnes of fertiliser in the period 2014/2015.
Agriculture Minister Bob Sichinga said Government had embarked on a programme to rehabilitate power plants around NCZ to help the company deliver.
He said NCZ made a profit of K33 million in the past year and that Government was determined to make the company more viable through recapitalisation.
Mr Sichinga was responding to a question by PF Chipili MP Davies Mwila, who wanted to find out what plans Government had about NCZ.
Earlier in a ministerial statement, Information and Broadcasting Services Minister Mwansa Kapeya said Government had introduced holograms aimed at curbing piracy
and ensure sanity in the audio-visual industry.
He said so far, 630,000 holograms had been sold.
He said K567, 000 realised from the sales was for the treasury while K63, 000 was for artists through royalties.