Parliament on Tuesday adjourned abruptly due to a fire scare in the chamber.
This happened in the afternoon as members were making contributions towards the 2022/2023 Budget Statement.
This was almost an hour after the members had returned from an early lunch break which was necessitated as a result of a power outage.
As deliberations were in progress, members noticed smoke coming from the roof of the chamber. This caused panic as the members and others present in the house rushed out to save their dear lives.
Speaker of Parliament, Catherine Gotani Hara, adjourned the house for 10 minutes to allow time for electricians to resolve the fault.
The fault could not be rectified within the stipulated period as power was later cut to enable the electricians to inspect the entire building.
When the legislators returned to the House, the Speaker adjourned it using virtual platforms.
During morning deliberations the Parliamentarians had to go for an early tea break also due to a power outage.
Leader of the House, Richard Chimwendo Banda, said it has been a day full of disturbances with little progress made. He said there is hope that the house will get a full report on the incident on Wednesday.
“I hope we will get a full report on the cause of the suspected fire and the power outages. Parliament administration should be able to solve the problem by tomorrow,” said Chimwendo.