Interview: Leader of the House in Parliament Francis Kasaila

Leader of the House in Parliament Francis Kasaila, who is also Minister of Transport and Public Works, speaks on government’s expectations on the Budget Review meeting of Parliament which starts on Monday. Excerpts:

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Q:Parliament reconvenes on Monday next week. Apart from the major business which is budget review, what major bills should the nation expect government to table during the sitting?

A: We are expected to table, among others, the Higher Education Students Loan Bill and the Marriage, Divorce, Family Relations Bill which is simply known as Marriage Bill.

Q: We remember the same [Marriage] Bill once went through Parliament sometime back but the President did not assent to it. Have you ironed out the sticky issues?

A: Yes, we have. But let me state that the original Bill was not assented to due to misunderstandings between government and some stakeholders who simply wanted to politicise the issue. I don’t understand how that came about but during that time (in 2006) the Bill raised the marriage age from 14 to 16 which was a positive move. Nonetheless, somebody decided to twist the issue and all of a sudden everyone turned against the government and the president, in the best interest of the people, refused to assent to it. But now the Bill puts the marriage age at 18 and with that we have put it in tandem with most local, regional and international legislation. It’s our hope that the honourable House will pass it again. Our critics at that time said the current legislation on marriage age was also in conflict with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which recognises 18 as the age, but we have incorporated all that and it’s perfect. We are optimistic that once passed, the law will significantly reduce the child marriage rate which is too high for a poor nation like ours.

Q: Has the Education Students Loan Bill been crafted so as to guard against misuse of the facility?

A: We have crafted it in such a way that no loopholes will be found and any chance of misuse won’t be found. The Bill, among other things, proposes for the establishment of a board that will be responsible for identification of beneficiaries. The board will also have a secretariat to bring sanity to the provision.

Q: We also understand government is going to give a statement on the recent flood disaster but some quarters have accused government of delaying in sending an SOS to the international community, hence the late and poor response. Do you share that view?

A: No, that’s absolutely untrue and unfair. Much as we agree that things happened with so much speed, we managed to raise the alarm in good time. I, for one, got the message about the raging waters on 12th January and that very night I called the vice president who is in charge of disaster preparedness and within a day or two the president declared a state of national disaster. What more do people expect from a responsible government? Let me take this opportunity to thank all international and local organisations that have helped and are still helping us with relief items.

Q: You have also been accused of bulldozing deliberations in Parliament to suit government time even if the opposition has outstanding questions or clarifications over some issues. What will be your message to the opposition as they also strategise for Monday?

A: As government, we would like to urge the opposition parties to contribute and critique and scrutinise anything they deem unclear to them. We will welcome any positive contributions because that way we will build our nation. Let them not politicise anything but look at the greater good for the citizens especially in these challenging times. They are very free and encouraged to thoroughly scrutinise the current budget; they can propose additions or subtractions to any vote and if they make sensible arguments we will be humbled to follow all wise suggestions.

Q: For how long will the budget review meeting last?

A: We are meeting for four weeks from 2nd February and we are looking forward to fruitful deliberations from both sides of the House.