Central Government Structure in Zambia

This post explore the structure of the Central Government in Zambia in its major three body-system. Government is a terminology that comes from the word Govern.

To govern means to decide what to be done. At any level whether at family level or club level or school there is a government that make decisions on behalf of others. At national level it is easier to govern if powers are shared and put into several groups each with a different role to play.

Since Zambia is a larger community, its government is a collection of institutions at local and national levels.

Three commonly practiced types of government

Absolute Monarchy:

• Kings and Queens have total control of the government and the state. E.g. in Morocco and Swaziland.

Parliamentary or cabinet system:

• Governments which are headed by Prime Ministers or Chancellors but the head of state either a King or titular.
• The Head government is elected by Parliament. E.g. in Britain, German etc.

Presidential:

• President is elected by voter and he/she plays double role of controlling state and government.

Functions of the Central government

• Law making: laws are made to ensure that the affairs and conduct of the society are controlled.
• Allocation of resources: government ensures even allocation of resources for development to take place.
• To defend the country: against internal and external attacks
• To formulate and implement policies: to help develop the country and improve the standard of living
• To enforce the law
• To raise money: for provision of services such as education, medical treatment and so on.

Branches of government

In Zambia, the three distinct arms of government or branches of the government are: the Legislature, Executive and the Judiciary.

Legislature

• To legislate means to make laws.
• Hence, the legislature is the arm of government that makes laws.
• In Zambia the legislature consists of the Republican President and the National Assembly.

The National Assembly consists of:

• One hundred and fifty elected members
• Not more than eighty (8) nominated members
• The speaker of the national Assembly

Qualification for a member of parliament:

• A Zambia citizen with Green NRC
• 21 years above
• Have no criminal record
• Be of sound mind
• Be literate and conversant with the official language
• Should have a grade 12 certificate
• Supported by not less than nine registered voters from in his constituency where he wishes to stand.

Speaker of the National Assembly:

• Is elected by members of the National Assembly.
• He chairs the National Assembly.
• Election of the Speaker is the first business that a new Assembly transacts.

Deputy Speaker:

• Chairs the National Assembly in the absence of the speaker.
• He is also the chairperson of the committee of the whole house.

Leader of government business in the house:

• The vice President is the leader of government business in the house.

The leader of the opposition:

• Title given to the leader of the official opposition party.
• He is afforded certain privileges such as to speak before other opposition members.

The whip:

• Is a member of a party responsible for representing his/her party when consulting with other whips and leaders in the house.
• He/she also maintains party discipline.
• The chief whip is the whip of the ruling party.

Some of the members of staff are:

The Clerk of the National Assembly:

• Is the principal administrative officer of the National Assembly.
• He/she records National Assembly debates in the book called the National Assembly debates or mansard.

The sergeant at arms:

• He/she is a security officer who keeps order in the National Assembly.
• He sends rude MPs out of the house when ordered by the Speaker.

Functions of the national assembly or Legislature:

Lawmaking:

• A Law made by the parliament is called a statute or act of parliament.
• Before a law is passed it is called a bill.
• A bill is a proposal or a suggestion for a law.
• A bill suggested by a minister is called a public bill or government bill while a bill suggested by an ordinary MP is called a Private member’s bill.

Stages a bill takes before it is passed into a law:

• First reading: the bill is introduced in the National Assembly, but it is not debated upon. MPs are given time to study the bill.
• Second reading: the Minister who suggested the bill explains the bill in detail. The MPs debate and vote for or against it. If the majority of the MPs support the bill, it is adopted and passed the next stage.
• Committee stage: the MPs are divided into small committees to examine the bill and suggest some amendments or changes.
• Report stage and third reading: members of parliament vote for or against each amendment which is finally passed to the president.
• Bill goes to the president: The President assents (signs) or vetoes it.
• To assent is to sign a bill. If the bill is vetoed it is sent back to the National Assembly for debate again.

Control of the executive:

• The legislature checks on what the executive does in line with the citizens’ needs.
• MPs ask Ministers questions on the activities of the executive

Passes the National Budget:

• Discusses and approves the budget which specifies how much money the executive can use each year.
Impeachment of the president:
• The National Assembly has the power to impeach or remove the President if he violates the constitution and for misconduct.

Ratification of appointments:

• It has power to ratify or to approve appointments made by the President E.g office of the Chief justice, the Attorney General, the Investigator General Etc.

Committees of the National Assembly

• Public Accounts committee (PAC). It is the most important committee because it studies how government Ministers spend money.
• Standing order committee
• Committee of estimates
• Committee of labour, youth and sport
• Committee of communications, transport, works and supply etc.

NOTE:

• The President, while being part of the legislature, does not normally sit in the house except at the beginning of each session during the ceremonial State opening of Parliament.

The executive

• The Executive is an organ of the government which administers government activities or carries out laws made by the National Assembly.

Members of the executive

• The President
• The Vice President
• The Ministers
• Civil Servants 

Functions of the executive

• It collects tax
• It provides various services which people need such as education and medical services
• This body executes or carries out decisions.

