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Statutory regulation of media is a repressive law, says Sata

Statutory regulation of media is a repressive law, says Sata
Written by George Chellah and Patson Chilemba
Sunday, August 23, 2009 5:49:46 AM

PATRIOTIC Front (PF) leader Michael Sata yesterday said statutory regulation of the media is a repressive law, which is only targeted at the private media.
In an interview yesterday, Sata said plans by information minister Lieutenant General Ronnie Shikapwasha to introduce laws that would regulate the media would not yield any positive results.

"They have failed to regulate the media before and they shall fail again. It's clear that they were targeting certain Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) on the NGO bill and they are also targeting not only The Post but the private media like Sky FM in Monze on the statutory regulation of the media," he said.

He said President Rupiah Banda's government was panicking.

"Statutory regulation of the media is a repressive law, which is targeted at the private media. Let them know that this repressive law will not change the attitude of the people," Sata said. "They might use this repressive law to send a few journalists to prison but that will just harden the feelings of the people of Zambia."

He said the government wanted to continue thriving on corruption.

"Why do they want to regulate the media? Do they want the press not to report their corruption through statutory regulation? In any case, they were with Levy Mwanawasa and they worked with him when the same media was reporting," Sata said. "It's the same media which was reporting when they worked with Levy, so what has changed now? Those repressive laws will not help them in any way."

The government has given media associations a six-month ultimatum to formulate a self-regulatory body, failure to which the government would move in to take their draft statutory regulation bill to Parliament.

However, the media bodies rejected the ultimatum on grounds that there were no intentions to accommodate such an arrangement whether it came today or in the next 100 years, saying the country had enough laws which inhibited the operations of the media.

And Sata warned that PF would not allow President Banda and the MMD to have their corrupt way in the Kasama Central by-elections.

He said PF had learnt a great deal from the just-ended Chitambo parliamentary by-election, which was characterised by the use of government vehicles and other corrupt vices like distribution of food by the MMD.

He warned that MMD should not forget that PF had more supporters in Kasama Central than any other political party.

"We have learnt a great deal in Chitambo. It was an MMD seat, but the MMD was panicking. And we would like to warn Electoral Commission of Zambia [ECZ] to not be partisan, because they were partisan in Chitambo. And thank God, we don't have enough Chinese in Kasama as in Chitambo," Sata said. "It has never been done in the last 45 years, a President calling all the headmen in a Constituency where there will be a by-election. In other areas, he calls chiefs. But why call headmen now in Kasama? That is the worst corruption. We won't allow that. They should be reminded that Kasama is our seat."

However, Sata said President Banda was being honest for saying that MMD would fight hard for Kasama Central because he understood that the task before him was very difficult.

He said even President Banda's friend, former president Frederick Chiluba, would not be able to turn the tables in Kasama because he [Chiluba] had never been popular there.

"He [President Banda] has seen what he has found on the ground. He was being cheated by the people, but when he went there he saw reality," Sata said. "Last year, Frederick Chiluba campaigned for him in Luapula and Northern Province, but he did not even get 25 per cent of what Levy Mwanawasa got."

Sata said probably the MMD would also use Chiluba's US $8 million which was acquired from private sources but was banked in a state account.

He said it was shameless for the President to carry out jobs, which were supposed to be done by a district commissioner, such as commissioning a small bridge and inspecting potholes in town.

"Even that bridge he was commissioning, it was done by a PF mayor. He's inspecting potholes in town, why can't he inspect those pits on major roads in Northern Province?" asked Sata.

President Banda on Friday declared that MMD would fight hard for Kasama Central Constituency because PF had failed the constituency.

Labels: MEDIA, SATA

posted by MrK @ 4:48 AM