POA earmarked for review

PARLIAMENT heard yesterday that the Public Order Act (POA) is among the pieces of legislation that have been earmarked for review in the 7th National Development Plan of 2017-2021. Justice Minister, Given Lubinda said this is because Government was eager to ensure a legal framework that supports freedom of assembly, association and participation in politics. Mr Lubinda explained that once necessary consultations were concluded, the Bill to reform POA would be presented to parliament for enactment during the legislative sitting in February 2019. Mr Lubinda review meetings of the POA would be held in all the 10 provinces of the country beginning the third weeN of this month by officers from ministries of Justice and Home Affairs and the Zambia Law Development Commission (ZLDC). Mr Lubinda said the Bill was expected to be subjected to a multi-stakeholder consultation before consideration. He also said the committee of the Inter-Parliamentary Union of the World Organisation of National Parliaments had offered to facilitate a workshop on the review of the POA for various stakeholders. These include Parliamentary Committees, line ministries, political parties, Police, Human Rights Commission, Law Association of Zambia and other relevant stakeholders for exchange of experiences and practices of other countries. “The objective of these meetings is to sensitise stakeholders on the current provisions of the POA and to solicit stakeholder views on the areas of proposed reform,” said Mr Lubinda.

Once necessary consultations are concluded, the Bill to reform POA will be presented to parliament for enactment during the legislative sitting in February 2019 — Mr Lubinda.