Eng. Nicholas Gumbo

All parliamentary appearances

Entries 1751 to 1760 of 3504.

• 12 Feb 2015 in National Assembly: Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this important Bill but before I speak to the Bill, let me point out the fact that I was not here when the Calendar of this House was being discussed. I hope that at some point, we will get a chance to re-open debate on the matter because, as you know, before we went for the elections last time, the Supreme Court gave a ruling on the one-third gender rule. There is no institution other than Parliament that has the power to make a declaration that ... view
• 12 Feb 2015 in National Assembly: constitutional requirement of the one-third gender rule as per Article 81 of the Constitution. I hope that this aspect will be taken into account given that it is a matter that has been pending. Even if it means re-visiting that particular Article, we should address it. view
• 12 Feb 2015 in National Assembly: Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, having said so, the Bill before the House is very important. However, I would like to correct the impression being created by some of my colleagues; that it is a constitutional Bill. This is not a constitutional Bill but rather a Bill which has got a constitutional timeline, and which should have been accomplished last year. It is a fact that the role of Parliament and that of the Office of the Auditor General – which carries out public audit – are almost similar. Their role is to promote good governance and accountability in the public ... view
• 12 Feb 2015 in National Assembly: I have a list of members of staff who hold positions of public accountability. Looking at the Bill before us, the Accounting Officer in the Office of the Auditor General, as per Clause 161(b) of the proposed Bill, is the Senior Deputy Auditor-General. This Bill somehow says that the recruitment of senior officers, including that of the Accounting Officer, will be carried out by the Public Service Commission. With all due respect, this provision definitely begs serious questions. Having an accounting officer in the Office of the Auditor General – which is an independent constitutional office – who is answerable ... view
• 12 Feb 2015 in National Assembly: Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, I believe that this particular provision is unconstitutional. Looking at Article 251, one appreciates that asking the Public Service Commission to appoint staff for the Auditor-General is actually unconstitutional. Article 252(1) of the Constitution states as follows:- “252. (1) Each commission, and each holder of an independent office- (a) may conduct investigations on its own initiative or on a complaint made by a member of the public; (b) has the powers necessary for conciliation, mediation and negotiation; (c) shall recruit its own staff; (d) may perform any functions and exercise any powers prescribed by legislation, in ... view
• 12 Feb 2015 in National Assembly: More importantly, going back to where we started, part (c) says that each commission or each holder of an independent office shall recruit its own staff. The Office of the Auditor-General is an independent office and, therefore, shall recruit its own staff. There is no exclusion. The operative word in part (c) of Article 252(1) is ‘shall’. I do not think it would be possible for us to allow the provisions under Clause 16 of this Bill without violating the clear provisions of the Constitution. view
• 12 Feb 2015 in National Assembly: Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, looking at the Bill again, we have, under Clause 25, a body called “Audit Advisory Board”. Looking at the functions of this body and its membership, one is tempted to think that this body, as provided for in this Bill, is actually an indirect way of eroding the independence of the Office of the Auditor General. I have tried to look at this Bill clause by clause. I am also convinced that Clause 20, as currently framed does not, in my view, guarantee the Office of the Auditor-General the required financial autonomy for meaningful independence. Hon. ... view
• 12 Feb 2015 in National Assembly: Under Clause 40, we have restrictions with regard to auditing of national security organs. I think this expression of “national security organ” we use it, in my view, to spread unnecessary alarm. It is true that some but not all of the work that the national security organs undertake is confidential and borders on State security. But I think to make it so diverse is more or less trying to ring-fence the national security organs from scrutiny. When, for example, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) purchases toilet paper, what is the difference between that and what we do here when ... view
• 12 Feb 2015 in National Assembly: Thank you, hon. Temporary Deputy for giving me this opportunity to contribute. I will not repeat what most of my colleagues have talked about, but I want to start by thanking the Ministry of Education. I can see the senior officials are here and I would kindly request them to take the views of hon. Members seriously. view
• 12 Feb 2015 in National Assembly: Okay, hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. Education is a social equalizer. Some of us would be nondescript herdsmen in the village if we did not go to school. But because of the good education we had - the good engineering degrees we hold - we are now able to find ourselves in those privileged positions. It is no accident that countries that seek to develop fast, direct their resources at ensuring a highly educated and informed citizenry. I want to take over from where my colleague, hon. Kabando wa Kabando has left. I think the officials of the Ministry need to ... view