Information and Broadcasting Services Minister Chishimba Kambwili has expressed concern over the failure by Zambian journalists to win awards at the recent Southern Africa, Development Community (SADC) and CNN annual media awards ceremonies.
Speaking during the launch of the 2016 SADC media awards in Lusaka today, Mr. Kambwili, who is also Chief Government Spokesperson, said the failure by Zambian journalists to win awards was a clear sign of falling ethical and professional standards among some media houses.
“Government is however concerned that this year, not a single Zambian Journalist won any award at the annual SADC media awards held in Gaborone , Botswana in August, let alone the Multichoice/CNN media awards held in Nairobi, Kenya recently,” he said.
He lamented that some media houses were driven by private and partisan agendas at the expense of national interests.
The Information and Broadcasting Services Minister has since described the failure to win SADC awards as unfortunate and undesirable.
“This could be a sign of the falling ethical and professional standards we are seeing in some sections of the Zambian media driven by private and partisan agendas at the expense of national interests,’’ Mr. Kambwili observed.
Mr. Kambwili has further appealed to the media fraternity in the country to maintain high ethical and professional standards if their respective news stories are to compete at the highest level.
And Mr. Kambwili has reaffirmed government’s continued support and active participation in the SADC and communication agenda.
Meanwhile, the winner of the just launched SADC annual awards will walk away with a US$2,000 dollars and a certificate of recognition which will be presented at the official opening of the SADC heads of states and government summit next year.
The awards are in the fields of print journalism, radio journalism, television journalism and photojournalism and must have been published in the media between 1st of January and 31st December of the preceding year 2015.
How can they be awarded when you subject them to write what you like and not being objective? Ubututu mwalichilamo bakalamba!
Iwe chi Kambwili uli chi Dander head sana.You don’t know why they have not been awarded?keep your filthy mouth shut at times.I am very annoyed with you.You gag the media and you expect them to win awards?Wechinangwa wee….
You should be ashamed that none of your reporters at TOZ,ZDM and defunct ZNBC in their hundreds have failed to win a single thing in your tenure as information Minister. You are 100% responsible for this.
Besides the Post, all other media houses in Zambia hire zombies that only react like parrots to the tunes and sounds of GRZ! So how does this baboon think SADC can honour such mentality of “BUTONGWANI BWA MUNGULU WA LIKULUNGA” with awards? Maybe that is what they do in Katanga-Zaire kuBuluba where Chimbwili Kashimba hails from, us abena SADC koko iyoo, we do not honour ifyabupuba.
Besides the Post? The Post is full of robots programmed by Fred Mmembe and you cant see them for the zombies that they are?
Kambwili yena nako kaufela mane sishako sahae inge mutu ya yambilwe ki lilulu la kuicukela hala sicaba mane konji ku mwashula bwense twaa inge mulilima!
This is laughable. According to this buffoon professional journalism is writing in favour of government. How can you have such people as ministers? This idi.ot doesn’t understand a thing about professional journalism. How did he expect our journalists to win any awards when they are threatened day in day out? This same imbecile dictates to all the public media houses what they should report and how to report. So, how can such reporters who don’t write out of their investigative acumen and creativity win awards? Kambwili should be the last person to complain because he is the reason we have performed so badly in the media fraternity. So please Kambwili, close your stinking mouth before you pollute the whole nation. IDI.OT.
The irony is that It is when they are threatened day in day out that journalists win awards
Iam a journalist and I am as dissapointed as Kambwili. What Kambwili is trying to say is “Our failure to win awards is a clear sign of failing ethical and professional standards among media houses like ZNBC.”
“Some media houses like ZNBC Times of Zambia and Zambia Daily Mail even the Post were driven by private and PF partisan agendas at the expense of national interests. This is unfortunate and undesirable.
Let me remind my colleagues that it is when we attack useless governments like the one Kambwili belongs to that we shall win awards. We are not winning awards because we are not attacking useless people in authority like Kambwili. We are not winning awards because we are always reporting what Kambwili says instead of finding out if what he says is true.
