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| Sam Mulafulafu (right), Director of Caritas Zambia |
This afternoon we met Caritas Zambia under which all Justice & Peace and Development programs are being coordinated. Among other things they shared with us a statement they had just released.
CARITAS ZAMBIA STATEMENT
ON THE SPATE OF RESIGNATIONS BY ELECTED MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT
Within the past two weeks we have yet again experienced additional resignations by elected Members of Parliament (MPs), this time from Solwezi East and Kafulafuta. This is in defiance of strong public disapproval and displeasure with such resignations of MPs for the fact that the resultant by-elections have caused government to spend colossal amounts of money on elections at the expense of the much more urgent social needs in our society. We hear of children dying from malnutrition in our hospitals due to lack of food, we see prices of fuel going up and social projects are stalling due to lack of finances. The list of desperate human conditions that government is failing to attend to is growing, and the excuse being given is that of limited financial resources. How then can our elected representatives be so heartless as to ignore the pain and anguish they are inflicting on poor people in this country by their selfish actions of resignations and causing by-elections? Since the General elections in September 2011, we have seen resignations orchestrated by elections in Chongwe, Mufumbwe, Mpongwe, Livingstone and now three more are pending in Feira, Zambezi East and kafulafuta. This is in addition to several other by-elections occasioned by court decisions!!! This is a governance scandal. Anyone looking for evidence of gross abuse of public resources in our country should not look far given resources so blatantly plundered through these masterminded by elections.
ON THE SPATE OF RESIGNATIONS BY ELECTED MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT
Full Caritas statement
