Parliament opens in grand style

By Ann Zulu

A TWENTY-ONE gun salute reverberated as three military jets in a right-angled triangle flew past Parliament grounds to symbolise, yet again the official opening of the National Assembly.

Pomp and splendour has been the tradition that has always characterised the event of the ceremonial opening of the National Assembly and President Edgar Lungu arrived at Parliament grounds just in that style.

His presidential motorcade reflected the kaleidoscopic flushes and arrived at Parliament to a real thunderous welcome with dances and acrobatics as well as choirs competed for the best performance.

Elegantly dressed in a charcoal grey suit President Lungu was received by Service Chiefs upon arrival and was immediately led to the presidential dais after which there was a 21 gun salute before a fly past.  

President Lungu then inspected a guard of honour mounted by the Zambia Army and he was accorded a 21-gun salute as the Zambia Air Force (ZAF) staged a three-plane fly-past.

People of various walks of life assembled and crowded the Parliament buildings as they joined both new and retuning Members of Parliament (MPs) to witness the official opening of the event, which was beamed live on the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC).

Many converged as early as 07:00 hours to secure clear positions on the evergreen lawns of the Parliament grounds.

The wait for the arrival of President Lungu was spiced by drama groups, various traditional dancers and some Patriotic Front (PF) music groups.

At about 10:00 hours, the Presidential motorcade rolled into Parliament grounds as the crowd cheered.

Speaker of the National Assembly Patrick Matibini was at hand to receive the President and later led him inside the National Assembly building.

Hundreds of well-wishers who were lined-up at the pavement leading to the entrance of the National Assembly building and sang songs of praise as the President in the company of his wife, Esther Lungu, confidently walked past them on his was to open the National Assembly.

By then, the invited guests who included mayors and their town clerks, diplomats, Chief Justice Ireen Mambilima with Supreme and High Court judges, service chiefs and Vice-President Inonge Wina had already walkedin the National Assembly.

At about 10:45hours with a captivating smile on his face, President Lungu walked into the Parliament chamber.