Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Government proposes to spend K 22 million on digital migration next year

Share

Information and Broadcasting Minister Kampamba Mulenga
Information and Broadcasting Minister Kampamba Mulenga

Government has proposed to spend K22 million towards the digital migration next year.

The Minister , who is also Chief government spokesperson, disclosed this in parliament when she issued a ministerial policy statement yesterday.

Ms. Mulenga disclosed that her ministry would prioritise the projects to be undertaken in the 2017-2019 medium term expenditure framework.

The Minister has disclosed that the digital migration will create 508 direct jobs and additional 2,000 indirect jobs in form of dealers, agents and installers.

She however regretted the 4.5 percent allocation reduction in 2017 national budget of K86,185,959 compared K90,274,036 last year,

And Ms. Mulenga says government will spend K7,140,000 on establishing the Choma and Solwezi provincial stations and additional 1,700,400 for procurement of mobile video vans for ZANIS.

In addition, she said her ministry has provided K6,645,971 for dismantling arrears and K2 million for institutions such as the Zambia Mass Communication, (ZAMCOM).

Meanwhile, several opposition MPs in the House implored government to table the Access to Information Bill.

The MPs believe that the absence of the Bill is leading to abusing Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) to be a pro-government media-wing allegedly moving away from the mandate as a public broadcaster serving the nation.

But the Mr. Mulenga, who is also Chief Government Spokesperson, assured that ZNBC serves the interest of the whole nation and not any desired section of society.

28 COMMENTS

    • I thought this issue of digital migration was dealt with longtime. On money spending spree bakwindi bapumpwe bakabolala

    • I can’t stand her sorry.

      Too much make up. She looks fake and her appearance strikes me as someone who is thick and is better off being a housewife.

      Wouldn’t surprise me she doesn’t even have any undergraduate let alone post graduate degree.

      Bring back Kambwili after his unfounded allegations are thrown away.

      Go away mum – just go away for all I care.

      Thanks

      BB2014

    • How many digital migrations are we going to have?

      I thought the target was June 2015 and was achieved hence DeadNBC introduced their own decoders or could it be fake decoders?

      Problem of having illiterate Ministers who think when she reads a statement written for her by Permsec and has terms like ‘digital migration’ and she thinks its ‘big grammar’.

      Next time the “Dr” Permsec will change lexical semantics and say we are going Terrestrial television or broadcast television she will still think Terrestrial television or broadcast television are not digital. Yet its just the source of transmission that may have changed from Satellite to Terrestrial (land) transmission.

      Madam! read and analyse the speeches before spewing out rubbish least they mislead you.
      Wake up…

    • “But the Mr. Mulenga, who is also Chief Government Spokesperson”
      Nice one Lusaka Times. For people who make a living out of reporting and writing on a DAILY BASIS, am disappointed.

    • PF will never cease amazing the masses. Everything that PF bandits of visionless Lungu says, believe the opposite.
      All talk! After 7days of total load shedding in 7provinces, again the 7 provinces have been hacked into yet another load shedding tears. Dununa backwardness unfortunately!
      As usual, PF bandits are yapping. How much is mealie meal in the areas & where is blind Lungu’s 500,000 jobs? The short legged lies of PF violent bandits blamed drought all years, but now its raining & still visionless Lungu’s PF bandits are blaming the rains?! Poverty First ~PF.
      Dununa reverse at your own perils. Where is the national airline now PF & bandit Mukanga?
      Zero. Story PF.
      The Skeleton Key
      ~206~

    • Where is that money going to come from??,,,, you see now! Livingstone should have let to be provincial capital, all the infrastructure which was put up in Livingstone is now of no use today…. loss! And now you are spending more to make choma provincial capital…. sick!

