ZNBC cancelled the UPND’s Christmas message which was scheduled to start airing on Christmas eve.It was cancelled on the last minute despite the UPND signing and paying for the contract earlier.UPND President expressed surprise at the actions of the Public broadcaster especially that the message was not political.The UPND would however like to wish Zambians a Happy Christmas and God blessings.
Below is the Full Statement
Good evening dear colleagues
Just to inform you that ZNBC, the public broadcaster, have rejected our paid for Christmas message despite having signed a contract with them earlier.
The advert is currently running on other channels such as Muvi TV and Prime TV. In the message we are merely urging our fellow citizens to love each other and share the little we have with each other.
We paid
almost a week ago but today we were being told we should just get a refund.
This is really surprising to us coming from a public broadcaster, especially that our message was totally none political as you can confirm from many other platforms including social media.
Now we wonder if we can ever get any favourable coverage from our public institutions such as ZNBC if they can out rightly reject our paid for content.
We guess this is not time to stress each other but just let our fellow citizens know what we are going through.
But like we stated please let’s be with our beloved ones and love one another during this time and beyond.
Zambia is bigger than each one of us and we must remain peaceful and united people at all times.
Happy Christmas to you all and God bless
Is this even surprising. There is even that colonial clause giving the broadcaster (read, the government) unwarranted power to terminate any contract regardless. This is what we mean when we agree with Snowden that it is the lawful things government does that is scary. Merry Christmas everybody!
The feat of fooling a nation of Pagans could be performed today.
The Greek god of wine, Dionysus or Bacchus, also called Iacchus, has been depicted as having been born of a virgin mother on December 25th; performing miracles such as changing water into wine; appearing surrounded by or one of 12 figures; bearing epithets such as “Father” and “Savior”; dying; resurrecting after three days; and ascending into heaven.
The `owner` of ZNBC, kabotolo is scared of UPND, he doesnt want ba kachema to wish Zambians a merry chrismas,,,,, even after he went for praying and fasting in november he has failed to forgive himself for drinking too much and blaming people who wheelbarrow him when he is dead drank
Today I agree with you. Merry Christmas and a happy New year. To all Zambians.
The problem is not with the institution but with the individuals, who are in-charge.
THEY DID WELL, WHY NOSE AROUND EVERYTHING. EVEN CHRISTMAS MUST BE POLITICAL? AH! THEY DID WELL, IS UPND A GOVERNMENT OR JUST AN OPPOSITION PARTY, LIKE MMD, FDD, and SINKAMBA or MULYOKELA?
Holly molly: Biblical scholars and Christianity in general are aware that 25th Dec is an adopted date for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, not the actual date. Do not hoodwink people here with your simple posting aimed at discrediting the traditions that surround the birth and ministry of Jesus Christ. They stand on very solid ground, way superior to that of the Greek gods you seem to be so besotted with.
Thats sad. ZNBC should know that PF will not be in power forever.
No professionalism at ZNBC best to fire the lot when a new government comes in except engineering staff all journalists out!
UPND,MMD, FDD pliz get together and sue znbc, daily and times an ZP. Mmembe has been smart using court system. It is more independent under mrs mambilima. Stop complaining! Get injunction and later permanent ruling!
Zambian Watch Dog (HH’s blog) is not living up to its founder’s enunciated standards. 100% of articles generated are a torrent of unsubstantiated accusations and ad-hominem (attacking the person, not the argument) attacks by what appears to be a dedicated crowd of anti-Bemba / Eastern province commenters who seem to be on permanent alert for articles dealing with Chewas and Bembas. These tribal commenters dominate the talk-back threads, using them as a forum for promoting polarizing sentiments. Why should UPND be given chance to insult on ZNBC given the damage they are creating on the internet?
Where are the insults in the message? That is the problem with you PF chaps, only insults and borrowing are in your heads. Why should a public broadcaster, paid for by the public including UPND be compared to a private virtual media.
As a matter of fact you sound like a worried PF cadre involved in stealing, so now you are worried that the stealing could end next year with change of GRZ.
right on captain! zwd blocks anti HH comments so why shouldn’t znbc do the same? behind public media doesn’t mean airing anything so long it’s paid for
I’m Bemba and a regular at ZWD
captain Sankara I pray that God forgives you for you seem not to understand what you are saying. It appears you are engulfed in tribalism and nepotism. These people have a genuine complaint but you seem not to understand the issue. You cant compare watchdog with ZNBC. We are all stake holder in ZNBC because that’s a public broadcaster. People like you will one day cause a civil strife in this nation and I hope you are not a coward to run away when that happens. I can assure you that if people of your likes don’t change their mind, we will soon have a civil war.