Its true.Our jounalists don’t probe further.E.g At the Pesident’s press conference he said “there is only one party which is violent”.Why not ask him why when PF are holding meetings there is no violence and when its opposition,then there are some pipo who caused violence.Simple probing in eluded our jounalists.What they report is exactly what one said without probing further. Dull journalism.
@ John Peter Zenger
You got it right. Kambwili, the leading PF intellectual failure which cannot express himself in English has courage to comment on others perceived “failure” without realizing extent of his failed ethical integrity.
Am only taking you a little bit backwards what history has in our politics,Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula left behind a legacy of opposition politics which has continued to this day. Many people who were associated with ANC politics played significant roles in opposing the one-party state and were also active in the campaign for the re-introduction of a multiparty political system in 1990/91. For the past seven years the Southern Province and parts of Western province have remained opposition hotbeds. In particular, the Southern Province seems to continue the ANC tradition of sticking with one party for as long as possible, hoping that a president may come from there one day.
And you point is? You are out of topiv Mr. JUBA JANSOMO.
We kill the goose that lays the golden eggs and then start asking why we have stopped receiving golden eggs… unga caye iyo!?
How is he surprised when he is in charge at DeaD NBC, Zambia Daily and Times of Zambia. Meanwhile, The Post is concentrating on removing Lungu from office while Richard Sakala and The Daily Nation concentrate on getting deals from government by being a third government paper. The situation guarantees failure!!! Radio in the country is dominated by youngsters who think music and talking about relationships is the sum total of what they should do on air. TV is just as bad!!! Simply put, its mediocrity all round!!! Starting with the minister.
you want them to win for reporting about your big belly and lungus movements idiiot
Zambian journalists cannot win awards because they are mere parrots. For instance ZNBC will just repeat what some government leader has said. And the news on ZNBC is always reported in the following fashion : “President Lungu says ….”, Minister of Information Chishimba Kambwili says…., Patriot Front Segretary General Davis Chama says…., Pf deputy SG Mumbi Phiri says…. It is just a chains of “says”.
Kambwili should know that his and his party’s stranglehold on the Zambian reporters (not fit to be called journalists) have had a negative effect on the performance of the men and women of the press.
Gone are the days when journalists were revered for their analytical and well probed stories such that it hurt to miss a daily or listen to the news! Now its news akin gossip and hearsay revelling in trivial issues than those at the heart of human development! Mediocrity has taken center stage the minister and media houses should all share the blame and be equally ashamed!
..the only trophy we may aspire to win as a nation as of now is alcohol guzzling completion against other countries…..that I have no doubt we would definitely do better….not journalism or athletics or soccer…forget it…
Chishimba Kambwili is always talking nonsense; he is the one who threatens news reporters so that they don’t work in a free atmosphere.How can such journalists write or broadcast material that can win awards?
Kambwili and his unruly PF should be voted out in 2016.
They can’t win anything they like reporting lie;and irrelevant pay masters who give them money and about minor issues.
Like Movie Director who was given 2 billion by the named political part what can he win? He continued writing about unknown opposition candidate and gave us falsified statistics how can he win an award?Never.
Whoever hired Chimbwili Kashimba and those who support him and his ……. are a question mark!
NO NO NO PIPO THERE IS NO NEED TO BE INSULTING LEADERS WHEN DEBATING JUST GIVE FACTS. HERE I START WHY (a) these reporters most of them are corrupt they receive cash to say or air some stories (b)OTHERS VE PROMISERLY NOTES [others when they see other friends with big post in govt] eg chanda at state house (c) political inclination (d) tribal (e)many more. Our press just report on politics and soccer. Eg znbc improved during chibamba bcoz he did his homework very well news perfect well balanced. Now we see preseter making facial expression after finishing a sentence,clips of pipo they like will be shown. yes our media do not deserve they just confuse pipo
How can they win when they report censored news to keep their freedom. On the other hand, those who report facts are in hiding behind secret blogs or facing government finance intimidation and charges!