The Non-Governmental Gender Organization Coordinating Council (NGOCC) has urged all stakeholders and the government to facilitate an environment for the press to operate freely.
NGOCC Executive Director, Anne Mbewe, said the women’s movement and other actors have been advocating for the enactment of the Access to Information (ATI) law for some time now.
“The Access to Information law is not only important for the press but for enhancing good governance. We believe with unhindered access to information, the government will become more transparent and responsive to the citizens,” Ms. Mbewe said.
She said this in a press statement made available to the media on the commemoration of World Press Freedom Day.
Ms. Mbewe said the free flow of information in democracy remains critical as citizens depend on this very information to make decisions on a day to day basis.
She said as the fourth estate, the media continues to be the medium through which the rulers and the governed communicate.
“It is against this backdrop that on the occasion to commemorate the International World Press Freedom Day, we urge all stakeholders, especially the government to facilitate an environment for the press to operate freely,” Ms. Mbewe said.
She said without doubt the media continues to play an important role in Zambia’s growing democracy.
Ms. Mbewe therefore appealed to the government to facilitate for a constitutional review process in order to remove repugnant laws that negate a free press.
She said repugnant laws are not only retrogressive but negate the growth of the country’s young democracy.
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