UPND urged to support Public Order Bill amendment

THE Public Order Bill (2018) that is before Parliament which the United Party for National Development have boycotted is cure for the alleged restrictions on holding public meetings that their officials have been crying wolf about, Bwana Mukubwa Member of Parliament Jonas Chanda has said.

Dr Chanda said the UPND's complaints on the application of the Public Order Act (POA) of 1955 by Zambia Police and the alleged restrictions on Members of Parliament from conducting public meetings in their constituencies was hypocritical.

He said in a statement that it was the same hypocrisy they were displaying by accusing the Zambia Police of not fully enforcing the Bill of Rights when in the 2016 Referendum they killed the expanded bill of rights by misleading Zambians through disinformation until it failed.

Dr Chanda said

UPND should support the Constitution Amendment Bill (2018) if they were interested in finding solutions, not generating more complaints.

“I remind them that the cure to that lies in repealing the POA (1955) and replacing it with the new PUBLIC ORDER BILL (2018) which is before Parliament but which they have boycotted while crying wolf,” he said.

And Dr Chanda advised UPND not to politicise the fight against corruption but to cooperate with professionals in Zambia Police and other investigative wings by providing them with evidence of their allegations.

He also said it was the duty of all parliamentarians and political party leaders to restrain their cadres and cooperate with the police to curb electoral violence and bring sanity in bus stations and markets. Dr Chanda commended Government for the construction of modern houses and police stations for the Zambia Police Officers to have decent housing and offices.