Maravi

Govt retires Times news editor Sakala

Govt retires Times news editor Sakala
By Ernest Chanda
Fri 07 Jan. 2011, 04:00 CAT

PRESS Association of Zambia president Andrew Sakala has been retired from the Times of Zambia. Sakala, 45, who served as News Editor in Lusaka for over two years, was retired on Wednesday in ‘public interest’.

Well-placed sources within the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services said there was a scheme by the government to weaken PAZA, which had been part of the media bodies fighting for self-regulation.

The sources said the government had been hunting down individual editors in the public media who had been opposing statutory media regulation.

The sources disclosed that there was a scheme by the government to weaken the Media Liaison Committee by targeting and influencing its members like the Zambia Union of Journalists and the Zambia Union for Broadcasters and other Information Disseminators (ZUBID) to pull out of the consortium.

“We know that some of the individuals in these unions are principled, but they may be forced to choose between their jobs or principles,” a source said.
When contacted, Sakala, who had served Times of Zambia for 20 years in several positions, confirmed having been retired but declined to comment further on this retirement.

However, Sakala said the government should this year allow freedom of expression even to those who appeared to be a nuisance to them.
Sakala said the government should also stop intimidating media practitioners, especially those in the public media.

“As a media we are still battling and the signals from government are bad. We have to press on for media freedom. Government has an obligation to ensure that people have access to information, and that people express themselves freely," Sakala said. "This is 2011 and I appeal to the government to accommodate even those views they don't like. Even media houses that seem to be critical of government should be allowed to exist because that's the essence of media freedom. Government should not intimidate the public media by retiring editors they seem not to like. Let the media operate freely."

He said the Zambia Media Council (ZAMEC) was not about an individual person or organisation.

Sakala said the proposed media body's origin was very clear; it was about promotion of professionalism and protection of the public.

Labels: ANDREW SAKALA, PAZA, THE TIMES

posted by MrK @ 2:59 PM