RULING BY HON MADAM SPEAKER ON A POINT OF ORDER RAISED ON WEDNESDAY, 7TH JUNE, 2023, BY HON ENG C NZOVU, MINISTER OF GREEN ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT AGAINST HON B M MUNDUBILE, LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION AND MR S KAMPYONGO, MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR SHIWANG’ANDU CONSTITUENCY AND PATRIOTIC FRONT PARTY WHIP FOR BEING ABSENT FROM THE HOUSE WHEN THE HOUSE WAS CONSIDERING THE MINISTERIAL STATEMENT ON THE 2023/2024 CROP FOCUS

 

Hon Members will recall that on Wednesday, 7thJune, 2023, when the House was considering a Ministerial Statement presented by Hon R P Mtolo, Minister of Agriculture, on the Crop Forecast Results for the 2022/2023 Agricultural Season, and the 2023/2024 Crop Marketing Arrangement and Ms B Nyirenda, Member of Parliament for Lundazi Constituency was on the floor, Hon C Nzovu, MP, Minister of Green Economy and Environment, raised a Point of Order. The Point of Order was made pursuant to Standing Order No 44 and 49 of the National Assembly of Zambia Standing Orders, 2021, which outline the duties of the Leader of the Opposition and Party Whip.

 

In his Point of Order, Hon C Nzovu, MP, enquired whether Hon B M Mundubile, MP, Leader of the Opposition and Mr S Kampyongo, Member of Parliament for Shiwang’andu Constituency and PF Party Whip, were in order to be absent from the House, during serious deliberations relating to the development of agriculture in the country, in light of the duties bestowed on them by the Standing Orders. 

 

In my immediate response, I reserved my ruling in order to study the matter, particularly, since it related to the duties of the constitutionally established Office of the Leader of the Opposition, and the office of Party Whip as outlined in the National Assembly of Zambia Standing Orders, 2021. I have since studied the matter and will now render my ruling. 

 

Hon Members, the Point of Order by Hon C Nzovu, MP, raises the following issues:

 

(i) the duties of the Leader of the Opposition and PF Party Whip, in this case; and

(ii) whether the two Members’ absence at the time, amounted to a breach of their duties.  

 

Hon Members, I wish to state from the outset that the Standing Orders outline the duties of the Leader of the Opposition and a party whip. In particular, Standing Order 44 and 49 provide as follows:

“44. Duties of the Leader of the Opposition

The Leader of the Opposition shall –

(a) liaise regularly with the Speaker, Leader of Government Business and Government Chief Whip on business of the House; 

(b) study Government policy and propose possible alternatives in his or her debate; and

 (c) assist the presiding officers to maintain discipline in 

the House.

49. Duties of Party Whip or Whip

The duties of a Party Whip or Whip includes- 

(a) ensuring attendance and participation of party or independent members in the House; 

(b) keeping party or independent members informed of parliamentary business; 

(c) ensuring all or an adequate number of party or independent members are present during voting; 

(d) coordinating parliamentary business with the Government Chief Whip and the whips; and 

(e) assisting the presiding officers to maintain discipline in the House.”

 

Further, prominent writers on parliamentary practice and procedure, S L Shakdher and M N Kaul in their book entitled Practice and Procedure of Parliament, Seventh Edition, (New Delhi, Lok Sabha, 2016,) state, at page 156, as follows:

 

“The Leader of Opposition is the official spokesman of the minority or minorities and to that end he zealously watches any encroachment on their rights. His task, though not so difficult as that of the prime minister, is of sufficiently great public importance because he has to maintain a team – a ‘shadow Cabinet’- ready to take over administration. 

 

The Leader of an Opposition has a very special responsibility to Parliament and to the nation. At moments of danger, moments specially of foreign danger, and particularly also in matters affecting the security and safety of the realm, while he remains a critic he must in a sense be a partner and even a buttress of the Government to which he is opposed. This dual responsibility he must discharge with fidelity…Vigilance is his hallmark and must, therefore, be in his place constantly.”

 

Furthermore, at page 157 and 158, the authors state as follows on the duties of a Party Whip:

 

“The duty of keeping the members of a party on hand accordingly devolves upon the Whips.… In fact, the efficient and smooth working of parliamentary democracy depends to a very large extent on the Whips of the party in power or opposition.

 

The main function of the Whip is… to keep members of their party within sound of the division bell whenever any important business is under consideration in the House. Whips are responsible for the attendance of the members at the time of important divisions….They keep members supplied with information about the business of the House and enforce party discipline…. And it is through Whips that members of a party come to know about their leader’s views and the plans into which the leader thinks it necessary or expedient to initiate them. The Whips are active agents within the parties-a channel of communication whereby one party negotiates with another concerning topics for debates or conduct of business in the House.”

 

Hon Members, in investigating the matter, I had recourse to the relevant video footage and verbatim record of the material day. I wish to confirm that when the House commenced its sitting at 14: 30 hours, Hon B M Mundubile, MP, and Mr S Kampyongo, MP, PF Party Whip were present. However, although, the verbatim record and video footage did not capture the Leader of the Opposition and PF Party Whip leaving the Chamber or the circumstances that led to their departure, I note that the footage showed that at the time the Point of Order was raised, the two (2) hon Members were not present in the House. The footage further revealed that Hon B M Mundubile, MP, and Mr S Kampyongo, MP, were present in the House when it resumed sitting after the 20 minute health break. 

 

Hon Members, from the foregoing it is clear that the Leader of the Opposition and PF Party Whip were not present in the House when it was considering points of clarification arising from the Ministerial Statement rendered by Hon R P Mtolo, MP. Admittedly, the proceedings at the time were crucial to the nation as a whole. Therefore, in view of their duties, which I outlined earlier, it would have been ideal for them to be present in the House to hear the Hon Minister’s responses. That notwithstanding, I find that by being absent from the House, the two Members were not in breach of their duties for the following reasons:

(i) the debate on the Ministerial Statement successfully continued, until the House proceeded to consider the next item on the Order Paper; and 

(ii) the two (2) hon Members returned to the House and continued to actively participate in the proceedings of the House after the break.

 

Hon Members, in view of the foregoing, the Leader of the Opposition, and the PF Whip, were not out of order.

 

Hon Members, since I have taken time to give a detailed account of the duties of the Leader of the Opposition and party whips, I wish to seize this opportunity to remind the various leaders in the House to take their duties very seriously. This is because I have observed a growing trend by some leaders in the House to relegate their duty of assisting us, the presiding officers, maintain order in the House. Unfortunately, this tends to affect the efficiency in which the House transacts its business. I, therefore, urge the leaders to take their duties very seriously to enable the House transact its business efficiently and effectively.

 

I thank you.