The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) has commended government’s pronouncement that the much anticipated Access to Information (A.T.I) Bill will be presented to parliament next month.

ZANIS reports that MISA Zambia Vice Chairperson Elizabeth Chanda says the pronouncement is more than welcome as the law is long overdue.

Mrs. Chanda says the ATI bill needs to be tabled in parliament as it benefit every citizen in the country when it is becomes law.

“As stakeholders, we have had time to look at the law and its implications. By now, we all know that the law is not meant to only benefit the media. Yes, the media will talk more about it because for them, information is their major resource.

“Maybe in terms of usage, Journalists will use the law more than any other ordinary citizen. However, it does not take away the fact that each and every citizen will benefit from this law,” she stated.

Mrs. Chanda, who is also a Media Law Lecturer at the University of Zambia, said Zambia has grown as a country and as a democratic state, the issues surrounding the Access to Information Bill are clearly understood.

“It is high time we moved in a certain direction. As MISA, we want to see specific results,” she added.

And Independent Broadcasting Authority (I.B.A) Director General Josephine Mapoma says the pronouncement by government to table the A.T.I bill before parliament is a welcome move.

Ms. Mapoma echoed Ms. Chanda’s sentiments that the law is not only meant to benefit journalists as is misconstrued.

She said the law will allow every single citizen to access information on an individual basis.

Minister of Justice Given Lubinda recently said the Access to Information Bill will be presented to parliament when it begins its sitting next month.

A Youth governance activitist has said that with the formation of the Venyre for Young Leaders in Africa (CYLA) older generation politicians risk being ejected from the governance structures of the country if they do not include youths in the governance agenda of the country.

Speaking when he featured on Joy FM live interactive program, the Platform, Prince Ndoyi who featured together with fellow MMD youth Gerald Chiluba and Gilbert Liswaniso from the UPND said that there is a youth movement which is slowly forming to push for a youth inclusiveness in the running of the country.

He said youths are slowly realising that they are being used like tools box which is only remembered when there is a break down and put out of site once the tools have been used.

He said youths are the majority hence the coming together of youths from differentpolitical parties should be a wake up call to politicians that things are changing and that youths will no longer accept to be used during elections and excluded in governance.

He warned that the 2021 elections would be different from the past elections because it will not be about political parties but the marginalised who include youths and women.

And on the proposed increase in the years describing a child Mr Ndoyi said the move sounds like a ploy to run away from responsibilities.

He said if the years are increased then the number of youths will reduce there by the number that should be mandated for employment would have decreased.

Further Mr Ndoyi called on young to support each other and stop competing with muscles but instead compete with ideas which would uplift their lives and contribute to the country’s economy and development.

He urged youths to join hands and fight the high poverty levels among them and ensure that they push political leaders for their inclusion in running the affairs of the country.

And Gilbert Liswaniso who is the Youth Spokesperson for the UPND noted the need for more on consultation on the proposed increase in the age describing a child.

He said there are people who are less than 21 who are living by themselves due to circumstances beyond their control and should be given opportunities to have a better life by government by creating jobs and that if the age is increased then these people would not have equal opportunities getting employed as they would be considered as children.

Meanwhile Mr Liswaniso has described the educated citizenry in the country as a let down to the nation.

He said most people who have gone to school some even at the expense of the tax payer have excluded themselves from the governance of the country and that they fail to even speak for themselves because they think politics should be left to people they consider uneducated.

He said the running of the country should be a responsibility all regardless of how educated someone might be, because when things are bad in the country everyone is affected.

Meanwhile Gerald Chiluba who is MMD Die Hard Youths Coordinator said through CYLA youths will be brought together and fight for a common agenda.

He said youths can not continue to fight the battles of others when they have so much on their plates.

He said for a long time youths have been perceived to be irresponsible people who can only be used during elections but that will come to an end because by coming together young people will say no to number of vices.

