Hon Members, I have an announcement to make.

As Hon Members will recall, on Thursday, 21^st March, 2019, Mr T S Ngulube, MP, Deputy Government Chief Whip and Member of Parliament for Kabwe Central Parliamentary Constituency, raised a Point of Order arising from the Point of Order raised by Mr G G Nkombo, Member of Parliament for Mazabuka Central Parliamentary Constituency on Wednesday, 20^th March, 2019.  Mr Nkombo’s Point of Order was against the Hon Minister of Energy, the Hon Minister of Finance and the Leader of Government Business in the House.  The gist of the Point of Order by Mr Nkombo, MP, is that he had come across an internal memorandum allegedly authored by a Mr Saidi Chimya of ZESCO Limited to the effect that ZESCO Limited had released Three Million Kwacha (K3, 000,000) to Mr Davies Mwila, the Secretary General of the Patriotic Front (PF) party, and would release the remaining Seven Million Kwacha (K7, 000, 000) the following week.  Mr Nkombo, MP, then laid a copy of the internal memorandum on the Table of the House.

Hon Members, arising from the Point of Order raised by Mr Nkombo, MP, Mr T S Ngulube, MP, raised a Point of Order alleging that Mr Nkombo, MP, had abused his privilege as a Member of Parliament by presenting to the Assembly a forged, fake and falsified document, with intent to embarrass the Patriotic Front party Secretary-General and bring odium and scandal on ZESCO Limited which was a public utility.  Mr Ngulube, MP, also sought my ruling on whether the serious allegation by Mr Nkombo, MP, should not be referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for investigation and prosecution as provided for in section 27 of the National Assembly (Powers and Privileges) Act.

Further, Hon Members, yesterday, 27^th March, 2019, I received a complaint against Mr G G Nkombo, MP, from the Secretary General of the PF party alleging that the document that was laid on the Table Mr G G Nkombo, MP was a forgery and made serious allegations against the PF. He stated that as a former Member of Parliament, he was aware of the overriding  duty of a Member to present information that was factual and authentic and that the document in question raised a lot of issues with criminal connotations which should not be allowed on the floor of the House without establishing its authenticity or veracity. He further posited that if such practices were allowed, the House would degenerate into a place where false accusations and innuendos would be the order of the day and this would bring the House into disrepute and contempt in the eyes of the Zambian citizenry. In concluding his complaint, the Secretary General of the PF party requested that the matter be fully investigated by my office to establish the truth and, if possible, sanction Mr Nkombo, MP, for peddling falsehoods on the Floor of the House.

Hon Members, in my immediate remarks following the Point of Order by Mr Ngulube, MP, I ruled that given the nature of the Point of Order and the issues raised, I was not in a position to render a ruling on an ex tempore basis and I needed to study the material and carefully reflect upon the matter. Further, in light of the complaint brought to my office on the same subject-matter of the Point of Order,   I wish to inform the House that I have dwelled on the issues involved in the Point of Order and the complaint. I am, therefore, of the considered view that the Point of Order and the complaint can properly be investigated and deliberated upon by the Committee on Privileges, Absences and Support Services.  In view of this, I hereby refer both matters to the Committee on Privileges, Absences and Support Services for consideration.

I thank you.