Media personnel lost jobs because of Ronnie - PAZA
By Abigail Sitenge
Tue 05 June 2012, 13:24 CAT
PRESS Association of Zambia president Andrew Sakala says some media practitioners have lost jobs because of Ronnie Shikapwasha's manipulation.
Reacting to Lieutenant General Shikapwasha's statement that the media is worse under the Patriotic Front government in terms of news coverage than it was under MMD, Sakala accused the former minister of manipulating the public media and causing loss of jobs for many media practitioners who were deemed to be unprofessional.
"It is through Shikapwasha's manipulation that some media practitioners are now suffering and have lost their jobs for unprofessionalism; it is because of him," he said.
"Times of Zambia, Daily Mail and ZNBC, some of them (reporters) have been retired, they are casualties of Shikapwasha's actions, who is comfortable because he is still an MP; he is getting a salary, but these young people are suffering."
He said Lt Gen Shikapwasha was simply bitter that he was unable to manipulate the media any more.
"General Shikapwasha should really be honest and apologise to Zambians for the way he recklessly manipulated the media in this country," Sakala said.
He further charged that the type of media coverage especially running up to the elections was unprofessional, biased, unethical, and that Lt Gen Shikapwasha had a big hand in all that.
He said the former minister literally controlled ZNBC, Times of Zambia and Daily Mail, and issued instructions directly and through his permanent secretary.
"General Shikapwasha directed the public media to an extent that there was political witch hunting among the media practitioners themselves. So for him to say that the media is worse now is a joke, he is being dishonest because I think the media coverage has improved. It might not be the best but I think the improvement is there," Sakala said.
He said the public media in Zambia had improved in its coverage of news especially after last year's elections.
"I am not saying this is the best that we can get, no! There is still room for improvement, but definitely this is better than was under MMD," said Sakala.
Lt Gen Shikapwasha, who is also Kembe member of parliament, on Friday said the media was worse in terms of news coverage under PF than it was in the MMD regime and that PF cadres were censoring the media.
Labels: ANDREW SAKALA, MEDIA, PAZA, RONNIE SHIKAPWASHA
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Cops arrest ex-ZAF chief over K1.5bn
By Mwala Kalaluka
Sat 04 Feb. 2012, 13:01 CAT
FORMER Zambia Air Force commander Lieutenant General Andrew Sakala was yesterday arrested and charged by the joint investigative team probing the plunder of national resources for pocketing K1.5 billion meant for the three defence wings last year.
Spokesperson for the combined team comprising officers from the Drug Enforcement Commission, Anti-Corruption Commission and Zambia Police, Charity Munganga-Chanda confirmed the arrest yesterday afternoon.
Lt Gen Sakala appeared before the joint probe team at Lusaka's Woodlands Police Station yesterday morning and drove off from the station at 13: 15 hours.
Munganga-Chanda said Lt Gen Sakala was formally arrested and charged on two counts of theft by public servant and abuse of authority of office after the interrogations.
"The particulars of offence is that last year he received K1.5 billion which was meant for operations of the three wings of the defence, that is Zambia Army, Air Force and Zambia National Service," Munganga-Chanda said.
"He decided to use it K1.5 billion for personal gain. That is what we have arrested him for."
Munganga-Chanda said Lt Gen Sakala had been released on police bond of K50 million and two surieties had signed for him.
"He will appear in court on the 17th of this month February," said Munganga-Chanda.
On Sunday December 11 last year, Lt Gen Sakala's wife, Nesta, trailed and busted him at a girlfriend's house in Ng'ombe compound of Lusaka.
In anger, Nesta said she would disclose all the dealings her husband was involved in to the Drug Enforcement Commission and President Michael Sata.
Labels: ANDREW SAKALA, CORRUPTION
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Police seize pistol from Sakala
By Joseph Mwenda
Sun 01 Jan. 2012, 13:59 CAT
POLICE in Lusaka have confiscated a 9mm pistol from former Zambia Air Force (ZAF) commander Lieutenant General Andrew Sakala following allegations that he used it to threaten his wife Nesta.
Lt Gen Sakala is alleged to have fired in the air to scare his wife on December 8 last year after he was found at an alleged girlfriend's house in Ng'ombe compound. Lusaka Province police commissioner Charity Katanga said on Friday that police confiscated the gun to help with investigations.
"On the issue of Lieutenant General Sakala, in relation to the shooting incident, police have confiscated the firearm which was used, a pistol, which is in police custody. We are doing some forensic examination to determine whether it was the one, which was used. It is alleged that five shots were fired in the air, but police tried to visit the scene and nothing was found but they are still carrying on with the investigation. For now, police are still having the firearm but the former commander has the blue book for the gun," she said.
Katanga further said Nesta had been refusing to co-operate with police in the assault case.
"Police officers from Le Soile issued medical report forms to both Mrs. Sakala and the other woman (Sandra Mukoma) because there were allegations that they fought. So they were given the forms so that once they report back, statements could be recorded. However from that time, they never returned to the police. Despite them leaving their contact numbers, they declined to co-operate with police to have statements of assault recorded. Up to this date they have been reluctant to do so and they are not co-operating," she said.
