RULING BY THE HON MADAM FIRST DEPUTY SPEAKER ON THE POINT OF ORDER RAISED  BY HON B M MUNDUBILE, MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR MPOROKOSO PARLIAMENTARY CONSTITUTENCY AND LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION AGAINST HER HONOUR THE VICE-PRESIDENT,  MRS W K MUTALE NALUMANGO, MP,  REGARDING A STATEMENT MADE BY HER DURING HER HONOUR THE VICE-PRESIDENT’S QUESTION TIME CHALLENGING HON B M MUNDUBILE, MP, TO PRODUCE EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT HIS STATEMENT THAT HIS EXCELLENCY THE PRESIDENT MR HAKAINDE HICHILEMA FELT LET DOWN BY HIS MINISTERS AND PERMANENT SECRETARIES

Hon Members will recall that on Tuesday, 1st March, 2022, when the House was considering Question No 231 on the Order Paper, and Hon Mike E Mposha, Minister of Water Development and Sanitation had just finished responding to the question, Hon B M Mundubile, Leader of the Opposition and Member of Parliament for Mporokoso Parliamentary Constituency, raised a Point of Order against Her Honour the Vice-President Mrs W K Mutale Nalumango, MP. The Point of Order was premised on Standing Order 65 and was based on Her Honour the Vice-President’s response to a statement that Hon B M Mundubile, MP, made on the Floor of the House on 25th February, 2022 that His Excellency the President, Mr Hakainde Hichilema, felt let down by his Ministers and Permanent Secretaries.  In response, Her Honour the Vice-President stated that she had not heard that statement and requested Hon B M Mundubile to lay evidence of the alleged statement by the President on the Table.
In that regard on 1st March, 2022, Hon B M Mundubile, MP, raised this Point of Order in order to lay on the Table, the Times of Zambia Newspaper Issue No 19,239, dated Thursday, 10th February, 2022, headlined “HH feels Let Down”, as evidence of his statement of Friday, 25th February, 2022.

In my immediate response, I reserved my ruling to study the relevant newspaper article and also have recourse to the Hansard. Hon Members, I have since studied the relevant documents and will now render my ruling. 

Hon Members, it is clear that the sole purpose of the Point of Order by Hon B M Mundubile, MP, was not to bring to the attention of the House a breach of the rules of the House.  Rather, he used the Point of Order in order to present evidence to substantiate his claim of 25th February, 2022.  Evidently, this was a wrong use of a Point of Order. Hon B M Mundubile, MP, should have instead submitted the Newspaper to the Office of the Clerk for onward transmission to Her Honour the Vice-President for further action. 

Hon Members, in view of what I have highlighted, the purported Point of Order by Hon B M Mundubile, MP, does not qualify to be a Point of Order and is, therefore, not admissible.

I thank you.