Maravi

MPs link FOI to media ethics

MPs link FOI to media ethics
By Inonge Noyoo
Tuesday February 27, 2007 [02:00]

SOME members of parliament have declared that they would not support the enactment of the freedom of information Bill unless a media ethics bill was introduced to regulate the work of the media. At a MISA consultative workshop for members of parliament on the need for a Freedom of Information Act in Zambia, Mapatizya UPND member of parliament Ackson Sejani, Namwala UPND member of parliament Maj Robby Chizyuka, Kalomo UPND member of parliament Request Muntanga, Luapula Patriotic Front member of parliament Dr Richard Machungwa and Kantanshi Patriotic Front member of parliament Mukanga Yamfya said the government was reluctant to enact the Freedom of Information Bill because journalists would have too much leeway.

In an apparent reference to The Post, Machungwa said the media in Zambia was moribund. "Clearly, there is need to deal with media ethics. The media in Zambia is moribund. You cannot have a person describing people as stupid, even going on to discuss their bedrooms. I have not seen this anywhere else, only in Zambia. It is necessary to come up with a bill that will compel the media to abide to some regulations," he said. Dr Machungwa said there was a clear need to deal with media ethics.

And Maj Chizyuka said there would be ten years before the Freedom of Information Bill was enacted and that the reason was entirely in the hands of The Post editorial managers. "I have enjoyed a very good relationship with journalists from the private and public institutions. Without them, my struggle for the people of Zambia would not have materialised. I can assure you that each of the struggles we did together materialised. I support the FOI Act so much that even my best song now is the MISA FOI song," he said. "But I come from a military background and I am a tactician. There will be another 10 years before we have this bill. One reason being that this bill is highly in the hands of Webster and Amos. The Post is the largest circulating newspaper; they sell more papers than The Daily Mail, Times of Zambia or any other newspaper. I understand before it is dawn, The Post is already in Nakonde. In my area people only read The Post. Why do you (The Post) then find it expedient that you are not members of the Media Ethical Council of Zambia (MECOZ)?"

Maj Chizyuka urged the workshop participants to imagine if they were in government and expected to enact an Act when the people who pick information were not bound ethically. "I am not in government and I am not an advocate of anyone. But I will tell you that for as long as you (The Post) do not ascribe to MECOZ there is no way that government will move on this bill and they are the majority. Even if we came into power and I think we will as UPND we will be quiet hesitant to support the FOI when we know the largest circulation is not legally ethically bound," Maj Chizyuka said. "I wonder if we can compel them to belong to an ethics association and if we cannot, should we be thinking that they must be compelled so that even if we push for the FOI we know they will be bound by a committee that will say 'no this is not journalism'." And Muntanga, also in apparent reference to The Post, said sometimes journalists had gone overboard.

He said it was important to realise that once they had written whatever they wrote, especially that which was damaging, it would be difficult to redress. "I am thinking if we enact such a beautiful paper we must seriously see the code of conduct for journalists. Sometimes I wonder why other organisations are not members of MECOZ. You might have a heap of papers but you will direct the story the way you want and these are the things that government is worried about. You allow a situation where you decide to insult everybody, you call them hyenas’... ‘pot-bellied’ what. If I wrote the way the story is, it would not be published and this is what scares government," he said.

Muntanga said it would be difficult to tell newspaper owners not to publish information prematurely once the FOI act was enacted. "Let's discuss more with the press... Why are you making government jittery? I am beginning to think we have created unnecessary tension between the press and government and yet there are some things happening in our organisations as the press which we don't want to talk about because it's dirty. You talk about corruption and everyone being paid well but what are those things you are hiding in your organisations? It's the way you behave that has made government behave the way they are doing," he said.

He said the media had too much excess and that was the reason the government was not willing to support the FOI Bill. He said the government could also be hesitant on the FOI Bill because the media carries wrong information and later apologises. "We need to discuss the limitations. We have seen in your paper lines saying we apologize for this and that," he said Muntanga wondered why The Post was refusing to be part of MECOZ.

And Yamfwa said the FOI Bill was relevant and thus government needed to be engaged with a view of finding out their reason for the delay. "We should trust each other. If we don't want to release information that is relevant right now there is a lot of witch hunting between the politicians and the media. So Parliament alone cannot be left with this task, it's too difficult and impossible," he said.

And Zambia Union of Journalists president Isabel Chimangeni observed that the members of parliament who were insisting on the introduction of a media ethics bill before enacting the FOI Act had closed minds. "It's clear that the members of parliament came with closed minds. The FOI Act is very important and we need it. Right now it is as if wrong things only used to happen in the time of Chiluba yet there is so much rot going on. If you focus on The Post then you are stifling the whole process because the Zambian people need this Act, The Post is just a small fraction of the people. It's true that the current calibre of members of parliament is very low and I have seen it for myself. Three quarters of them, their capacity is very low even on the budget, very few discuss pertinent issues. That is why we invited you to come and help us move this issue forward. Open up your minds and let us move. If you condition it to The Post calling you hyenas we won't progress," she said.

Chimangeni said if anyone was injured by The Post editorial comments, they should find other means of seeking redress. "I don't think they have even corrupted the courts to make them rule in their favour. So we need to find out how you can help us by educating the people in your constituency on the importance of this FOI," Chimangeni said.

And Post managing editor Amos Malupenga noted that the newspaper was at the centre of the FOI which he described as being wrong. "That The Post seems to be blocking government is not correct. The FOI is not for The Post, not for the media but for the people of Zambia. If The Post has misconducted itself this should not be a precondition to have or not to have the FOI Act. Saying that we need to belong to MECOZ before FOI is enacted is a wrong approach. Belonging to MECOZ is voluntary and if you have followed us, you will realise that we were members of ZIMA, now MISA. We pulled out because of our own reasons.

Those who would want to appreciate why we are not members can find time and we will sit down with them, and explain everything. We are not saying it is a useless organisation but to those interested we have nothing to hide. We will give you all the information," he said. Malupenga explained that it would be wrong for anyone to conclude that The Post is guided by the editors’ emotions because “there is an editorial policy and mission statement in place to guide our work.” “We may not belong to MECOZ, but internally we have everything in place to ensure that we practice the highest standards of journalism. This is not to say we do not make mistakes. But when we make mistakes, we are quick to correct and apologise,” he explained.

And Post news editor Webster Malido said The Post had demonstrated a lot of responsibility when it came to handling information which came their way. Malido said even when The Post exposed and reported on the ZAMTROP account, the newspaper did so responsibly. But PF Kabwata member of parliament Given Lubinda, Livingstone ULP member of parliament Sakwiba Sikota and Lusaka Lawyer Patrick Matibini stressed the need to link FOI with corruption as opposed to media ethics.

The three argued that linking FOI to media ethics might delay the process of enactment. They further noted that the FOI should be separated from media ethics as the two were highly contentious issues that could not be mixed. They said pushing for media ethics Bill and the FOI Act at the same time would not resolve anything and urged the other members to avoid the linkage at all cost.

Labels: MEDIA, THE POST

posted by MrK @ 3:50 PM