KATEKA CALLS FOR REDUCED PRESIDENTIAL POWERS

By Fanny Kalonda

NEW Heritage Party president Chishala Kateka says the country needs to examine some of the Acts in governance institutions that give the President too much power.

Commenting on the President Hakainde Hichilema’s non-renewal of contracts for Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) chairperson and vice-chairperson, justice Esau Chulu and Emily Sikazwe respectively, Kateka said there was need to deal with the law that required the President to appoint heads in such institutions.

“According to the Electoral Commission of Zambia Act S5 (3) states, ‘A member of the Commission shall hold office for a term of seven (7) years and may be re-appointed for a further term of seven (7) years’. We at the New Heritage Party, therefore, do not see the need for the President to make the announcement of non-renewal of contract for justice Chulu,” she said. “It is a mute statement. With regard to Dr Emily Sikazwe, S5 (5) F states that a commissioner ceases to hold office if ‘that Commissioner is removed by the President’. Clearly, in this case, the President has exercised his rights. What the President (and presidents before this) has done is in accordance with the Act.”

Kateka argued that if presidents continued appointing heads of the ECZ and other key institutions, it would never remove public suspicion of patronage.

“Should we perpetuate this clearly flawed Act that enables an incumbent president to choose persons aligned to him or her to head an institution that requires the utmost professionalism, neutrality and objectivity?Even if the persons appointed by the President are professional, neutral and objective, they will be perceived to not be so and as a result, we shall continue with this practice of changing personnel with each new government,” she said.

According to The Mast, Kateka said it would take a president that had the best interest of the nation to reduce their powers for the betterment of the nation.She said Zambians should ask themselves who the replacements of the two would be and where their allegiance would be.

“The question we as Zambians should be asking ourselves is, who will be the replacements for justice Chulu and Dr Emily Sikazwe? The new appointees will owe their allegiance to the incumbent President. What sort of performance can we expect from them as a result?” asked Kateka.

“Let us re-examine some of our Acts that give the President too much power. It will, however, take a president that has the best interest of the nation at heart to allow the divesting of his or her powers for the betterment of the nation.”