In this audio, Justice Minister Given Lubinda says President Edgar Lungu will soon set the rules and regulations which the public will follow during the Threatened State of Public Emergency.

And Lubinda says he is confident that Parliament will vote to extend the Threatened State of Public Emergency today.

Speaking on a special TV programme on ZNBC yesterday, Lubinda said he had no idea when the rules and regulations would be announced to the public.

“There is no way I can say when the President will come up with the rules and regulations. I am sure that right now, leaders of the security wings in the country are busy looking at the kinds of regulations that they must present for the President to sign. But we are fortunate that the President himself is a legal brain and he has legal advisors at State House, the various security wings of government also have people with legal background, he will crack this and the Attorney General may be up to certify and present to His Excellency for final part to regulate” he said.

“The regulations once done will certainly be published. There is no regulation that can be put in place without being gazetted, they have to be gazetted in CAP 112 of the laws of Zambia.”

He revealed that Vice-President Inonge Wina would present a motion in Parliament to approve President Edgar Lungu’s declaration today.

“Tomorrow her honour the Vice-President will move a motion to approve the declaration of a threatened situation in the country. She will tomorrow move a motion in Parliament so that we approve the invocation of Article 31. The declaration was made by His Excellency, he made the proclamation and because it was the President who made the proclamation, the only person who can present a motion on his behalf is her honor the Vice-President. Remember she is leader of government business,” Lubinda said.

Lubinda also boasted that PF had the numbers to pass the motion despite the absence of the 48 suspended UPND Members of Parliament.

“This proclamation is aimed at preserving public security. Any responsible citizen will support the proclamation…The Constitution says the approval must be made by the majority of members of parliament. Currently there are 166 of us. 48 suspended, we still have more than that, 83 in parliament, so we have the numbers. And I am sure that tomorrow, all members of parliament from the Patriotic Front, all members of parliament from the other political parties except for those who were suspended will be in the House and they will vote in the affirmative to give this important proclamation its deserved approval, we have the number,” Lubinda said.

Take a listen:

Meanwhile, Lubinda said some people were abusing freedom of speech to spite the country.

“Unfortunately, we have some people in the country who have made it a habit to pour scorn on their own country. We know of some people who have gone around the world, even before the proclaimation of Article 31, we have some people who have gone round saying that Zambia is on fire. When you travel abroad and meet people and hear what they say, what they read in the various tabloids and you explain to them, they say ‘but this was said by a Zambian’. That is not freedom of speech, that is abuse of freedom of speech. I should not take advantage of the so called freedom of speech to say things in spite of my country, where is the patriotism?” asked Lubinda.

“For people to go round and say Zambia has degenerated into a dictatorship, can you point at any person who has been arrested for any reason? Have you heard of any Zambian who is living in exile? Because when you ask yourself the question of dictatorship, what do you mean? How do you judge it? You judge it by the kinds of decisions made by the people in government and those decisions will be ultra vires their laws so have we made any decision which is against the provisions of the law? Which one? None! And yet people have gone out disparaging their own country.”