RULINGBY THE HON MADAM SPEAKER ON A POINT OF ORDER RAISED BY MR S MUSHANGA, MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR BWACHA CONSTITUENCY AGAINST HON G G NKOMBO, MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT ON WHETHER THE HON MINISTER WAS IN ORDER TO MISLEAD THE HOUSE AND PUBLIC AT LARGE THAT BWACHA CONSTITUENCY DID NOT HAVE ANY APPROVED CONSTITUENCY DEVELOPMENT FUND (CDF) PROJECTS WHEN IN FACT, IT HAD
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Hon Members will recall that on Thursday, 21st July 2022, when the House was considering the Ministerial Statement by Hon G G Nkombo, MP, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development and the Hon Minister had just concluded responding to question onpoints of clarification, Mr S Mushanga, Member of Parliament for Bwacha Constituency, raised a Point of Order.
In his Point of Order, Mr S Mushanga, MP, asked whether Hon G G Nkombo, MP, was in Order to mislead the House and nation at large that Bwacha Constituency did not have any approved CDF projects, when the Permanent Secretary in charge of Technical Services in the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development had issued a letter dated 1st June, 2022, indicating the approval of CDF for boarding secondary schoolsbursaries and skills development allocation for Bwacha Constituency. 
Hon Members, in his immediate response, the Hon Mr Second Deputy Speaker, reserved his ruling to study the matter. I have since studied the matter, and will now render my ruling.
Hon Members, in order to address the Point of Order raised by Mr S Mushanga, MP, I had recourse to the verbatim record of the proceedings of Thursday, 21st July, 2022, pertaining to the Ministerial Statement on the Release and Utilisation of Constituency Development Fund. Mr S Mushanga, MP, on a point of clarification, asked the Hon Minister of Local Government and Rural Developmenton whetherthe Hon Minister would provide guidance on the possibility of allowing the respective CDF Committees, through the local authorities to procure vehicles for monitoring CDF projects and for policing purposes on behalf of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security.In response, Hon G G Nkombo, MP, stated that Bwacha Constituency did not have any approved CDF projects. It is as a result of this response that prompted Mr S Mushanga, MP, to raise a Point of Order.
Hon Members, I further had recourse to the physical copy of the letter referred to by Mr S Mushanga, MP, in his Point of Order which he laid on the Table of the House. I noted that the letter was from the office of the Permanent Secretary in charge of Technical Services at the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and addressed to the Town Clerk for the Kabwe Municipal Council.

Hon Members, the office of the Permanent Secretary is a public body established under Article 184(1) of the Constitution of Zambia Act, Chapter 1 of the Laws of Zambia.Therefore, the letter that Mr S Mushanga, MP, relied upon in his Point of Order is a public document.

Hon Members, when a member of the House refers to any document, he or she is expected to lay it on the Table.To this effect, Standing Order 139 of the National Assembly of Zambia Standing Orders, 2021provides guidelines on the manner in which a backbencher may Table a public document in the House. Standing Order 139 states as follows:
“139 Tabling of Public Document by backbencher
(1) A backbencher may table a document provided it is an original document.
(2) A backbencher shall not table a copy of a public document unless the copy has been certified as a true copy of the original document by the relevant head of Government ministry, department or agency that has custody of the original document.”
Hon Members, I had occasion to rule on a similar matter in thecase of Mr A C Mumba Member of Parliament for Kantanshi Parliamentary Constituency against Hon E C Nkandu, MP, Minister of Youth, Sport and Arts(Parliamentary Debates for Friday, 22nd October, 2021). In that case, Mr A C Mumba, MP asked whether the Hon Minister of Youth, Sport and Arts was in order to mislead the House that the National Internship and Apprenticeship Programme under his ministry would continue when the National Youth Development Council, which was responsible for the programme, had issued a letter indicating that the programme would end on 31st October, 2021. To this effect, Mr A C Mumba, MP, submitted to the Office of the Clerk an electronic copy of the letter referred to in his Point of Order. Mr Mumba, MP, did not Table the letter and neither was the letter authenticated by the author, as required by Standing Order 139.  I, therefore, ruled the letter inadmissible, and consequently did not admit the Point of Order.
Hon Members, back to the Point of Order in issue, Mr S Mushanga, MP, Tabled a letter purported to be from a public officer but the letter was not authenticated as required under Standing Order 139.  Authentication of the letter is crucial to determining whether the Hon Minister of Local Government and Rural Development misinformed the House when he stated that Bwacha Constituency did not have any approved CDF projects.
Therefore, in line with Standing Order 139, the letter is inadmissible as it is not authenticated as required by our rules and, consequently, Mr Mushanga’s Point of Order is also inadmissible.
I Thank You.
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