Lt Gen Sakala was facing possible arrest for allegedly threatening to shoot his wife, Nesta Mambo 46 after she allegedly busted him at a lover's house.
Nesta picked up a fight with her alleged cheating husband's girlfriend Sandra Mukoma and in an effort to separate the two, Lt. Gen Sakala fired his 9mm pistol in the air five times in the air, according to police informers.
In the fracas that ensued, Lt Gen Sakala's wife sustained a deep cut on her right wrist while her rival also complained to police that Nesta bit her on her on the left leg.
As officers at Le Soile police post recorded statements from the trio, Mrs Sakala called her husband a shameless man.
She also threatened to disclose some activities Lt Gen Sakala was involved in to the investigative wings and to President Michael Sata.
Four days later, Mrs. Sakala issued an apology to her husband and claimed that the lady she accused of being her husband's lover was in fact his business partner.
"It is with deep regret that I write to apologise unreservedly to my beloved husband on remarks attributed to me. Without neither malice nor injury to any parties involved, it was brought to my attention that the lady I may have accused to have a relationship with my husband is actually someone who as assisting with business registration between my husband and my brother," read Mrs Sakala's apology in part.
And some sources said Sandra has since shifted from the Ng'ombe residence to Makeni to avoid the public gaze.
Labels: ANDREW SAKALA
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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
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Work professionally, Sakala advises journalists
By Masuzyo Chakwe and Mwala Kalaluka
Tue 04 May 2010, 04:00 CAT
PRESS Association of Zambia (PAZA) president Andrew Sakala has appealed to journalists to work professionally and objectively so that the government does not find an opportunity to pass unnecessary laws that impede on media freedom.
And Association of Zambian Diocesean Catholic Clergy (AZADCC) president Fr Cletus Mwiila yesterday said the enemy of press freedom in the country is a small group of people that want to curtail information from reaching the citizens.
Commenting on the World Press Freedom Day which fell yesterday under the theme The right to know: Access to information, Sakala said it was important that journalists operated professionally so that they could win the confidence of the public.
“It is important that journalists operate professionally so that the government does not take advantage and start accusing the media of being unprofessional and thereby begin to pass unnecessary laws that impede on the media,” Sakala said.
He urged the public to support media laws as the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) would very soon publish a draft constitution.
“We want to urge the public and media practitioners to ensure that the provisions on the media in the draft constitution are those that will promote media freedom,” he said.
Sakala urged the public and the media to take a keen interest in the draft constitution and submit to the NCC so that it could pass laws favourable to media freedom.
He also said information minister Lieutenant General Ronnie Shikapwasha had not categorically stated when the government would take the Freedom of Information (FoI) Bill to Parliament.
Sakala said the right to access information was anchored on the FoI law.
He urged the government to take the Bill to Parliament and pass the law because access to information depended on it.
“We hope that at the next sitting of Parliament, the government will take it back. Shikapwasha at the United Nations made a commitment that the Zambian government is committed to promoting a free media so he should match his words with deeds,” he said.
Sakala condemned the violence against journalists and urged political leaders to refrain their cadres from attacking journalists.
He said it was unfortunate that in the past year, there had been an increase on journalists’ attacks.
However, Sakala hoped that the public and politicians would desist from attacking journalists.
And Fr Mwiila said it was the citizenry that suffered if the media were not given sufficient freedom within which to operate.
“World Press Freedom Day for me is a very important moment for the media in the world,” Fr Mwiila said. “And all the important things that go together with development in any given nation. There can be no development in any given nation where there is no development because when we are talking of development today we should be talking about press freedom.”
Fr Mwiila said given what the country’s journalists went through to inform the nation, they should be supported to work in a free environment.
“We want to argue that… unless you have an informed nation you can’t talk about development,” he said. “Development is borne from what people are made to know and how they are helped to discuss what they know and turn it into positive living.”
Fr Mwiila said what he sees as an enemy of press freedom in Zambia was the hegemony that seemed to make people not to be aware of happenings in the nation, especially if they get into certain offices, which they wanted to protect.
“Hegemony is a small group of people who are in the offices who think no one else should be made aware unless they are within that circle,” Fr Mwiila said. “If you are from the other side then you are wrong.”
Fr Mwiila said in an environment where the media was free the press would be used to harness all the issues in order to allow many people to participate in the governance of the country.
“To realize all these the writers or scribes should be able to be given freedom to access to information so that the citizens can also be informed,” said Fr Mwiila.
Labels: ANDREW SAKALA, CLETUS MWIILA, FREEDOM OF INFORMATION BILL, JOURNALISM, PAZA, WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY
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Shikapwasha is not genuine on media self-regulation – PAZA
By Patson Chilemba
Sun 18 Apr. 2010, 04:40 CAT
Information and broadcasting services minister Lieutenant General Ronnie Shikapwasha
PRESS Association of Zambia (PAZA) president Andrew Sakala yesterday observed that Ronnie Shikapwasha’s position to push for statutory regulation of the media shows that he was not genuine over earlier assurances to respect media self-regulation.
