JUSTICE minister Given Lubinda says the only one who is accountable to Zambians is President Edgar Lungu and not opposition leaders. Lubinda says the tendency by the opposition political parties to clamour for participation in the governance of the state was misplaced.

Speaking in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia when he transited to Brussels to attend the European Union 7th International Congress on Ending the Death Penalty, Lubinda said the role of the opposition anywhere in the world was to come up with alternative programmes and not to be participants in the governance of the country.

He said for any given time, there was always one governing party that was accountable to Zambians.

“For the time being, the only one who is accountable to the Zambian citizens is President Edgar Chagwa Lungu and not opposition leaders,” Lubinda said. “It is him the people will demand answers from. If things are not working out as expected in the country, the rest can just oppose without saying ‘let’s sit and govern together’.”

Lubinda appealed to opposition political parties to desist from trying to find backdoor processes of governing but rather concentrate on winning the hearts of the electorates through their manifestos. Lubinda said President Lungu had a constitutional mandate to govern the country and deliver on his electoral promises that included the refinement of the national Constitution. He said the government had no hidden agenda with regards the refinement of the national Constitution as has been insinuated by some political stakeholders.

“We have no hidden agenda. If we had bad motives we could have published the constitutional amendment bill and sent it straight to Parliament as required by Article 79 of the Constitution, but President Lungu wouldn’t want to use article 79 without giving Zambians an opportunity to contribute towards the process,” Lubinda said.