By CHARLES SIMENGWA –
THE provincial assemblies which Zambia is seeking to introduce bode well for the country’s democracy as they will help unbundle critical decision-making processes.
They will supply the conduits through which the decentralisation policy will be rolled out for the betterment of the country.
As social, economic and political experts have observed, decentralisation makes for democratic management and flexibility of operations.
People at lower levels do not feel alienated from the top, and there is little danger of administration becoming top-heavy or monolithic.
There is wide acknowledgement that decentralisation improves organisational communication and efficiency because there are fewer levels of authority.
Put differently, the problems of red-tape and bureaucratic delays are reduced.
The Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) Bill of 2015 has provided for the setting up of provincial assemblies with a speaker and a deputy speaker.
These assemblies will be vested with legislative authority over the exclusive functions of local authorities in the province and the concurrent functions of the province.
What is worthy of note is that the proposed assemblies will be multi-faceted, with wide representation cutting across cardinal interest groups.
They will comprise members of Parliament (MPs) from within the province, mayors or council chairpersons of councils in the province, three chiefs representing traditional leaders in the province, and three representatives of an organisation representing persons in commerce and industry operating in the province.
Three representatives of an organisation representing farmers operating in the province, three representatives of faith-based organisations operating in the province, and two representatives of women organisations in the province will also form part of the provincial assemblies.
Others will be two representatives of organisations representing the youth operating in the province, two representatives of organisations representing persons with disabilities in the province, and two representatives of organisations representing older members of society operating the province.
A person representing these organisations is qualified to be elected a member of a provincial assembly if he/she is a citizen by birth or descent, has been ordinarily resident in Zambia, is at least 21 years old, and has obtained, as a minimum academic qualification, a Grade 12 certificate or its equivalent.
Those seeking to be elected as members of the provincial assemblies should declare their assets and liabilities, and pay taxes or make arrangements satisfactory to the appropriate tax authority for the payment of the taxes.
They should not have a mental or physical disability that would make them incapable of performing the function of office, and they should not have been declared bankrupt at the time they are seeking election.
Another condition is that they should not be serving a sentence of imprisonment for an offence under any law, and they should not have, in the immediate preceding five years, served a term of imprisonment of at least three years.
The term of provincial assembly is five years, starting from the date MPs are sworn into office after a general election and ending on the date Parliament is dissolved.
A provincial assembly will enact legislation for the governance of the province and sub-structures in the province through local Bills passed by the provincial assembly and assented to by the provincial minister, in the case of the exclusive functions of a local authority, and the President, in the case of the concurrent functions of the province.
These assemblies will approve socio-economic development plans for the province before they are submitted to the national Government, monitor the utilisation of resources and implementation of development programmes in the province, as well as ensure that local taxes imposed by local authorities do not impede trade, communication and transport services in the province.
They will oversee the financial accountability of the provincial secretariat and local authorities and make a report to the National Assembly, and approve the budget of the provincial secretariat and local authorities in the province.
The assemblies will oversee the performance of local authorities and, where necessary, take action in accordance with Article 158. They will also perform other functions, as prescribed.
Provincial assemblies will sit during periods when then the National Assembly is on recess. However, a provincial minister or two-thirds of the members of the provincial assembly may, in writing, request the provincial speaker to summon a sitting of the provincial assembly.
Legislation enacted by provincial assemblies will be referred to as ‘Provincial Local Acts’ and the words of enactment will be ‘Enacted by the Provincial Assembly of … ’.
Provincial assemblies will operate under some crucial guidelines. For instance, they will not enact legislation that criminalises an act or omission which, at the time it took place, was not an offence.
They also will not impose a penalty which is more severe than the one that might have been imposed at the time the offence was committed.
The speaker and deputy speaker for each provincial assembly will be elected by the members of the provincial assembly from amongst themselves. This will be done through a secret ballot.
There is an exception, though. A person is not eligible for election as provincial speaker or deputy provincial speaker if one holds a public office.
The office of provincial speaker or deputy provincial speaker will be vacant when a provincial assembly first sits after a general election.
If a provincial speaker or deputy provincial speaker is removed from office by a provincial assembly on the recommendation of a select committee for either violating the provisions of the Constitution or having a mental or physical disability that makes the office holder incapable of performing his/her function, the position will be declared vacant.
The other circumstances that may render such positions vacant include gross misconduct, if the office holder dies, or if they resign, by notice in writing to the provincial minister.
When the offices of provincial speaker and deputy provincial speaker become vacant, business in a provincial assembly cannot be conducted.
For the effective functioning of the assemblies, there will be a provincial assembly clerk for each provincial assembly and other staff appointed by the Parliamentary Service Commission.
One element that will make provincial assemblies special is that there will have reserved power over non-performing local authorities.
As a good example, a provincial assembly will appoint an administrator to assume the functions of a local authority where the local authority has failed to meet the established minimum standards for rendering of services in the district.
This will help improve service delivery to the local people and ensure accountability on the part of local authority staff.
It is inarguable that provincial assemblies will sit well with the principle of decentralisation which permits prompt and more accurate decisions since decisions are made by those who are fully aware of the realities of the situation.
Provincial assemblies may be a nascent idea for Zambia, but in other countries where they have been in existence for some time, they have proved highly beneficial to both development and democratisation.
In South Africa, a provincial legislature is the legislative branch of the government of a province.
The provincial legislatures have a single legislative chamber and vary in size from 30 to 80 members, depending on the population of the province. Each legislature is chaired by a speaker and a deputy speaker.
The original four provinces of South Africa, which existed from 1910 to 1994, had provincial councils elected by the white population of the provinces.
The provincial councils were weak; they appointed an executive council, or provincial cabinet, but could not appoint or remove the administrator of the province.
The administrators were chosen by the governor-general (before 1961) or the State president (after 1961).
The provincial councils’ legislative powers were also strictly limited to specific topics.
In 1986 the national Parliament abolished the provincial councils entirely and instead allowed the State president to appoint the whole executive council.
The current provincial legislatures were established by the 1993 Interim Constitution of South Africa upon the creation of the new nine provinces.
The legislature has the power to pass legislation in various fields enumerated in the national Constitution.
In some fields, the legislative power is shared with the national Parliament, while in others it is reserved to the province.
The fields include such matters as health, education (except universities), agriculture, housing, environmental protection, and development planning.
In fields outside the power of a provincial legislature, it may recommend legislation to the National Assembly.
A provincial legislature may also enact a constitution for that province, if two-thirds of the members vote in favour.
The powers of the provincial legislature are bound only by the national Constitution and the provincial constitution, if one exists.
In Pakistan, each provincial assembly consists of general seats and seats reserved for women and non-Muslims.
People are entitled to vote if they are citizens of Pakistan, if they are not less than 18 years of age, if their names appear on the electoral roll, and if they are not declared by a competent court to be of unsound mind.
The members to fill seats reserved for women and non-Muslims allocated to a province are elected in accordance with the law through a proportional representation system of political parties’ lists of candidates.
This is done on the basis of the total number of general seats secured by each political party in the provincial assembly.
The system has worked well for the Asian country, as it is responding to the issues of development at the same time that it is accommodating crucial interest groups in legislative matters.
Zambia is, therefore, on the right track by embracing mechanisms such as provincial assemblies that will address decades-old developmental challenges which have been tagging at the citizens’ hearts.
