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Statutory regulation is prone to misuse – ZEC

Statutory regulation is prone to misuse – ZEC
By Masuzyo Chakwe
Thu 22 Apr. 2010, 04:00 CAT

ZAMBIA Episcopal Conference (ZEC) spokesperson Father Paul Samasumo has said statutory regulation of the media, even when passed with the best of intentions, is prone to misuse by overzealous politicians.

And World Press Freedom Day Organising Committee chairperson Sheik Chifuwe said the media were not shaken by the government’s threats to regulate them by statutory and would go ahead and launch ZAMEC on May, 3 this year.

Commenting on information minister Ronnie Shikapwasha’s statement on Monday that he could not support a fraud system on media regulation and that the Zambia Media Council (ZAMEC) was just a reincarnation of the failed Media Council of Zambia (MECOZ), Fr Samasumo said there was a misunderstanding that self-media regulation would endanger the rule of law, infringe on people’s privacy and bring the peace that the nation had enjoyed in jeopardy.

“This is not true. Seriously, offending media can and will still be dealt with in courts of law. Politicians and the public can choose not to go to ZAMEC but the courts for law for redress,” he said.

“Statutory regulation, even when passed with the best of intentions, is prone to misuse by overzealous politicians. In the end only voices that are in support of governments will be heard. This will not be good for our democracy.”

Fr Samasumo said the Catholic media in Zambia was saddened by the new stance adopted by the government over media self-regulation. He said having participated fully on the journey towards media self regulation, it was important that the government gave this route chance to work.

He said judging from the resolve and unanimity witnessed among the various media houses during the national conference held at Pamodzi hotel, recently, the Catholic media was convinced that both the private and public media were resolved to make ZAMEC succeed.

“The minister of information should not be unduly worried that ZAMEC will go the way of MECOZ. As Zambian media, we have come too far along this route of self media regulation to start changing course now and go the statutory way.

The media in Zambia have done their homework by going to almost all our neighbouring countries and in the end decided to adopt the South African model of self media regulation,” he said “The whole process and visits to neighbouring countries was done with the blessing of government. It is therefore, not right for government to change goalposts now and insist that the media adopt the Kenyan model.

The Kenyan model cannot work in Zambia where government is the biggest media player. Besides, governments, even when freely elected, are participants in the political contest and therefore are not best-suited to enforce fairness and objectivity.

Fr Samasumo said good journalism works in the interests of the public and offers news that was accurate, fair and balanced, gives voice to the voiceless, and contains the diversity of opinions in any given story.

“This is not to say that the media cannot take positions. However, when they take sides, the media will clearly distinguish between facts, comments and opinions,” he said.

Fr Samasumo said the view of the media owned by the Catholic Church in Zambia was that the media could only perform its crucial role as a watchdog of government if there was as little state control as possible.

He said at the recent national conference, to discuss the formation of ZAMEC, the media resolved to put in place ethical standard that would be governed by a code of ethics.

Fr Samasumo said ethics were best created by professionals themselves and best obeyed by them in a voluntary manner.
He said another misconception was that ethics were about dos and don’ts.

“Ethics are a way of life. In other words, a journalist will resolve to maintain ethics even when no one is looking. Obviously, no one is perfect. That is where the Ombudsman who will head ZAMEC comes in,” he said.

“In our view, our government should be celebrating the fact the media from the public and private sector have come together and resolved to make ZAMEC work.

This is unprecedented and needs to be celebrated. If ZAMEC fails then government can come back and say to all of us ‘we told you it would not work. Now let’s talk statutory regulation!’”

Fr Samasumo said if the media worked according to agreed ethical standards of behaviour based on accuracy, fairness, independence and accountability, they were less likely to fall foul of the law.

“In fact, what is never emphasised is that the major beneficiaries from ZAMEC are actually members of the public, who will have their complaints against a media house dealt with within three months and at zero or minimal cost.

If you compare this to going to court and waiting three years, I think everyone will agree that self media regulation that the media want to launch on May 3 is the best way to go.”

And Chifuwe said the media was convinced that self-regulation was the best way to go and they would deliver on the process.
He said the process would succeed and would meet the expectations of the public and media practitioners.

Chifuwe said it was already known that the government wanted to regulate the media but the media were not shaken and would go ahead with self-regulation.

He said it was beyond reasoning that a developing democracy such as Zambia should abandon the principles on which democracy was strengthened and instead take the path that was not only destructive but oppressive to the citizens.

Chifuwe said the deliberate attempt to gag the media through statutory regulation shall restrict and compromise flow of information intended to help people make informed decisions and be able to influence policy formulation and general governance of the country.

“We have no doubt that the media in our country is at the centre of discussion because it is under threat. We want to appeal to media practitioners to remain on the correct side of the debate and ensure that our people understand and start demanding for a free press,” he said.

Chifuwe also said the organising committee of the World Press Freedom Day had made tremendous progress in organising this year’s event scheduled for May 3.

He said this Sunday the committee would host sports activities at which media workers and practitioners shall have social engagement and revitalize their resolve to demand for a free press and freedom of expression.

Chifuwe said several teams and media organisations had confirmed participation and floating trophies would be presented to deserving teams.

He said the media was also faced with a lot of challenges as a new page is turned towards self-determination regarding media self-regulation in the country.

Chifuwe said criticism mounted by those opposed to media self-regulation had strengthened the Media Liaison Committee (MLC) and other progressive citizens.

“We have never at any given time believed that this would be an easy undertaking and we have no reason today to feel frustrated about the position taken by those opposed to this progressive agenda,” he said.

Chifuwe said MLC members felt disappointed by Shikapwasha’s statement attacking individual members of the committee.

He said Shikapwasha accused the MLC chairperson Henry Kabwe of driving or propagating what did not reflect the position of the MLC but the committee was confronted by the fact they were aware of such machinations intended to divide and weaken them.

He said those working with Shikapwasha to derail the process were aware or should know by now that Kabwe was mandated by the MLC to speak and/or represent the vision of the progressive media practitioners in the country.

Chifuwe appealed to Shikapwasha’s conscience to redirect his mind on this issue so he can be judged correctly by posterity.

And MLC spokesperson Amos Chanda said the MLC was open to dialogue but not one where positions were fixed.

Labels: MEDIA, PAUL SAMASUMO, REGULATION, SHEIK CHIFUWE, ZEC

posted by MrK @ 3:12 AM