Maravi

Posterity will judge Kunda harshly, says Mwiimbu

Posterity will judge Kunda harshly, says Mwiimbu
By George Zulu in Monze and Justin Kawisha in Mazabuka
Tue 29 Dec. 2009, 04:00 CAT

UPND chairman for legal and constitutional affairs Jack Mwiimbu has said posterity will judge Vice-President George Kunda and the MMD harshly if they continue with attempts to dictate for statutory regulation of the media as opposed to self-regulation.

In an interview in Monze, Mwiimbu who is also UPND Monze Central member of parliament, said his party was categorically opposed to the statutory regulation of the media because the media should be allowed to regulate itself in a free and democratic society.

"UPND and our cooperating partners, the PF, we shall ensure that statutory regulation of the media by the MMD government is opposed in Parliament. We are aware that the MMD is trying to use the arrogance of numbers in Parliament but that does not work in a democratic society, posterity will judge Vice-President Kunda and his government harshly and will also judge us harshly if we allow a situation where government dictates to…the media.

We believe that the media is an arbiter in situations where members of the public want information, the media should be allowed to operate freely and the UPND/PF pact shall lobby other partners including NGOs for support to ensure that we don't allow the government to come up with statutory regulation of the media," said Mwiimbu.

He said in the event that the government passed the draconian statutory regulation law of the media, the pact, after forming government in 2011, will revisit and repeal the law to the benefit of the nation and the media fraternity as a whole.

Mwiimbu said he was surprised that the government had been suggesting that the Catholic Church and the media played a major role in the 1993 genocide in Rwanda. He said the Catholic Church was one of the few churches that had uplifted the living standards of the people in Zambia.

"They have provided schools, health infrastructures and other social and economic infrastructure and they are on the side of the down-trodden of society. It is absurd for any person to suggest that the Catholic Church or indeed the media will be in the forefront of promoting genocide in this country, what would be the benefit anyway of doing such a thing?," asked Mwiimbu.

He said statements from the government on the Catholic Church and sections of the media were intended to silence them from speaking for the poor in society.
He said revelations by The Post that Vice-President Kunda was planning to come up with a punitive bill in Parliament against the media was a parochial perception on the party of the Vice-President.

He said The Post from inception has been consistent it its coverage of developmental and political issues without any bias, unlike the government controlled media which were always inclined to support the government of the day irrespective of the issues at hand.

Labels: GEORGE KUNDA, JACK MWIIMBU, MEDIA, REGULATION

posted by MrK @ 4:43 AM