Is Zambia Watchdog a National Broadcaster. Do you pay any levi for that? I know we have so many dull people like you in this country but it is safer for you hide your dullness and not display it anyhow.
The senior member of staff at ZNBC who stopped the airing of the UPND advert must know that PF will not be in power forever! He/she will go with PF!
@captain sankara! Talk like that when only you are addressing PF cadres! Who calls the other Kachema and other derogatory terms! Is it not your Chama who insulted all the people of Southern province! Is it not PF officials and cadres who are always mentioning tribe and passing tribal remarks against Tongas! Zambians are not stupid! Know that the other tribes that you belittle are not happy with you even if they can pretend to smile at you! Zambia is bigger than bemba! Listen please! Umwana ashebwa aile na mashinsha ku mako!
Twalyupila mu buTonga na mumitundu imbi. Tamwakatulekanye ba shetani. Tribe matters only when it comes to politics, what about other aspects of people’s lives?
We have Lozi teachers, Tonga doctors, Lamba Corporate Executives, Bemba police officers, Ngoni MPs, etc. We are called Zambians. You will never break us up. Twakana!
Remember the way ZNBC played Dandy Krazy’s “donchi kubeba” after MCS was declared winner. Like caged rabbits let free. They were actually falling over each other to see who played the song the longest. I wonder how people like Masuzyo Ndlovu, Herbert Mutabi, Franklin Tembo, Innocent Kalaluka,etc have managed to work for such sh!t for so long.
@captain sankara! Talk like that when only you are addressing PF cadres! Who calls the other Kachema and other derogatory terms! Is it not your Chama who insulted all the people of Southern province! Is it not PF officials and cadres who are always mentioning tribe and passing tribal remarks against Tongas! Zambians are not stupid! Know that the other tribes that you belittle are not happy with you even if they can pretend to smile at you! Zambia is bigger than bemba! Listen please! Umwana ashebwa aile na mashinsha ku mako!!
Good znbc for rejecting that upnd advert. U refused to attend national prayers now u see xmass time as time for yo party to sell yo party. Just by saying the programme is sponsored by upnd turns the all message to be political. We know there is a group at znbc who sells,organise,things for upnd mutabi? U will just lose employment upnd cant win election using hh under 50+1 even if he stood alone. This goes to op,zp,zesco,health,education,councills,etc upnd may win after changing hh who is 200% tribal and hates bembas without shame. No political adverts from all parties until campaign period.
Comment:it is indeed very sad to note the stone age behaviour of znbc which is supposed to be a national broadcaster. Pf govt has turned state owned media into pf propaganda machine. Pf should do well to ask the former depot kk how he was removed from power depite controlling all govt media, defence forces, parliament.
I expected ecl as a learned person to be above board but alas the opposite is the case.
Znbc should hence forth stop charging tv licence zambians who belong to oposition political parties it is a pf govt propanganda media.
After seeing the same advert on MUVI TV it is clearly a political advert more than a christmas message. UPND should have clearly indicated that it was a political advert other than trying to ambush ZNBC by claiming it was a christmas advert.
@munjali: What an Idi.ot you truly are!! Even if it is political – what is wrong with that? After all UPND is a Legal Political Party like the Stu.pid PF – so why should they not issue adverts on the media when they pay for them?
May God will take out that stupidity from your ugly head!!
50+1 IS WAITING FOR U HON HYENA ZAMBIANS DONT SUPPORT THIS PERSON WHO IS BUSY DIVIDING THE NATION USING TRIBALISM. HE HATES BEMBAS,CATHOLICS ,ETC HE DOESNT VALUE XMAS AS A SEVENTHY DE AND WANTED TO USE IT TO DO POLITICS NOT PRAYERS.SHAME TO CHRISTIANS WHO VOTE FOR THIS MAN. THIS TIME TAMWAKAITAMBE BWINO 2016,
Ulupato
Impatila
Umufimbila
Ubumbimunda pamupamu
And you wonder why people don’t buy into your religious hypocrisy.
Christian nation my foot.
A Christian nation is supposed to have Christians in the majority. For most Zambians, when the proverbial hits the fan people revert to their ancestral ways what does that tell you?
Leave out churches from your comments
@mwiimbafi: Only ID.IOTS and imbeciles like you think that Catholicism is a Zambian Tribe!
Problem is our opposition parties do not know that they have the right to sue. So they too are letting the people down.
The judicial system is compromised.
@ chilyata *****s are UPND who tried to ambush ZNBC with a political advert by hiding thru a christmas message. if UPND was genuine enough it should have just been bold enough and paid for a political advert instead of trying to deceive the nation. And agony is for a struggling company to refuse UPND s trickery money. I commend ZNBC for not selling itself to the highest bidder. UPND thot by throwing around money the country will dance. For your own information political adverts can only start when campaign period begins. So Chilyata with this info given to you who is an ***** between you and UPND
That there’s even a campaign period is silly. We fought against these restrictions. Now we are free wo/men under the flag of our land called Zambia. Political stripe notwithstanding.
