HH MUST STOP ADVERTISING IGNORANCE
Mr Hakainde Sammy Hichilema, life President of UPND has charged that the decision by Justice Minister Hon. Given Lubinda to gazette the the proposed amendments to Bill 10 is illegal.
1. It is clear that Mr. Hichilema does not know what a gazette is.
2. There is no law that stops Government from gazetting its decisions.
WHAT IS A GOVERNMENT GAZETTE?
A government gazette is a periodical publication that has been authorised to publish public or legal notices.
Simply put, a gazette is a record or journal of government decisions. By practice governments publish their decisions in the gazettes to give the public an opportunity to read and understand those decisions.
There is absolutely nothing illegal about government publishing gazettes, in fact there is no law that stops government from publishing gazettes.
Government publishes the Government Gazettes as a tool to communicate messages of national importance to the general public. These messages can be information of a legal, administrative and general nature.
Government Gazettes are published as one of the following:
a) Regulation Gazette – This gazette contains information that government wishes to communicate specifically pertaining to regulations only.
b) Extraordinary Gazette – As part of daily administration of the country, specific matters of urgent or emergency nature may arise, which must be communicated to the public.
Due to urgency, such matters may not be suitable to stand over until a Friday and subsequently are published as Extraordinary Gazettes. These gazettes are thus supplementary editions of the Government Gazette and are published any day of the week as and when required.
As explained above there is nothing illegal with the decision of government to gazette proposed amendments to Bill 10.
Mr. Hakainde Sammy Hichilema will do better to ask those who know to teach him how Government operates instead of advertising ignorance.
Issued by:
Antonio Mwanza
PF Deputy Media Director
Party Headquarters