Acting President Dr Guy Scott should discipline Edgar Lungu and Harry Kalaba for sneaking out of the country without permission, demands Vernon Mwaanga.
Mwaanga, who is former parliamentary chief whip and information minister in the MMD government, said the two ministers’ action to go out of the country without permission from acting President Scott was against the established regulations and was an indication of the breakdown of discipline in the government.
Mwaanga said the fact that Lungu and Kalaba were able to leave the country without getting permission from the acting President is tantamount to undermining Dr Scott’s authority.
Lungu and Kalaba on Wednesday last week sneaked out of the country to meet SADC chairperson and Zimbabwean President, Robert Mugabe, without permission from acting President Dr Scott.
This prompted Chongwe member of parliament, Sylvia Masebo, to warn Lungu that he would go to jail if he continued to undermine the authority of acting President Scott.
“The regulations stipulate that no minister is supposed to leave the country, not even Lusaka without the permission of the President or the acting President,” Mwaanga said. “This has been in force for a long time and it is intended to introduce an element of discipline among ministers in the government. If it is indeed true that Edgar Lungu and Harry Kalaba left the country to go to a foreign country and for whatever reason without the permission of the acting President, that certainly is against the established regulations and it is an indication of the breakdown of discipline which is in the government.”
He said during his time, ministers were not allowed to travel without permission from the President or the acting President and that anyone who went against the regulation was not tolerated.
Mwaanga hoped that acting President Scott imposed disciplinary action against the two ministers if indeed they travelled without permission.
He also said matters relating to PF had nothing to do with President Mugabe.
“They are an internal matter for the PF itself to resolve. It has nothing to do with another Head of State because these are internal matters which are supposed to be sorted out by the PF,” Mwaanga said.
He said it did not augur well to see ministers leaving the country without permission.
“Whether you like acting President Guy Scott or not, the Cabinet decided that he should be the acting President and the regulations obtaining in cabinet regarding travel of ministers and senior officials of the government have to be respected because these are the regulations that are enforced and must be respected by all ministers and senior officials,” Mwaanga said. “The moment he was made acting President, everyone should play the game by the rules and those are the cabinet rules and regulations that should govern every minister without exception.”
He said whether Lungu and Kalaba went for party issues or not, the fact that they were still ministers meant that they needed to seek permission from acting President Scott.
“…the regulations do not stipulate that because you hold a party position, you can go and discuss party matters with a foreign Head of State, therefore you are exempted from obtaining the authority of the acting President. The authority of the acting President is required whenever a minister of the government leaves this country or Lusaka to go somewhere else,” said Mwaanga.