Qualifications for Zambian President

• Be a citizen of Zambia.
• Be supported by his/her party
• Be thirty-five years of age and above
• Has both parents as Zambians by birth or descent
• Must have a Bachelor’s Degree

Functions of the President

• Head of state, which means he/she represents the country
• Head of government, which means he/she is the head of the executive organ of the government
• Head of executive
• Commander in chief of the army and air force
• He/she may exercise Prerogative of mercy. This means that he/she can pardon criminals or reduce their sentence
• Appoints and dismisses senior government officers, e.g permanent Secretaries, ministers etc.
• Opens Parliament

Dissolves Parliament

• Decides whether to assent or veto a bill
• Can declare a state of emergency

The cabinet

The cabinet Minister is responsible for:

• Advising the president on various matters concerning the nation
• Making government policies
• Answering questions from the MPs

Note: deputy Ministers are not part of the cabinet.

The civil service

• It consists of (i) government employees

(ii) Local Authorities employees

• The civil service is divided into ministries and departments.
• Every ministry is responsible for a particular aspect of government activity.
• The permanent secretary is the head of the ministry.

Judiciary

• The main job of the Judiciary is to ensure that laws are obeyed and interpreted to the people so that they know what they are allowed to do and what they are not allowed to do.
• The Judiciary is supposed to act freely and independently.
• This is called Separation of power.
• Separation of power means that the power of government is divided up and kept under the control by different people in different groups.

What happens Under separation of power

• Different branches of government work or operate independently.
• No group has too much power over the other
• Each group/branch acts as a control on the other.

Role of the Judiciary

• Protecting and enhancing the democratic process
• Ensuring that laws are obeyed and interpreted to the government and citizens. 
• Settling disputes when people disobey laws
• Punishing offenders.

Composition of the Judiciary

The Chief Justice is the head of the Judiciary

SUPREME COURT

listens to appeals from high court
• Although all courts in Zambia can hear civil and criminal cases, different courts have different Jurisdictions or powers, which means each court can hear only certain cases.

Local courts:

• This is the lowest court which can hear minor cases
• It has limited jurisdiction
• The presiding justice is in charge and he/she works with local justice with the help of the clerk of the court.
• The clerk of the court takes down notes on the proceedings of each case.

Magistrate courts/subordinate courts:

• They are higher than the local court
• It hears appeals from the local courts
• They hear more criminal cases than civil cases
• A person who hears cases in magistrate is called magistrate.

High court

• This is the second highest court in Zambia
• It hears appeals from the magistrate
• It supervises the magistrate courts 
• It is found in all provinces
• High court judges are appointed by the president in consultation with the judicial service commission

Supreme court

• This is the highest court in Zambia. It the court of last resort
• It hears appeals from the high courts
• It is composed of the chief justice, deputy chief justice and three supreme court judges
• All supreme court judges are appointed by the president in consultation with the judicial service commission

Types of laws

International laws: These are laws which guide countries on how to behave towards each other. Constitution laws: These are laws which guide the government.
Civil laws: Guide the behavior of people towards each other.
Criminal laws: Protect the interests of the state and society.
Customary law: These are traditional customs and rules.

Types of cases Civil cases:

• These are disputes between people.
• These cases guide the behavior of people towards each other.
• You pay damage when you commit a civil case.
• Damage is money you pay as a form of compensation.

Criminal cases:

• These are cases against the state and society and may include theft, murder, bribery, rape, careless driving etc.

Other important officers in the judicial process

The attorney general:

o He is the Chief legal advisor to the government.
o His/her duties include: representing the government in court and signs all bills to be presented to Parliament

The solicitor general:

o He/she is a senior government lawyer who performs the functions of the attorney in his absence.

The director of public prosecutions:

• He/she is an official in charge of all criminal proceedings.
• In every serious case, he carries out the duties in person

The investigator general:

• He/she chairs the commission of investigations.
• This commission investigates cases of corruption, nepotism and malpractice.
• Another name for the investigator general is Ombudsman.

Note:

• If you commit any of these offences you will be arrested by the police and you can ask for police bond while you are waiting for your case to be heard by the court.
• A police bond is a written promise an accused person makes to the state police that he will not run away.
• In case you are not given a police bond, you can ask for bail when your case is taken to court.
• A Bail is the money an accused person pays to the court so that he/she is set free until his case is tried.

Judicial terminologies

Below are some of the terminologies used in judicial languages:

• Witness: A person who gives evidence in a court of law.
• Prosecutor: The person who tells the court what crime an accused has committed and what law he has broken
• Dock: The box where an accused and the witness stands in a court of law
• Mitigation: This is when an accused person asks the judge to be lenient on him/her when giving punishment if found guilty.
• Legal aid: Assistance an accused gets from a government lawyer without paying for it.
• Defendant: A person accused of having a crime
• Complainant: The person who takes the case to court

The role of the judiciary in promoting democracy

• Protecting human rights
• Ensuring rule of law
• Nullifying the elections they are not conducted according to the electoral process.
• Interpret the law.