RULING BY THE HON MADAM SPEAKER ON A MATTER OF URGENT PUBLIC IMPORTANCE RAISED BY MR R CHITOTELA, MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR PAMBASHE PARLIAMENTARY CONSTITUENCY, AGAINST HER HONOUR THE VICE-PRESIDENT AND LEADER OF GOVERNMENT BUSINESS IN THE HOUSE

 

Hon Members, the House will recall that on Wednesday, 15th September, 2021, when the House was considering the Motion of Thanks to His Excellency, President HakaindeHichilema’s Address and Mr R Mutale,Member of Parliament for Chitambo Parliamentary Constituency, was on the floor,Mr R Chitotela, Member of Parliament for Pambashe Parliamentary Constituency, raised a matter of urgent public importance pursuant to Standing Order 134 of the National Assembly of Zambia Standing Orders, 2021.

 

The issues raised by Mr R Chitotela, MP, can be summarised as follows:

 

(i) whether the security briefs rendered by the security wings to the President of the Republic of Zambia will be subjected to Cabinet approval;

 

(ii) whether it was in order for the United Party for National Development (UPND) political party to issue statements on behalf of the Government; and

 

(iii) whether it was appropriate for the Republican President, who was State property, to fly economy class during the Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

 

Hon Members, in my immediate response, I reserved my ruling in order to make inquiries on the matter. I have since studied the matter and will now render my ruling. 

 

Before I consider whether the issues raised by the hon Member for Pambashequalify to be raised as a matter of urgent public importance, I wish to explain this rule, which was introduced in the House for the first time in the 2021 Standing Orders.

 

(i) Background

Hon Members, this rule was introduced in order to restrict Points of Order to matters of breach of procedure in the House. It was observed that members would rise on a Point of Order in order to bring to the House’s attention an urgent matter that had occurred in the country or their constituency. Recognising that this was an abuse of a Point of Order, it was decided that a new rule be introduced to enable members bring to the attention of the House a serious and urgent matter requiring the immediate attention of the Government. 

 

The rationale behind the introduction of a matter of public importance under Standing Order 34, was the recognition that there were some serious and urgent matters that only a Member of Parliament could be privy to which if not brought to the immediate attention of the House and the Government could result in a catastrophe leading to loss of life or property.Such urgent matters include natural disasterslike floods or fire, and invasions by humans or animals. Therefore, while an issue mayappear important, if it is not so urgent and serious that it requires the immediate attention of the Government to avert a calamity, then it is not admissible under Standing Order 134.

 

Hon Members, it is now important to consider the rules governing the raising of a matter of urgent public importance.

 

(i) Timing

Standing Order 51 provides for the order of business of the House on any given day. According to the Standing Order,a matter of urgent public importance must be raised before any of the following items on the Order Paper:

 

a) The Vice-Presidents Question Time;

b) Ministerial statements or statements by the Vice-President;

c) Personal explanations;

d) Questions;

e) Bills; and

f) Public and private business.

 

From the foregoing, it is clear that a Member cannot raise a matter of urgent public importanceonce the House has reached any of the outlined stages of business.Instead, the membermust wait for the appropriate time on the next business day to raise the matter.

 

(ii) Admissibility 

Standing Order 135 (1) provides the following admissibility criteriafor a matter of public importance: 

 

(i) it is a case of recent occurrence;

(ii) it does not relate to a general state of affairs;

(iii) it involves the administrative or ministerial responsibility of the Government;

(iv) it requires the immediate attention of the House and the Government; and

(v) it deals only with one substantive issue.

 

Further Standing Order 135 (2) renders a matter inadmissible if:

 

(i) it has not been raised at the earliest opportunity;

(ii) it has already been discussed by the House during the Session;

(iii) it is not so serious so as to require urgent attention; or

(iv) it is sub judice.

 

Hon Members, Standing Order 135 (1)makes it clear that all the set criteria must be met for a matter to be considered as one of urgent public importance.  In this regard, a matter which fails to meet even one of the set criteria is inadmissible. 

 

Further, Standing Order 135 (2) categorically states instances when a matter of urgent public importance is inadmissible. For instance, if a matter has not been raised at the earliest opportunity or it is not serious enough to require urgent attention. 

 

(iii) Procedure

Hon Members, Standing Order 134 provides the steps to be taken by a member raising a matter of urgent public importance. It also provides the action to be taken by a presiding officer once such a matter has been raised. 

 

The steps a member should follow in raising a matter of urgent public importance are as follows: 

 

(i) A member must rise and say,or indicate electronically: "Matter of urgent public importance, Madam/Mr Speaker".

 

(ii) After being recognised by the presiding officer, a member must say: "Madam/Mr Speaker, I wish to raise a matter of urgent public importance under Standing Order 134 directed at Her Honour the Vice-President or an appropriate Minister.

 

(iii) The member must briefly state the urgent matter and conclude by saying: "Madam, Speaker, I seek your direction on the matter". 

 

(iv) The member must take his or her seat. 

 

Hon Members, once a matter of urgent public importance has been raised, the presiding officer has the sole discretion tomakeany of the following decisions:

 

a) to allow the matter as being one of urgent public importance and direct the Vice-President or a minister to respond to the matter immediately or on a future date; 

b) to direct the member to reduce in writing the urgent matter of public importance and schedule it for debate on a specific future date; or

c) disallow the matter as not being one of public importance.

 

Hon Members,having explained the procedure and admissiblility criteria for raising a matter of urgent public importance, I now wish to address the matter raised by Mr R Chitotela, MP. 

 

Firstly, Mr RChitotela, MP, raised the matter while the House was debating the Motion of Thanks to His Excellency the President’s Address, which is public business. From the timing outlined earlier, it is clear that an urgent matter of public importance must be raised before the House begins to consider public business. In this regard, the matter was raised out of time.

 

Secondly, while the issues he raised may be important in the governance of the country,they are not so serious or urgent that they require the immediate action of the Government to avert a calamity as envisaged by Standing Order 134. 

 

In view of the foregoing, the matteris inadmissible as a matter of urgent public importance.

 

Hon Members, I have further observed that that some members have been confusing the procedure for Point of Orders under Standing Order 131 and that for raising a matter of urgent public importance under Standing Order 134. I am confident that the guidance I have given on how to raisea matter of urgent public importance will help resolve this problem.

 

Hon Members, I wish to seize this opportunity to urge all Hon Members to familiarise themselves with the National Assembly of Zambia Standing Orders, 2021, and consult the Office of the Clerk for guidance when in doubt.

 

I thank you.

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