The Xinhua News Agency of the Republic of China has donated laptops and hard drives to the Zambia News and Information Services.
Speaking during the handover ceremony held at ZANIS headquarters in Lusaka Xinhua President, Fu Hua, said the news agency is ready to continue providing support to and working together with ZANIS.
Mr Hua said the donation of laptops and hard drives is meant to help ZANIS staff enhance their journalistic skills.
He stated that Xinhua hopes to work with ZANIS to deliver more information about the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) summit.
He added that the expected visit by President Hakainde Hichilema to China will cement the already existing cordial relationship between the two countries.
Mr Hua has since invited ZANIS to the fifth World Media Summit which will be hosted by Xinhua in December this year in China.
Mr Hua said he hopes the two agencies will take advantage of the summit to discuss how they can boost media development in the two countries.
He explained that Xinhua News Agency has witnessed many important moments between the two countries and thanked ZANIS for its partnership over the years.
He also disclosed that Xinhua is present in 48 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and registered its presence in Zambia in 1970, making it one of the earliest offices in Africa.
Mr Hua said the 40-year-old relationship between Zambia and China still remains cordial.
And ZANIS Director, Loyce Saili, who received the donation, said Xinhua and the Zambia News and Information Services have enjoyed good cooperation for many years.
Ms Saili said the cooperation dates back when ZANIS was still called Zambia Information Services (ZIS).
She announced that ZANIS is officially supposed to renew its Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of 1984 with Xinhua later this year.
She stated that the MoU is meant to revive the relationship with Xinhua News Agency and allow for the exchange of news, visits and training of workers in different aspects of the media.
Ms Saili disclosed that the news agency recently established the ZANIS Television channel, which is yet to be launched before the end of the year hence the need for employees to be trained in TV production in order to enhance their skills.
She said it is important for ZANIS employees to be further trained, especially that this is the first time the agency is providing broadcasting services since its inception.
“ZANIS is a government department under the Ministry of Information and Media and it is the largest news organisation in the country in terms of footprint and spread. The agency is found in over a hundred districts in Zambia, and we are yet to be established in the new districts,” she explained.
Ms Saili added that ZANIS’s day-to-day activities includes news gathering through District Information Officers and Reporters and shares the news with various clients including TV stations, radio stations, newspapers and online media.
She has since thanked Xinhua for the continued partnership, adding that ZANIS looks forward to many more cooperation in the future.
Don’t use donated electronic gadgets for government or intelligence work because this is how you get spied on. You don’t know what’s on those laptops or hard drives. It’s like these greedy politicians getting donated phones and think less of it but wonder why their calls are leaked out in the media.
Future zed I was going to say the same as you have done. We need to change our way of life and thinking. We have beggars syndrome.
Much has been said already on this topic.
Spying is now the new warfare used and such aregadgets mostly used.