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Girasoli hails The Post’s contribution to democracy

Girasoli hails The Post’s contribution to democracy
By Patson Chilemba
Sun 01 Aug. 2010, 04:01 CAT

VATICAN Ambassador to Zambia Apostolic Nicola Girasoli has said The Post plays a very important role in enhancing Zambia’s democracy.

Speaking when he, officials and students from the Scientific Lyceum High School of Italy conducted a familiarisation tour of The Post on Friday, Archbishop Girasoli hailed the work of The Post in Zambia.

“I have been five years in Zambia and I really can assure you that The Post is always playing a very important role in this country to grow among the people of what really democracy means,” Archbishop Girasoli said.

“So The Post has been really very, very important in its 19 years to let grow this idea of democracy, because this is a long process we know very well. So this, I think, is the main aim if I may say from my point of view what The Post is doing. This is an independent paper and privately owned newspaper which is quite unique in this country.”

Archbishop Girasoli said one of The Post’s roles of keeping checks and balances was very important because even Western countries needed pluralism.

“Of course doing this sometimes you provoke different opinions, you provoke sometimes of course some criticism,” he said.

Archbishop Girasoli said The Post was a newspaper that everyone read in Zambia and was also very successful.
“And indeed we can’t start the day without reading The Post. Even they (the visiting Italian students) know,” he said.

Archbishop Girasoli said the standards of The Post were similar to those in Europe.

And Post managing editor Amos Malupenga said The Post last Monday celebrated 19 years of independent and courageous journalism.

He said the newspaper was launched in 1991 during time Zambia was moving from one-party participatory democracy to multi-party democracy.

Malupenga said the newspaper played an influential role in that process and had continued to do the same in promoting democracy in Zambia.

Malupenga said the newspaper kept checks and balances on the government because they were the people who managed public resources on behalf of the citizens.

He said that was not to say that the newspaper did not pay attention to what was going on elsewhere in the country like in the civil society and other political organisations.

“Our work is very challenging and difficult in many respects. It is very challenging especially when we are doing checks and balances on those who are in control of the state machinery. Sometimes we come into conflict with those in government. That’s why we press it upon our journalists to ensure that they remain courageous and truthful to their cause,” Malupenga said.

He said journalists had a duty to tell the truth to the public, because the public could only make informed decisions when they had the truth.

“However, those in power want to sweep the truth under the carpet. So it is our duty to expose that which they want to hide. And in the process there are skirmishes,” Malupenga said.

Asked by Scientific Lyceum School teacher Dr Caputi Onofrio who observed that there were too many adverts in that day’s edition, Malupenga said The Post was very lucky to have the largest circulation in the country.

He said this attracted a lot of advertisers who are assured of getting their messages to all corners of the country by advertising in The Post.

“We also enjoy the widest readership in the country because of our objective news, which many people look up to,” said Malupenga.

“And generally, we are kept in business by our people’s goodwill. Our people have been very supportive from the time the newspaper was launched on 26th July 1991.”

Labels: NICOLA GIRASOLI, THE POST

posted by MrK @ 3:21 AM