Vice President Guy Scott this morning had to employ his wit to dodge the ever present question of the correct position on President Michael Sata’s health. MPs bombarded Scott with questions that he laughed off without giving away anything.
Below are excerpts from the Vice President’s Question and Answer session:
Question from Muchinga MP Howard Kunda on update on President Michael Sata:
Scott: Mr Speaker ;the arrangement is we have agreed in this government is that all statements on the Presidency or whereabouts will be issued by State House and not by Vice President’s question time because that comes according to its own calendar and not according to events.
Question by Luena MP Getrude Imenda
Mr Speaker; normally when our President goes out of the country he carries journalists with him. We are told this time he has gone for a working holiday and if he is on a working holiday he should have gone with journalist as is customary and would have been giving us feedback on what he is doing and so on. How come this time there is such silence even journalists are not sending us reports of the work that he is doing? Why is there such a black screen in electronic media and print media?
Scott: I don’t believe the situation is without precedence because even last week if the President is going on a largely private visit which is a working holiday, it is not necessary to carry journalists. It is not a ceremonial matter of great pomp and splendor and I explained that we are going to leave it to State House to provide answers to that.
Ronnie Shikapwasha (Keembe MP)
Following the question I asked about the President’s health the Vice President said this is left to State House. Mr Speaker; it is necessary for this house to know whether State House are going to send somebody to give a statement in this house or that this house will be devoid of information until we pick it up from public media?
Scott: the honourable questioner one thing he is not is [that he is not] a Doctor. He is an army officer general or lieutenant general, he is a holy man. The medical information I was attempting to give has its time. There are times when you can say that definitely this is the case you can’t force it. And I anticipate that we will in due course and I can’t give the exact date get a definitive statement from State House in which case it will be available to members.
Clive Miyanda, (Mapatizya MP): your honour the Vice President we all feel by now that the President is on working holiday in Israel but can I find out if he is there in the Holy land of Israel receiving the 10 commandments of which he had promised to use to rule this country and also receiving the constitution of this country?
Scott: I wish I could conjure up the vision of the President on Mount Sinai receiving the 10 comandments. These days you can get the 10 commandments through Google. You can simply go to the computer and they come even in Zambia even in the most distant rural constituencies so I doubt that he is anywhere near Mount Sinai.
Catherine Namugala, (Mafinga MP): Some diplomats in this country are rendering solidarity to law breakers like homosexuals what is the government position?
Scott: The session was held in an open court. Mr Speaker I would have thought that after campaigning for nearly two years on the baseless allegation that PF tolerated and promoted homosexuality that we would not be going round the same circle again to scale up homophobia to reject the government. The case in Kapiri Mposhi which was held yesterday was held in an open court.
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