RULING BY THE HON MADAM SPEAKER ON GUIDANCE SOUGHT BY HON B MUNDUBILE, LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION AND MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR MPOROKOSO PARLIAMENTARY CONSTITUENCY, ON THE ADMISSIBILITY OF THE MATTER OF URGENT PUBLIC IMPORTANCE RAISED BY MR M KAFWAYA MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR LUNTE PARLIAMENTARY CONSTITUENCY 

 

Hon Members, the House will recall that on Tuesday, 16th November, 2021, after I had provided guidance on a matter of urgent public importance raised by Mr M Kafwaya, Member of Parliament for Lunte Parliamentary Constituency, Hon B Mundubile, Leader of the Opposition and Member of Parliament for Mporokoso Parliamentary Constituency, sought guidance on the admissibility of the matter of urgent public importance raised by Mr Kafwaya, MP, in accordance with Standing Order 135 (1) (c) of the National Assembly of Zambia Standing Orders, 2021 (the Standing Orders). 

 

Hon Members, the issue raised by Hon B Mundubile, MP, was whether or not the matter of some ministries operating without controlling officers qualified as a matter of urgent public importance in accordance with Standing Order 135 (1) (c) of the Standing Orders.

 

Hon Members, in my immediate response, I reserved my ruling in order to examine the provisions of Standing Order 135 (1). I have since studied the matter and will now render my ruling. 

 

I wish to begin by giving a background to what gave rise to Hon B Mundubile, MP, seeking guidance on Standing Order 135 (1)(c). As you may recall, Mr M Kafwaya, MP, had raised a matter of urgent public importance, under Standing Order 134, directed to Her Honour the Vice-President and Leader of Government Business in the House, on the failure by the Executive to appoint Permanent Secretaries, who were controlling officers, in some ministries.  In response, I explained that Standing Order 135 (1) and (2) provided the criteria for the admission of a matter of urgent public importance under Standing Order 134. In that regard, I ruled that the matter that had been raised by Mr M Kafwaya, MP, was not one that required the urgent attention of the Government to avert a catastrophe or prevent death and, therefore, did not qualify to be raised under Standing Order 134. Following my ruling, Hon B Mundubile, MP, sought guidance on the admissibility of matters of urgent public importance, particularly in the light of Standing Order 135 (1)(c) relating to matters involving the administrative or ministerial responsibility of the Government. 

 

Hon Members, Standing Order 135 sets out the criteria to be considered in determining whether or not a matter qualifies to be a matter of urgent public importance to be raised under Standing Order 134. Under Standing Order 135 (1) the following must be present for a matter to be admissible:

a) it is a case of recent occurrence;

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

c) it involves the administrative or ministerial responsibility of the Government;

d) it requires the immediate attention of the House and the Government; and

e) it deals with only one substantive issue.

 

Additionally, Standing Order 135(2) provides for when a matter will not be admitted as a matter of urgent public importance. The circumstances include the following:

a) it has not been raised at the earliest opportunity;

b) it has already been discussed by the House during the same Session;

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

d) it is sub judice.

 

Hon Members, I wish to emphasise that for a matter to be admitted as a matter of urgent and public importance it must satisfy all the criteria set out in Standing Order 135 (1) and (2). If any element is missing, then it is inadmissible. I now to turn to address the issue of Standing Order 135 (c), which states as follows:

 

“135. (1) A matter is admissible as a matter of urgent public importance if -

(c) it involves the administrative or ministerial responsibility of the Government.”

 

Hon Members, that a matter involves the administrative or ministerial responsibility of the Government is just one of the elements that need to be taken into consideration when determining whether a matter qualifies as a matter of urgent public importance. There are other requirements as outlined in Standing Order 135 that also need to be met, including the fact that it must be so serious as to require urgent attention. 

 

Hon Members, I provided guidance to this House on what constitutes an urgent matter in my Ruling 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 (Parliamentary Debates for Wednesday, 22nd September, 2021). In that ruling, I explained what constitutes an urgent matter as follows:-

 

“Serious and urgent matters that only a Member of Parliament could be privy to and which if not brought to the immediate attention of the House could result in a catastrophe leading to loss of life or property.”

 

Therefore, while the matter raised by Mr M Kafwaya satisfied Standing Order 135 (1) (c), it did not meet the other set criteria such as being sufficiently serious to require the urgent attention of the Executive to prevent a catastrophe leading to death or loss of property. It is for this reason that I ruled the matter under Standing Order 134.

 

Hon Members, I have also noticed an emerging trend of Members raising matters of urgent public importance under Standing Order 135. I wish to seize this opportunity to guide that a Member can only rise on a matter of urgent public importance under Standing Order 134. A Member cannot rise on a matter of urgent public importance using Standing Order 135.  This is because Standing Order 135 merely supplements Standing Order 134 by providing the criteria for a matter to be admitted as a matter of urgent public importance.  Further, all the admissibility criteria under Standing Order 135 must be satisfied before a matter of urgent public importance can be admitted. If it stands only on one leg, it will not be admitted.  

 

I, therefore, wish to urge all Hon Members to familiarise themselves with the admissibility criteria for matters of urgent public importance and only raise a matter when they are satisfied that it meets all the criteria set out in Standing Order 135.

 

I thank you.