    • Meanwhile over 180 UTH Doctors & many others have not been paid for months. Now the Drs have gone on strike, violent PF bandits of visionless Lungu are in a veil of ignorance to sniff the implications of all this mess. The economy is melted~ UTH has no medicine & Drs but visionless Edy Gadama canvases across the globe each time the hungover tickles.
      This digital migration issue has been politicised for years now by PF bandits without economic plan b’coz they are visionless. A fish starts rotting from its head & the rest follows suit. Story after story to PF bandits is an achievement. Surely everyone saw the PF bandits few days ago when ganged up the civil centre, causing confusion yet PFolice of Kangaja were watching & cheering. Violent PF bandits had no police permit to demonstrate…

    • ….over spilt milk ~Kulima tower & bus stations. Hey PF pay the doctors at UTH & visionless Dagama to stop global trotting just b’coz of hungovers. Hungover & global trotting with PF bandits is not doing just to the economy but injustice.
      The Skeleton Key
      ~206~

    • This 22 million has been earmarked for their pockets. Its one way PF has been stealing money openly since it came into power. This digital migration as been allocated money year on year but virtually nothing is done to show for it.

      Does Zambia really digital migration when the PF is killing off independent press and private broadcasting organisations?

      That 22 million would have been better spent on FSP which I hear is in shambles right now. Or better still buy equipment for the prototyping centre so that people with bright ideas of making things can go and experiment with mock ups.

      Next year another 30 million will be allocated for same with all the money ending up in their pockets.

      Lungu must fall by all means.

  1. This is just weird…why do I have a feeling that this was already dealt with and budgeted for in the past by the BUFFOON CK….its like the road to Solwezi where money is always released every year. Zambia is starting to be like Kenya where funds for a clinic are released and not a brick is layed or foundation dug on site.

  2. It means we’ll have to buy a DECODER in order to watch DeadNBC.

    Who can afford these decoders? Is DeadNBC worth it?

    Imagine to pay in order to watch your favorite Friday Movies repeated for the 1-millionth time :

    War of the Worlds
    Beverly Hills Cop
    The Fly
    Dream-Team etc.

  3. I’m not in Zambia so need a bit of advise on this. Do the Zambian populace use decoders at the moment to get the digital signal and has antenna installation been done around the country? Has ASO also commenced (Analogue switch off) ??

  4. This is like the subsidies story because some time ago we were told this deal was underway. Anyhow, with the AG report it is same all same all… allocations will be made, they will be reallocated without due process and then the AG will get to hear about it and write it in the annual financial fictional report for all to read. Blame me for being cynical?

  5. Can ZNBC please give a technical update on the current position of digitalisation of its channels. What areas can receive digital signals of which channels?
    Follow this with the next development plans.

  6. Seriously, digital migration was achieved two years ago! Money for decoders, or whatever digital migration entails, was voted for and released in previous budgets. I recall seeing Mwansa Kapeya as Deputy Minister visiting Ghana and Tanzania with delegations of experts to SEE how other countries achieved the technological feat! The money now being sought is for STEALING. Zambians wake up and defend your resources from being abused and stolen by crooks!

    • You need a set top box that functions as a decoder to enable analogue tv sets to show pictures transmitted by a digital transmitter.
      You may not need the box if your tv set is already designed to receive digital signals.

    • A TV which does not have T2 technology in it requires a decoder to decode the digital signal whether it is receiving the signal via terrestrial transmission or via DTH (direct to home) Satellite transmission. Majority of households in Africa still don’t use smart TV’s so in a nut shell yes, we very much need decoders for DTT and DTH to work.

  7. YOU ARE ALL MISSING THE PUNCH LINE. SHE NEEDS THAT MONEY IN HER MINISTRY TO ENRICH HERSELF ALSO AS KAMBWILI HAS CLEANED OUT THE KITTY.

  8. Does anyone remember and miss “Bola Bola’s Ear view” and “Uncle Lingwi?” We used to have creative journalists and to think most of them were Evelyn Hone bred, the reporting was refreshing with minimal if not any misrepresentation of the English language!

Comments are closed.

Read more

Local News

Discover more from Lusaka Times-Zambia's Leading Online News Site - LusakaTimes.com

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading