Some ‘Lusaka youths’ have petitioned Speaker of the National Assembly Dr Patrick Matibini to freeze UPND MPs’ allowances for not recognising President Edgar Lungu’s administration.

In a letter addressed to Dr Matibini yesterday, the petitioners, through their representative Venne Musonda, also requested that the UPND MPs’ vehicles be repossessed.

“Mr Speaker, we wish to seek your able office that members of parliaments’ salaries be halted until such a time when they will recognise the Head of State and show remorse. We also wish to seek the state to grab all vehicles gotten by them as they were facilitated by a government they do not recognise,” Musonda said.

“Mr Speaker Sir, the continued boycott of the United Party for National Development members of parliament every time the elected President of the Republic Zambia His Excellency Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu is addressing the House and the nation at large, is not just an insult to the Zambians but to the legislative arm of Government as well. They are being paid by the tax payer’s money, whose institutions recognize and respect the President.”

He said shunning important national events was not the right way to resolve differences.

Musonda said such acts were capable of stunting the country’s economy and development as investors would be scared to partner with elected leaders.

“Mr Speaker Sir in 2001, Mr Anderson Kambela Mazoka lost elections in the disputed general poll which saw UPND go to Court for a petition but at no point did Mr Mazoka instruct his members of Parliament to boycott President Mwanawasa’s address to the House. And even in the 2006 disputed elections Sir, at no point did late President Michael Chilufya Sata instruct his MPs to boycott a sitting or Presidential address for he knew the detriment of such acts. Mr Speaker, the boycott by these members of Parliament is detrimental to the economy of our nation as it paints a picture to the international community that there is no recognised government in place that makes Zambia a dangerous place to invest in, hence eroding our us of the much needed investments,” said Musonda.

“Mr speaker, those members of parliament are elected by different members of society not on party lines but, some due to individual capabilities hence, it is an insult on voters who send them as representatives of their respective areas by not showing them the much needed representation.”