The Office of the Vice President (OVP) is a constitutional office established under Article of the Constitution of Zambia Act No. 1 of 2016 which states that: “There shall be a Vice President of the Republic of Zambia…”The Statutory functions of the Office of the Vice President are derived from the Government Gazette Notice Number 6526 of November, 2016 and these are outlined as follows:

• Disaster and Drought Mitigation;
• Parliamentary Business;
• Elections; and

In addition to the above statutory functions, the Office of the Vice President performs functions delegated to it by the President.  These include facilitation of:

• The Prerogative of Mercy, which has been moved to Ministry of Home Affairs with effect from January, 2017;
• Honors and Awards; and
• Parliamentary Planning.

Furthermore, the OVP by virtue of being the second highest office in the country deals with cross-cutting national issues and other portfolio functions referred to it from other government Ministries and Agencies.  These include, among others:

• African Territories – Imperial Statute Extension;National Assembly – Powers and Privileges;
• National Institute of Public Administration; and
• National Assembly Speaker’s Retirement Benefits.

These are spelt out in the gazette notice No. 6526 of 18^th November, 2016 Vol. LII No. 76

The Office of the Vice President has two (2) Permanent Secretaries who are responsible for Administration and Parliamentary Business, and (1) National Coordinator, Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit, who is at Permanent Secretary level.

The Permanent Secretary – Administration is the Controlling Officer for the Vice President’s Bureau, Human Resources and Administration, Parliamentary Business, Resettlement and the grant to Government House.The National Coordinator is the Controlling Officer for the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit.