Africa-Press – Zambia. The Director of GEARS Initiative, a Non-Governmental Organization, McDonald Chipenzi has said that President Hakainde Hichilema has not violated or breached the republican Constitution by creating new Ministries and abolishing and merging some.
Reacting to social media claims that the President violated the supreme law of the land by merging and or abolishing some ministries before approval by the National Assembly, Mr Chipenzi said that Article 94 does not suggest any breach of the Constitution by the President as the act/performance of creating/merging and or abolishing ministries/departments will be subjected to the National Assembly in the next sitting and the National Assembly will have 21 days to approve such a presidential request.
“It is clear that this subject to National Assembly approval does not expressly mean before or after the performance of the act by the President but that as long as parliament has approved it within 21 days after a receipt of the request for approval from the President is done, the breach of the Constitution is farfetched, ” Mr Chipenzi said
Mr Cipenzi further clarified that there has been such precedent that has been set in the past by past Presidents Including the Late Michael Sata and Edgar Lungu.
“Actually, precedences are there to point at during Michael Sata and Edgar Lungu’s reigns where ministries and departments were created, merged or abolished and people appointed before approval by the National Assembly but the President later requested the National Assembly to approve and it was done,” he said.
“To this end, there is not ground for any to suggest for an impeachment of the President where there is no violation or breach of the Constitution which has been occasioned by the President.
“In my honest view, the President’s acts are within the law but the key thing, however, is for the Presidential advisors to explain such things to avoid misleading notes spreading across the breadth of the country by some commentators, ” Mr Chipenzi concluded.
