The Zambia Institute of Independent Media Alliance (ZIIMA) has described as a betrayal the pulling out of two media bodies from the media self-regulation process.
Alliance President Jajah Coulibaly has charged that the reasons why MISA Zambia and BBC media action have u-turned on a process they fully supported from its inception is just to please foreign funders.
Mr Coulibaly said that their actions amount to treachery, recalling that the media in Zambia failed on two occasions to regulate themselves through voluntary means.
Mr Coulibaly has therefore urged journalists and media houses across the country to remain calm as the Zambia Media Council (ZAMEC) draft bill will soon be ready to be taken to parliament.
Yesterday, the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Zambia and BBC Media Action withdrew their participation from the Media Self-Regulation Technical Working Group (TWG) that proposes to set up the Zambia Media Council(ZAMEC).
Media Liaison Committee Chairperson Enock Ngoma said that the two organisations will no longer be part of the media self-regulation process in Zambia.
Mr Ngoma said that Media Laison Committee however remains indebted to the two organisations for their technical and financial support rendered to the process.
In a joint statement issued to the media by Mr Ngoma and the Technical Working Group Chairperson Ernest Chanda, further disclosed that the new Technical Working Group Secretariat under MLC has since moved from MISA Zambia to the Media Network on Child Rights and Development (MNCRD) offices.
And, Mr Ngoma, said the TWG has submitted the final draft of the Zambia media council bill to the Ministry of Information and Media and is currently at the Ministry of Justice waiting for the Government to table it in Parliament.
He has invited stakeholders, cooperating partners and other well-wishers to come on board to support the process.
Can someone please explain what this is all about.
And these are the news agencies that Sishuwa Sishuwa works for. Imperialists that dont want to see a Black man succeed – lets mobilise in large numbers to defeat the imperialistic control of media houses-indeed gone are the days. These are the same Media houses who report on Africa as “Sub Sahara Africa” What is sub sahara africa? Is there Sub America or Sub Europe or Sub China too?
Theres nothing wrong with Sishuwa. Unlike you he is a free soul not a tribalist sycomphant
Self regulation funded by foreign donors. And instigated by Edgar China Lungu and his band of cronies. If that doesn’t smell like corruption, then I don’t know what does. MISA and BBC are the only sensible organizations.
Ask the journalists. They are very docile. Thats why they are easily oppressed in Zambia
Kwena Zambian journalists are being paid for nothing. They are mere clerks waiting for ministers to issue press releases. That’s why the profession is dead in Zambia
This mutawale punk is so irritating. If you don’t know the topic it’s better to zip up instead of bringing your ignorance to the discussion table. Sub Saharan Africa is a harmless geographical definition of a region of Africa. The region is below the Sahara thus the sub prefix. The region is separated from North Africa by the desert. There many other such geographical definitions of various places employed by scholars, journalists, politicians etc
Lungu was media’s number one enemy. Theres no way he could fund this. He’d rather be silent because even if they are against HH he wouldn’t find any support from the media. Self regulation happens in many democracies and lack of government involvement is crucial. Foreign interference can be easily detected and as such nothing to worry about. We already have foreign interference at the political level