17 October 2009
NAMWALA Member of Parliament Robby Chizyuka on Thursday angered fellow United Party for National Development (UPND) MPs in Parliament when he refused to acknowledge that the UPND-Patriotic Front (PF) pact will reduce taxes when they form government.
This was when Mapatizya MP Ackson Sejani (UPND) was contributing to the debate on the 2010 national Budget and claimed that the MMD was losing popularity because taxes were still high.
Mr Sejani said that when the UPND/PF formed government in 2011, they would reduce taxes prompting Major Chizyuka to refute the assertion.
"Where are you going to find the people to vote for you, where? " Chizyuka said.
Following his remark, Sinazongwe MP Raphael Muyanda, Request Muntanga for Kalomo and Regina Musokotwane (Katombora) started verbally heckling Maj Chizyuka asking him to resign if he was not happy with the pact.
This resulted into a confrontation among the members and while Mr Sejani was debating, the argument between Maj Chizyuka and others continued.
As a result of the rising voices between Maj Chizyuka and others, Monze MP Jack Mwiimbu raised a point of order against Maj Chizyuka.
"Is Maj Chizyuka in order to be provocative to members who are listening attentively? We are being provoked here Mr Speaker, we are human beings and we are being provoked," Mr Mwiimbu said.
In his ruling, Speaker of the National Assembly Amusaa Mwanamwambwa said that he was not aware that there was another debate going on between Maj Chizyuka and others.
He advised the members to desist from debating while seated saying such members would not be protected in an event that they erred.
In contributing to the debate on the Budget, Mazabuka MP Garry Nkombo (UPND) said that in the Budget, there was no mention of funds allocated to the Ministry of Science Technology and Vocational Training.
He said that the ministry was cardinal to the development of the nation and as such, an allocation in the Budget should be made clear.
Katuba MP Jonas Shakafuswa (MMD) said the removal of windfall tax was detrimental to the nation, as the prices of copper had started rebounding.
He said with the windfall tax in place, the Government would have raised at least US$ 415 million; money he said could be channeled towards infrastructure development. With the removal of windfall tax, he said it would be impossible for the Government to attain the Vision 2030.
Kankoyo MP Percy Chanda (PF) said the K800,000 Pay As You Earn tax exemption was minimal and therefore would not be of any benefit to the citizens.
Luena MP Charles Milupi (independent) said the Government should also promote tourism in the Western Province.
This, he said, would be beneficial considering that the Government was encouraging the diversification of the economy.
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