15/06/2026
We need intellectuals not just yeah yeah in those chambers
PART 2
THE GRADE 12 CERTIFICATE QUESTION
Below I share a copy of someone's grade 12 certificate. I dont know if there is a serious college or university that can accept such qualifications and yet this person constitutionally qualifies to stand for MP. Would you trust them to improve the lives of your children and the future of your grand children?
Many missed it but a few days ago, Lusaka constitutional lawyer Mehluli Malisa Bathakati published his views on this subject in the Mast paper of 2 June entitled GRADE 12 IS NOT ENOUGH: ITS TIME TO RAISE THE BAR FOR OUR LAW MAKERS. Below is an excerpt from his article:
"When Parliament debates the Zambia Development Agency (Amendment) Bill, or scrutinises the Public Debt Management Act, or holds cabinet ministers accountable for the deployment of public resources, it must do so with intellectual competence. The complexity of the modern State demands it. To send under-equipped representatives into that arena is not a triumph of democratic inclusion, it is a failure of national ambition".
This is why I was not surprised when one lady told me she had decided to ran as an independent candidate in Lusaka because she was very disappointed with the calibre of most female candiates she had met at a leadership training session. I told her that the problem was across the board. Here is another excerpt from Counsel's article:
"The Constitutional Gravity of the Lawmaker’s Mandate
The role of a Member of Parliament in Zambia is not ceremonial. Article 63 of the Constitution mandates Parliament to enact legislation through Bills passed by the National Assembly, and to oversee the performance of executive functions, including ensuring equity in the distribution of national resources, appropriating funds for expenditure by State organs, scrutinising public expenditure, and approving public debt before it is contracted. Article 202 further empowers the National Assembly to approve the national budget, with the power to vary allocations. These are not administrative tasks but sophisticated, consequential acts of governance that demand a level of analytical rigour, technical comprehension, and policy acuity that a Form Five school leaver cannot realistically be expected to possess".
I argued earlier today that not everyone can have a PhD and the country needs skilled labour and business people. However, it is shocking that the rigorous scrutiny used to employ top managers and leaders in banks, NGOs, internstional organisations, etc. Is not used wgen selecting MPs who are truely responsible for why your life in Zambia is as it is?🤷🏽♀️. Here is another excerpt from Counsel Mehlhli:
"The development literature is equally instructive. Research consistently demonstrates that the quality of governance, measured in large part by the intellectual and technical capacity of those who make policy, is among the most powerful determinants of national development outcomes. Nations that invest in meritocratic governance structures, where talent is rewarded and credentialed expertise is demanded of public leaders, consistently outperform those that treat public office as an entitlement for whoever can command sufficient electoral support regardless of qualification".
Only, we the people can express our ambition to raise the bar for our lawmakers by demanding constitutional changes as soon as possible.
Enjoy the debate!
"
