.HICHILEMA

By NAKUBIANA SHABONGO –
GOVERNMENT has no intention of declaring a state of emergency, chief Government spokesperson Joseph Katema has said.
Dr Katema said yesterday that there was no crisis in the country to warrant such a move.
He was reacting to assertions by the United Party for National Development (UPND) leader Hakainde Hichilema that Government planned to declare a state of emergency to clamp down on the opposition.
“Government would, therefore, like to allay fears which may have been unnecessarily brought about by unwarranted and wild allegations by selfish individuals like Mr Hakainde Hichilema of the UPND,” Dr Katema said.
Dr Katema, who is Information and Broadcasting Services Minister, said the nation should not listen to such pronouncements, but instead dismiss them as unpatriotic and selfish political tantrums.
He reiterated Government’s commitment to democracy, good governance and the rule of law as the fundamental tenets for sustainable development, peace and unity.
Speaking during a media briefing at the UPND secretariat in Lusaka yesterday, Mr Hichilema said President Michael Sata wanted to interpret the Public Order Act in a manner that suited his Government and later use it to declare a state of emergency.
He charged that the President would then use the state of emergency to postpone the 2016 general elections.
Mr Hichilema also wondered why the Judge Lovemore Chikopa-led tribunal was taking long to start its sittings when others appointed later had even submitted their findings.