Katombola UPND member of parliament Derrick Livune says parliamentarians should dedicate their efforts to issues that affect Zambians like poverty, instead of moving “frivolous motions” to ban political parties that allegedly support homosexuality.

On Wednesday, tempers flared in Parliament when Kanchibiya PF member of parliament Martin Malama moved a private member’s motion seeking Parliament’s support to ban political parties and organisations that support Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender rights in Zambia, citing the opposition UPND.

But debating the 2020 national budget, Thursday evening, Livune urged his colleagues to concentrate on issues which affected Zambians.

He also bragged that he had a very beautiful wife and wondered who among the male parliamentarians would go for a fellow man.

“Some motions we heard yesterday (Wednesday), me I have a very beautiful wife, very beautiful. Those things you were talking about, we don’t have them in UPND. I wonder, some of these men around here, ourselves (MPs), which man can go for another one? Maybe there may even be no chemical reaction. It can’t happen. We need to spend time on things that affect our people. Now there is poverty, this issue of climate change, let’s dedicate our efforts to these issues unlike these frivolous motions you bring to this House. Zambia must move forward,” Livune said.

And Livune argued that PF’s poor governance had brought the economy to its knees.

“The economy, where it has found itself now, government is to blame to a bigger extent. We have refused to use climate change as the reason for the situation we find ourselves. Whilst we acknowledge that climate change is real and it has serious effects, much of the problems that we have is the issue of poor leadership. Bad leaders. The PF are not helping much. When did we construct the Kariba Dam? Don’t we have engineers here? We know that that dam also needs some reservoir of some kind to help put water there. So we want you minister to see if anything more can be done, otherwise this team has failed us. Bad people, bad leadership,” Livuna said.

Meanwhile, Livune said it was not fair that the PF government was constructing tarred roads on top of tarred roads in Lusaka and Copperbelt Provinces when rural areas had nothing.

He urged government to share the national cake fairly.

“Whilst our minister is telling us and the province to hold on as the country has no money, his friends are doing roads. Those who don’t know what is happening in Lusaka, can take a walk in Libala, Kabwata and see what is happening. Meanwhile us, in the rural areas have nothing. Not even a single tarred road in our constituencies. But in Lusaka and Copperbelt, things are happening. Then our minister tells us ‘we should be patient because there is no money, we will only deal with hunger’. No we will not accept that honourable minister. Let us share the national cake nicely and fairly. I know it cannot be equal, but we need equitable sharing,” said Livune.

“In Lusaka, this government is putting tarmac on top of tarmac. Its not fair. They are removing tarmac, put tarmac on the road, and then us we must be smiling at them, no. We will not allow that.”