S. African presidency denies drafing regulations for state of emergency

CAPE TOWN, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- The South African Presidency on Tuesday denied media reports that it is drafting regulations for a state of emergency.

The Presidency also denied that President Jacob Zuma has appointed a team to draw up such regulations.

"The Presidency is not working on regulations for a state of emergency," presidential spokesperson Bongani Ngqulunga said.

He was responding to allegations by Rapport newspaper that for the first time in 20 years, the Presidency has started to compose regulations for a state of emergency.

The newspaper said earlier Tuesday it had seen the draft regulations.

Under the draft regulations, the paper said, any security official will have far-reaching powers to act within his or her own judgement, arrest people, search property, or cut communication channels such as cellphones or the internet.

The draft regulations also prohibit any person to write, publish or broadcast something that could be threatening to somebody else or their family during the time of a state of emergency.

The report claimed that Zuma has appointed a team to compose the regulations, taking advantage of his power given by the constitution to declare a state of emergency when war, invasion, revolt, natural disasters or other dangers threaten the nation's safety.

This came when the ruling African National Congress (ANC) was busy preparing to hold its elective conference on Dec. 16-20 to elect a successor to Zuma.

Two presidential hopefuls, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and ANC Member of Parliament Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, are running neck-and-nect in a tense rivalry that has threatened the unity of the party. Enditem