MPs walk out

With the backdrop of the Global recession, the collapsing markets that have seen prices of commodities falling, the local scenario has seen mines being closed and many people losing their jobs. The Zambian National Assembly has not been spared of the tensions created by Government's decision to review the law on windfall taxes. Opposition Members of Parliament walked out from the House on March 25, 2009 and the situation is described in the following report which appeared in the Times of Zambia of March 27, 2009:

PATRIOTIC Front (PF) members of Parliament on Wednesday evening walked out of Parliament after the Income Tax (amendment) Bill of 2009 went through the committee stage following a division.

The PF MPs together with some United Party for National Development (UPND) and independent MPs walked out of Parliament when the Bill, which among other things seeks to abolish windfall tax, passed through the committee stage.

Vice-President George Kunda told the House that during consultations, the Government discovered the opposition political parties were merely politicking over the matter.

Mr Kunda said the PF were against the introduction of the windfall tax last year saying they wanted to save jobs and ensuring that the mines did not fold up.

He said variable tax served the same purpose as the windfall tax which he said was a punitive tax.

“Windfall tax is punitive, it does not take the aspect of costs into consideration. The position is that the Bill should go through unamended,” he said.

But Kabwata MP Given Lubinda (PF) said his party was against the windfall tax charging because it was being applied selectively to the mine investors.

Luena MP Charles Milupi (independent) said there was no need to abolish the windfall tax as the prices of copper on the world market were going up.

In an interview, Mr Lubinda said MPs from his party and some other MPs from the opposition walked out of the House because they did not want to be party to the proceedings which approved the abolishing of windfall tax.

He said the walk out was a protest against the stance by the MMD Government to abolish the windfall tax saying “we just want it on record that we were not party to the amendment.”