@ yondo sister have you by any chance even seen the advert before you condemn ZNBC
The Christmas advert I saw on MUVI TV clearly had political undertones. If this the UPND message took to ZNBC, then ZNBC did the correct thing in turning it down. We cannot be seen to politicize everything, including Christmas. We are supposed to be merry and happy now, regardless of our political affiliations. Merry Christmas to you all – PF, MMD, UPND, FDD, UNIP, etc., etc.!! For now, let’s forget our political leanings; let’s drink, dance, and be merry!!
This is the harmless Christmas message that a few frightened little men/women don’t want the Zambian people to see.Click the link below.
***********
…until we compel ZNBC, Times of Zambia and the Daily Mail by law(act of Parliament), every party which shall form govt shall always have a lions share as far as coverage is concerned……its high time such institutions started appearing in court for abrogating their obligations….I await to hear the explanation from Kambwili
@scrutinizer even the BBC is biased towards the sitting government. Your suggested act will be difficult to enact as the Govt is usually a major shareholder in public institutions. it will be like voting against itself. the best the opposition can do is to make full use of the private institutions. Yes the public media is mandated to cover all parties but the govt of the day will always get a lions share. Life is just like that. its not fair
…@munjali
…I bet to differ with you on BBC coverage of major political parties in the UK…may be 51% to 49 % difference ,,,hardly noticeable….not the difference we see in Zambia 99% to 1%…and that 1% has to do with negative news…
…by the what do you consider to be the govt..??…Govt is the general citizenry including those in leadership bcoz we cannot all be leaders at the same time…I’m sure you are aware that we pay K3 every month towards to cost of running ZNBC…it does not matter whether you are UNIP, FDD, Heritage, MMD or UPND…they all contribute but only to extensively cover PF….there are 101 ways to rig election…and blacking out opponents is just one of them….life is just fair…only that humans ar naturally stingy, corrupt and above all selfish….
I thought UPND beat ZNBC reporters. learn to respect Govt as you may need it one day
Political parties carry adverts on stations like the BBC in the UK. They even give air time to all party Conventions. In Zambia the PF is working at all manner of illicit costs to prevent the opposition from being heard. They are paranoid and want to stay in power at whatever cost. It is clear that those benefitting in the country are mostly PF politicians, their families, friends and others they have colluded with in corrupt practices at no end. They want to continue with the ‘gravy train’. Yet, we have the proverbial Ostriches burying their heads in the sand and stating that all is well.
Not long ago Mr Kambwili was boasting that the public media was non partisan and reported objectively. This is a shame to the ruling PF, ZNBC belongs to the public and not PF. We are slowly and steadily going back to the UNIP days. Power can really corrupt.
I agree with you ndumbu Kuzangacami, KK formular is slowly coming back to square one. But it will not work no matter what. Those manning the institution, are the ones to suffer when PF loses elections. I pity my brethren down there.
ZNBC is not a PF property. Kambwili must know that very soon he will be pleading for news coverage and lambasting the ruling government
The Zambian Watch Dog (HH’s blog) has NEVER respected the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics — which calls for “test[ing] the accuracy of information from all sources”. This allows their editors to continue delivering sensational stories vilifying northerners and easterners or indeed anyone resisting tribalistic tendencies in UPND. While ZWD proclaims that they “demand government accountability”, their criminal editors steadfastly hide behind a cloak of anonymity, withholding their own identities, the identities of other individuals involved, and the specifics that would enable authorities to corroborate their testimonies. Thank you ZNBC management for refusing to broadcast Christmas lies from UPND.
Please LT don’t fall in the same trap as ZWD where they will never publish anything that criticises their owner HH.
Zwd has actually blocked me from commenting becoz I tell them facts.
WHERE IS THE PROBLEM HERE PF IS NOT CAMPAIGNING WHY ARE OPPOSITION PARTIES IN A PANIKING MOOD. WITH HH EVEN IF HE STOOD WITH MUYOKELA PIPO WILL GO MUYOKELA. A LOT IS OFF IN HIM WHICH TRIBALMATES DONT SEE O WHAT THEY SEE IS A TONGA TO BE PRESIDENT WHETHER LIWULE OR THIEF IT DOES NT MATTER. YOU CALL BEMBAS MONKEYS AND U WANT VOTES WE SHALL KOLOPA U ONCE AND FOR O
Just use your known media . Sop crying foul. Do you expect znbc to publish your misguided articles?