Freedom of expression, access to information are indispensable to any democratic society – Ronnie

Freedom of expression, access to information are indispensable to any democratic society – Ronnie
Written by Mutuna Chanda in Kitwe and Masuzyo Chakwe in Lusaka
Monday, May 04, 2009 12:31:44 AM

FREEDOM of expression and access to information are indispensable to any viable democratic society such as Zambia, information minister Lieutenant General Ronnie Shikapwasha has said.

And Southern Africa Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (SACCORD) executive director Lee Habasonda has urged the government to promote freedom of expression because it constitutes the most important principle of human rights and the first step towards democracy and building peace.

Launching the commemoration of the World Press Freedom Day, which falls on May 3 under the theme ‘Potential of the media in fostering dialogue’, mutual understanding and reconciliation’, Lt Gen Shikapwasha said freedom of expression and access to information facilitated dialogue.

"Freedom of expression and access to information are indispensable to any viable democratic society such as Zambia because they facilitate dialogue which fosters deeper understanding of many challenges we face today," Lt Gen Shikapwasha said.

He said the media had the power and responsibility to facilitate dialogue among stakeholders by providing a platform for people to express themselves and providing information for them to make informed decisions.

"This in turn facilitates mutual understanding and reconciliation," he said. "Reconciliation and mutual understanding are needed even more now that we are undergoing economic downturn due to global economic crises."

He encouraged the media to continue facilitating dialogue in the country to increase mutual understanding and reconciliation.

Lt Gen Shikapwasha has announced that the Freedom of Information Bill, which was withdrawn from Parliament over four years ago, would be enacted this year.

"I wish to reiterate my government's resolve to enact the Freedom of Information Bill this year and will also make operational the Independent Broadcasting Authority and Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation Acts of 2002 by the end of this year," Lt Gen Shikapwasha said. "I would also like to inform the nation that my ministry is in the process of establishing the IBA board in order to remove the regulation of the broadcast sector from the ministry to an independent body."

He observed that while the electronic media had recorded impressive growth since the liberalisation of the industry in 1991, the print media had stagnated.

"This can be attributed to many factors including a poor reading culture, poor financial capabilities of individuals to spare money for newspaper and escalating costs of printing materials most of which are imported," said Lt Gen Shikapwasha. "Even government provincial language newspapers are affected. It is for this reason that my ministry is establishing printing centres at provincial centres to cut down costs. The other media can make use of these presses."

And during the 2009 World Press Freedom Day stakeholders conference yesterday, Habasonda said if people could not express themselves, they cannot vent their anger and hence there was no opportunity for forgiveness and reconciliation.

He said peace was not the absence of tension but the presence of justice.

Habasonda said the media had an important role to play in exposing wrongdoing in society.

However, he said the media had not done enough in the area of reconciliation, as there was need to follow up when people reconcile because there was the healing process thereafter.

Habasonda said in the role of transforming conflicts, the media held pillars not only of justice but peace.

He said from religious groups, civil society organizations, political parties, trade union movement and even in the media, there were divisions that required building bridges.

"Through your reports, you can transform the perceived animosity particularly among our political parties," he said.

Habasonda challenged the media to ensure excluded members of the community were involved in national development.

And World Press Freedom Day organising committee chairperson Sheikh Chifuwe urged the government to expedite the process of media law reform and provide policy framework that would create a more conducive environment for the growth of the media.

Chifuwe hoped that the government would consider taking corrective measures to address the negative impact created by the economic, social, cultural and restrictive legal and statutory requirements for both the print and electronic media to grow.

"We all know that the use of communication whether through the print or electronic media promotes and supports positive social, cultural and economic development. Rapid developments in communications technology are driving new agendas for knowledge transfer, improved governance and access to opportunities for secure livelihoods," he said.

Chifuwe said lack of access to knowledge, information and the means of communication was recognized as a constraint to development at individual, household and national levels.

And Press Association of Zambia (PAZA) vice president Amos Chanda said the current media policy was inadequate to address the challenges of growth the media sector faces today.

"It is in many respects, outdated not just in terms of ideas but also in terms of technological outlook," he said.

He said regulatory authorities were themselves often confused as to what their limits were in the regulatory processes.

"We have seen that the Communications Authority under the communications ministry and the Ministry of Information often give contradictory instructions as regards regulation of radio frequencies," he said. "These challenges of growth in the broadcasting sector will depend largely on the implementation of the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) Act of 2002. The authority will then oversee the development of new and forward-looking policy in consultation with the ministry."

Chanda said the issuance of broadcasting licenses had been put on hold because the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting anticipates the implementation of the IBA anytime soon.

He said while this impedes the development of new radio and television stations, it was perhaps a ray of hope that the law would finally come to pass.

"Further, media associations and unions have on a number of times since the new minister assumed office been assured the reform programme will pick up speed this year," he said.

Chanda said the delay in the implementation of the IBA Act and ZNBC (Amendment) Act had undermined the appreciation of the good progress the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation had made over the years regarding modernisation of equipment and extension of its reach to places that had never before been covered.

However, he said it was difficult to celebrate these achievements in the absence of a corresponding improvement in programming, a major aspect of the amendments.

Chanda said the new statutory obligations on how the national broadcaster must cover the nation had not been implemented.

Chanda said the biting economic meltdown threatened the print media even more because the printing costs [tax on production materials] were so high even before the current economic challenges.

On self-regulation, Chanda said there were increasing calls for the media to become more accountable to the public they serve.

He said this was seen as crucial in the quest for greater freedom and access to information.

"Our response must honestly address these questions on self-regulation. If it fails, the danger of statutory regulation will always besiege us. Questions have been raised on the integrity and credibility of the existing self regulatory mechanisms and calls continue in the direction of statutory regulation," he said.

Chanda said self-regulation was a critical component of the media reform programme, because those who had the power to pass legislation and policy seem quite united on the position that regulation of the media [self or statutory] was necessary.

He said the media reform process was painfully slow and almost at a point of collapse altogether.

Chanda said after the settlement of the court case over IBA and ZNBC Acts by the Supreme Court in December 2006, the relationship between FOI and self- regulation had moved to the centre as the most sticking point in the media law reform process.

He said if media ethics were to be enforced by law, practising journalism would become so difficult that even ordinary, innocent mistakes would be criminalized.

And NGOCC board publicity secretary Juliet Chibuta said the media was instrumental in shaping public opinion and policy and as such were cardinal partners in fighting Gender Based Violence (GBV).

She said women were in a unique position to effect reconciliation and to promote values, which lead to the prevention of violent conflict.

Chibuta said Zambia enjoyed relative peace emanating from 1964 but this peace need not be taken for granted hence the need for prevention strategies

And MISA Zambia chairperson Henry Kabwe said though Zambia had bad laws in place where the media was concerned, the Zambian media needed to pick up examples from Zimbabwe and Botswana who now had statutory regulation.

Kabwe said what remained was to make the Zambian media industry an attractive one by providing safety nets and media houses for the public to fully realise their right to information and freedom of expression.

Kabwe said there was need for the government to provide incentives for the growth of the media by attracting investment through waiver of duty on equipment and newsprint and the careful expedition of the media development fund.