RULING BY THE HON MADAM SPEAKER ON A POINT OF ORDER RAISED ON FRIDAY, 24TH MARCH, 2023 BY HON J J MWIIMBU, MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND INTERNAL SECURITY, AGAINST MR N CHILANGWA, MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR KAWAMBWA, CONSTITUENCY FOR ALLEGING THAT THE SUGILITE IN KABWE HAD GONE MISSING 
______________________________________________________

Hon Members will recall that on Friday, 24th March, 2023, when the House was considering Matters of Urgent Public Importance, and Mr N Chilangwa, Member of Parliament for Kawambwa Constituency was on the Floor, Hon J J Mwiimbu, MP, Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security, raised a Point of Order against Mr N Chilangwa, MP, premised on Standing Order 65 (1) (b) of the National Assembly of Zambia Standing Orders, 2021. 

In his Point of Order Hon J J Mwiimbu, MP, enquired whether the Member was in order to allege that the sugilite that was impounded in Kabwe had gone missing. 

Hon Members, in her immediate response, the Hon Madam First Deputy Speaker reserved her ruling in order to study the matter. I have since studied the matter and will now render my ruling.

Hon Members, the Point of Order raises the issue of a member’s duty to ensure that the information he or she provides to the House, when debating, is factual and verifiable, a requirement that is well known to all Members. Standing Order 65 (1) (b) of the National Assembly of Zambia Standing Orders, 2021, provides as follows: 
“(1) A member who is debating shall –
(b) ensure that the information he or she provides to the House is factual and verifiable.”

In view of the foregoing, I had recourse to the verbatim record of the proceedings of Friday, 24th March, 2023, during the Matters of Urgent Public Importance segment, in order to determine whether the alleged statement was made by Mr N Chilangwa, MP.

Hon Members, the verbatim record reveals that Mr N Chilangwa, MP, in raising a matter of urgent public importance, alleged that Seven Hundred and Fifty Million Kwacha (K750, 000,000.00) worth of sugilite had gone missing from a police station. 

Hon Members, I have taken note of the fact that Mr N Chilangwa, MP, did not produce any documentary or cogent evidence, as envisaged by Standing Order 65, to support his allegation that Seven Hundred and Fifty Million Kwacha (K750,000,000.00) worth of sugilite had gone missing. As a matter of fact, Hon J J Mwiimbu, MP, in raising his Point of Order stated that the sugilite had been secured by the Provincial Joint Security Committee. 

I also take cognizance of the fact that the Hon Minister was speaking from a place of knowledge owing to the fact that the Provincial Joint Security Committee falls under his shared portfolio function with the Hon Minister of Defence. 

Hon Members, in view of the foregoing, I find Mr N Chilangwa, MP, in clear violation of Standing Order 65 (1) (b) of the National Assembly of Zambia Standing Orders, 2021, and, therefore, out of order. 

Finally, I wish to seize this opportunity to caution Members against making unsubstantiated and unverified statements in the House.  This is because such statements have the potential to mislead the House and the public at large.

I THANK YOU.