IPI Director Alison McKenzie observed that the government was faster at threatening the media than honouring their promises and granting the industry what it best needed for them.
“The continued refusal of the government to work with self regulatory body smacks of a political desire to control information ahead of this year’s general elections. We have negotiated in good faith with the government of Zambian and I am frankly disappointed, that their actions have not met heir professed commitment to a free and fair media in Zambia,” McKenzie said.
He expressed concern at government’s relaxed pace in approving Zambia Media Council (ZAMEC), which he said was the best media regulatory frame work for a democratic country.
McKenzie said Government’s relaxed position on approving ZAMEC put journalists working for the state-owned media institutions in a critical condition, especially that nearly 70 percent of the journalists in the country are employed in these institutions.

“Nearly 70 percent of all the journalists are working in state-owned media institutions, and the Times of Zambia, Zambia Daily mail, Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) and the Zambian news agency are among the largest and most significant media houses, and these outlets’ participation in ZAMEC is critical to its success,” McKenzie explained.
Meanwhile, Media Liaison Committee (MLC) Chairperson Amos Chanda said the government is buying time so that they continue to manipulate the public media institutions for their own political benefit.

Chanda, who is also Press Association of Zambia (PAZA) vice president, expressed concern over the delay by the government to clearly state its position on ZAMEC, adding that the Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services, Lieutenant General Ronnie Shikapwasha, only gets to speak when MLC makes a move to launch ZAMEC.

“The government is buying time; they still want to manipulate ZNBC, Zambia Daily Mail and Times of Zambia for its own political gain. What we have discovered is that the Minister of Information only waits for MLC to announce their move on ZAMEC for him to speak out, and we find this to be very unfortunate,” Chanda said.

Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Zambia described the concern raised by IPI as a serious and general one especially that positive pronouncements regarding the media environment in the country were made by the republican heads of state.

MISA Zambia chairperson Daniel Sikazwe urged the government to actualise the two major pronouncements by considering approving ZAMEC before this year’s tripartite elections.
“The government, through the vice-president George Kunda informed parliament that it was happy with the positive strides the media were recording in the country, and that there was no need of statutory media regulation. The same sentiments were repeated a few weeks after by President Rupiah Banda when he met United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural organization (UNESCO) director Irina Bokova. I think now it is a matter of actualizing what they preach,” Sikazwe said. //End//.
 
Reagan Malumo
Programme Specialist: Media Freedom Monitoring and Research
Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Regional Secretariat
21 Johann Albrecht St
Private Bag 13386
Windhoek
Namibia
Phone: +264 61 232 975
Fax: +264 61 248 016
Mobile: +264 81 311 2626
Official Email: reagan(@)misa.org
Private Email: reagan32002(@)yahoo.com

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