He said young people are going to rebrand themselves and ensure that they earn the respect they deserve so that even when they demand for something they would be seen to be responsible people capable of being leaders.

Namwala Market Association Chairperson Oliver Kayombo says his association is saddened by the gutting of the Kapalala market in Masala area of Ndola District on the Copperbelt province.

Mr. Kayombo says as a market association they are very saddened by their colleagues loss of property worth millions of kwacha due to an inferno which yesterday gutted the market in Ndola.

He has however appealed to various stakeholders including government to help the victims with capital so that they continue looking after their families as most of them depend on the market to sustain their lives.

The Namwala Market Association Chairperson has also appealed to marketeers to form market security groups to help police to intensify patrols to avoid such calamities at market places which have recently rocked the country.

The market in Ndola’s Kabushi constituency was yesterday gutted destroying merchandise belonging to hundreds of marketeers.

The development has left many in a state of shock as over 3 000 stands have been destroyed and the cause of fire is not yet established.

The suspect Luckson Ngabala of Kabushi township was today sentenced to two years imprisonment with hard labour for causing the fire that swept the Kapalala at Masala market in Ndola yesterday.

The National Assembly has launched the 2017-2021 communication strategy in a bid to disseminate information to the general public pertaining to its activities during the same period.

Acting Clerk of the National Assembly Cecilia Mbewe says the National Assembly of Zambia has since 2011 developed communication strategies that help to disseminate information about the activities of the institution.

Ms. Mbewe said this at the official launch of the communication strategy in Lusaka today.

The Acting Clerk revealed that the 2017-2021 National Assembly of Zambia Communication Strategy has identified important strategies of taking Parliament closer to the people by enhancing its engagement and interaction with various stakeholders.

These strategies assist the National Assembly in creating public awareness of the activities of the Institution thereby increasing people’s effective participation in National governance processes, she stated.

The Acting Clerk of the National Assembly further noted that the implementation of the Communication Strategy will require forging effective partnerships with media institutions across the country.

She said the media are strategic partners in disseminating information on the work of the National Assembly of Zambia effectively.

The media provides an important accountability mechanism as it raises important issues that would otherwise never be debated or addressed publicly, she said.

Speaking at the same event, Acting Deputy Clerk-Procedure of the National Assembly of Zambia Cecilia Sikatele disclosed that the 2017-2021 Communication Strategy is aimed at enhancing the visibility of the National Assembly to the public and enabling public participation in the work of the Assembly.

Ms. Sikatele explained that the National Assembly recognizes enhanced partnerships with the media as one of the key enablers in rolling out of the Communication Strategy.

SPEECH DELIVERED BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED PARTY FOR NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (UPND), MR Hakainde Hichilema AT A JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE WITH THE DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE LEADER AND PRESIDENT, MR MMUSI MAIMANE, DATED THIS 31/08/2017, South Africa, CAPE TOWN.

The Democratic Alliance leader, my brother, Mr Mmusi Maimane,

Distinguished invited guests, members of the press and ladies and gentlemen,

To start with, allow me to greet you all on bhealf of my fellow Zambians back home, I want to say thank you for inviting us to come and share with you our country’s current standing.

Thanks giving.

My brothers and sisters, we are here to reaffirm our commitment towards the upholding of democracy in our respective countries, and Africa at large.

However, before I go in detail, please allow me to thank the following people who stood firm and demanded for our release when we were arrested and detained on

Treason trumped charge:

1. To the people of this great nation, I say thank you for standing up for me.

2. To my brother mr mmusi maimane, I say thank you for standing up for democracy in my country, and please allow me to apologize on behalf of the 16 million Zambians over what happened to you on our soil as you wanted to attend my court trial and visit me in prison.

3. To the South african unions, (numsa) I say thank you, because you stood up for my country when your fellow unions were supressed or indeed feared for their lives and could not talk when injustices begun in my country.

4. To the church, I say may god, the almighty richly bless you as you have always shown leadership even when others may call you names, you still speak for the oppressed and please continue just like you did when I was brutally detained.

