Maravi

Musenge urges citizens to petition govt over proposed ZNBC amendment Bill

Musenge urges citizens to petition govt over proposed ZNBC amendment Bill
By Kabanda Chulu in Kitwe
Wed 24 Mar. 2010, 04:00 CAT

COPPERBELT Province PF chairperson Mwenya Musenge yesterday said people should petition the government against the proposed ZNBC amendment Bill that seeks to imprison people for failure to pay television levy and to grant more powers to the information minister.

The Bill which has passed through Parliament waiting for presidential assent, seeks to, among other things, remove the Appointments Committee for the ZNBC Board, provide for the collection of television levy by various agents such as television receivers and tuner retailers on behalf of ZNBC and empower the minister of information to exempt some people and organisations from paying television levy.

The government has argued that the Appointments Committee as contained in the current ZNBC Act was notorious and meant to favour people from the civil society.

But Musenge said there was need to stop the desperation with which the MMD government was trying to rule the country.

“If need arises, we shall engage the support of the international community and we shall soon get signatures and mobilise people to petition government against this Bill and generally laws are followed when acceptable to people and should not be imposed,” said Musenge. “And this Bill will not be fair because failure to pay television levy will land someone into prison and why should people be forced to watch ZNBC TV which always broadcast propaganda messages from the President and his ministers? Actually this Bill and many others which the MMD want to be in place before the 2011 elections must be stopped because they will just put more pressure on the suffering Zambians.”

Labels: MWENYA MUSENGE, ZNBC

posted by MrK @ 2:42 PM