Tobacco Control Bill Absent from Parliament Agenda?
Zambia's Seventh President Hakainde Hichilema with Second Female Vice President Mutale Nalumango
By Derrick Sinjela
21 months after the Zambian Cabinet gave consent, on Monday, 23rd January 2023, the Tobacco Control Bill (TCB) is reportedly not among the bills Vice President Reverend Witner Kapembwa Mutale-Nalumango took to Parliament in the ongoing Fourth Session of the Thirteenth Assembly which convened on Friday, 13th September, 2024, according to a tentative list circulated by Chief Government Spokesperson, Cornelius Mweetwa.
The TCB seeks to domesticate the United Nations World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (UN-WHO-FCTC).
During the December 2023 Centre for Primary Care Research (CPCR) Zambian Media Network Against Tobacco (ZAMNAT) Media Awards, Mr. Mweetwa had assured local and international tobacco-free advocates that Cabinet chaired by President Hakainde Hichilema had given consent to table the long-awaited Tobacco Control Bill.
“I am pleased to inform you that the New Dawn Administration has made unprecedented tangible headway in enacting a tobacco control law and will, in the very near future, present the tobacco control bill to parliament for enactment,” Mr. Mweetwa declared in an assurance that was read for him by Lusaka Province Permanent Secretary Robert Kamalata.
But by Monday 21st October 2024, 21 months after a ‘Cabinet Consent in Principle’ the bill is still missing on the list of those being considered by Parliament.
Though successive governments have so far shown procrastination on the elusive Tobacco Control Bill, the bills which otherwise promote the growing, marketing and consumption of tobacco continue getting favourable attention from the state.
On Tuesday, 20th August 20th, 2024, President Dr. Hichilema convened the 16th Cabinet Meeting at State House to discuss policy and legislative matters aimed at improving the living standards of Zambians.
Regarding legislative matters, Cabinet approved the issuance of The Tobacco (General) Regulations, 2024, to operationalize the Tobacco Act No. 10 of 2022.
The Act was enacted to strengthen the legal framework for regulating the tobacco industry in Zambia, repealing and replacing the Tobacco Act Cap 266 of 1966.
The new regulations provide guidance on various aspects of the tobacco value chain including registration procedures for tobacco growers and licensing of buyers, graders, sales floors, and sales floor managers.
Other aspects include returns to be filed by growers, procedures for selling saleable tobacco on sales floors and storage and packaging of saleable tobacco.
Zambia National Public Health Institute (ZNPHI) Director General and Health Advisor to President Hichilema, Professor Roma Chilengi has endorsed the Tobacco Bill No. 10 of 2022 as “a vital step towards safeguarding public health and well-being in Zambia.”
By Press Time, a Tuesday, 15th October 2024 Press Query sent to Mr. Mweetwa to establish a latest status quo and whether or not Dr. Hichilema is aware of this ommission had not yet been responded to by the Chief Government Spokesperson, currently serving as United Party for National Development (UPND) Choma Central Member of Parliament (MP) in the Southern Province.
A couple of months ago then Health Minister, Sylvia Tembo-Masebo swapped positions with Lands and Natural ResourcesMinister, Dr. Elijah Julaki Muchima. – Zambian Developmental Media Alliance (ZADEMA)/Zambian Children Young People and Women in Development (ZCYPWD).
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