5. I want to say thank you to former nigerian president, president olusegun obasanjo for his statesmanship and please allow me to thank the international community which stood up and are still doing so for democracy in Zambia and world over, as you maybe aware that to a large extent our regional bodies turned a blind eye on the atrocious, and all that comes with dictatorship, especially in the southern african region but also Africa as a whole.

6. Commonwealth secretary general, the right honourable Baroness Patricia Scotland, I say thank you too.

Ladies and gentlemen, the list of those to thank is endless but I want once more thank people in my country who have been suffocated by those who do not value human rights, good governance and justice for all.

Facts regarding our arrest

Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to quickly run you through how we were brutally arrested on the 10th of april 2017 as the police brutally tortured us on the very day from 21:00 hours to about 04:00 hours Zambian time.

1. Over 200 police brutally attacked us, and vandalised our residence and tortured us for no reason but later arrested us for treason, a trumped up charge which we did not commit.

2. I was put in solitary confinement for 8 days,

3. I was put in a police cell full of feacal matter.

4. I was moved from prison to prison.

5. I was made to answer the call of nature using a bucket.

However, ladies and gentlemen, we are here to tell you that despite all this brutality and inhuman treatment that those in authority made us go through, we harbour no hate, we are not bitter and we forgive them and we will use their brutality on us to make Zambia a safe home for all including neighbouring countries.

And this drives me to the next point;

Current state of affairs in our country, Zambia ladies and gentlemen, it is no longer arguable that our country Zambia is undergoing very difficult times, where citizens cannot fully stand to talk and say this is the Zambia we want.

1. Suffice to say that, as Hakainde Hichilema, I remain indebted to the people of my country, our country does not need guns or mighty men with guns but its need leadership, leadership that will realise that god hates injustices.

2. Breakdown in the rule of law; there is an absolute breakdown in the rule of law in my country which need urgent attention by all well meaning bodies.

3. Elections; I was arrested because of disputing election results through the courts of law, therefore Zambia needs an independent electoral commission if democracy is to be resuscitated.
4.JUDICIARY; Zambia needs an independent judiciary that will opetate freely unlike a situation where in the morning the constitutional court rules that a presidential petition will be heard the following day but when that day comes, they say no, time has lapsed.

5. Freedoms: ladies and gentlemen, I am glad that my brothers and sisters here in South Africa can go about and wear clothes branded by their political parties of choice unlike in our country, people from our party are daily being maimed for wearing our regalia and this is why we call on the people of South Africa to join in the struggle for democracy in Zambia, remember how Zambia joined hands with South Africa during the struggle, where has that humanism gone to?

6. Freedoms: the media in our country is not safe, there is no press freedom in my country, journalists are getting arrested even on flimsy charges such as terrorism, private newspapers, radio and television have been getting closed; Post Newspaper, Komboni Radio, Itezhi Tezhi and Muvi Television. And is urinating into a journalist’s mouth press freedom? Well, that is not a surprise to us as cadres from the ruling party have done that in Zambia.

7. Freedoms: there is no freedom of assembly, association, speech and this is why we are saying that neighbouring countries must not watch these injustices go on, because what affects Zambia, affects all and
Therefore we must all stop this.

Ladies and gentlemen, as Hakainde Hichilema, I will remain committed to ensuring that Zambia stops anyone practising dictatorship, I believe that power belongs to the people and that Zambia is not an highland and therefore I again call on other countries that believe in humanism, fundamental human rights and democracy to join in restoring democracy in Zambia.

Yes, we are ready to talk with anyone and we mean anyone with bold stance that yes, Zambia needs institutional reforms such as those of the police among others.

I want the best for Zambia and I want the best for Africa, after all, we all want the best for the world, so Let us all work towards that.

May god bless our two sisterly countries, may god bless Africa and may god bless the whole globe.

NGIYABONGA BABA,

Thank you.