Reacting to information minister Lieutenant General Shikapwasha’s statement that the government would not recognise the ongoing process towards the formation of a self-regulatory mechanism because the Media Liaison Committee (MLC) had become dishonest, Sakala said it was clear that the government had made up its mind to regulate the media through statute.
“So whatever is being done, they have already made up their mind. I suspect all those issues, actions, assurances were not genuine because if they were genuine they would have allowed the process to take place, and people at the Pamodzi conference, they were allowed to debate,” Sakala said. “People were allowed to debate freely, no one was intimidated.”
Sakala said the majority of people at last week’s stakeholders’ conference were in favour of voluntary media self-regulation.
He said the report on the Fringilla Consensus was handed over to Lt Gen Shikapwasha close to two months ago, and he assured that if he did not respond within two weeks then the government was happy with the report.
“So now all of us are surprised…two months later the minister comes up with a different position. We are wondering, what is the real intention? Because if it was genuine the minister in fact assured that he would participate in the process at Pamodzi, and also assured that there would be officials from the Ministry of Information to participate, but they never participated,” Sakala said. “What we got was a letter just towards the end that they won’t recognise us.”
Sakala said it was disappointing for Lt Gen Shikapwasha to turn around after assuring that he would allow the media bodies through the MLC to formulate their own self-regulatory mechanism.
He said the option that was taken by media stakeholders at Taj Pamodzi Hotel worked because it was working very well in countries like South Africa.
“I do not understand why the minister does not want to give the process a chance. Just before we agreed, he sent a letter insisting on the Kenyan model, but the person from Kenya who came to deliver a paper also advised that…if the Kenyan media were given another chance, they would go for voluntary mechanism rather than the statutory one,” said Sakala.
On Shikapwasha’s statement that the government suspected that the MLC invited its supporters to the stakeholders conference to frustrate divergent views, Sakala said the MLC never invited delegates to the conference.
He said the media bodies were written to and asked to send their own delegates.
However, Sakala said the media would go ahead and launch the Zambia Media Council (ZAMEC).
Lt Gen Shikapwasha was quoted in yesterday’s edition of the Times of Zambia insisting that the government would not recognise the ongoing process towards the formation of a self-regulatory mechanism because the MLC had become dishonest.
Earlier, the media in the country rejected Lt Gen Shikapwasha’s position to force statutory regulation on them.
On January 9, 2010, the government removed the six-month ultimatum it gave media bodies in the country to come up with a self-regulatory mechanism.
MLC spokesperson Amos Chanda disclosed in an interview that following a consultative meeting the committee had with Lt Gen Shikapwasha that afternoon, the minister announced that the government had quashed the ultimatum.
Chanda said the government had done that because they were happy with the progress the media bodies had made in coming up with a self-regulatory mechanism.
On January 10, 2010, Lt Gen Shikapwasha said the government was hopeful that self-regulation of the media would work looking at the steps the MLC had taken in formulating a self-regulatory mechanism.
Lt Gen Shikapwasha said looking at the concept paper submitted to him by the committee, he was hopeful that self-regulation would work.
"Well, I met with officials from the Media Liaison Committee and we discussed. I think you remember that they had earlier on submitted a concept paper, which, to us as government looks good. I think we are happy with that arrangement as government and we hope that they will finally come up with a self-regulatory mechanism," Lt Gen Shikapwasha said.
On January 16, 2010, Shikapwasha said talks between the government and media associations on self-regulation of the media were progressing well and showing signs that the two parties would arrive at a positive conclusion.
Labels: ANDREW SAKALA, MEDIA, PAZA, REGULATION, RONNIE SHIKAPWASHA
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Don’t ban media from covering NCC deliberations – PAZA
Written by Chibaula Silwamba and Allan Mulenga
Wednesday, February 04, 2009 11:18:55 AM
PRESS Association of Zambia (PAZA) president Andrew Sakala has challenged the NCC not to ban the media from covering its deliberations because the constitution making process is for the people.
And Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Zambia chapter chairperson Henry Kabwe has urged the NCC delegates to take their work seriously as it was being funded by taxpayers' money. Commenting on the suggestion by the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) to consider banning journalists from covering their proceedings due to what they term as misrepresentation, Sakala said the constitution-making process ought to be public.
"The media must be allowed to cover the public process. I know that the Act allows not just the media but even members of the public to sit in and listen to the deliberations," Sakala said. "I think if there is a problem with the media, if the media is indeed misrepresenting the deliberations there, I think the solution is that an individual media institution must change the person who is covering the NCC."
He said PAZA was against the barring of media institutions from covering the proceedings.
Sakala said not all Zambians could go and listen to the deliberations at Mulungushi International Conference Centre.
He said those who could not travel to Lusaka to listen to the deliberations in person, depend on the media to know what their representatives were discussing in the NCC.
"The constitution-making process is the public process until such a time when they declare that this session will be held in camera. But when you are making the constitution, the constitution is the public document and the media and other members of the public should be allowed to sit in," Sakala said.
"If a particular committee of the NCC feel that they are being misrepresented, the onus is on the NCC publicity committee to put up the right information. As PAZA we are against any such kind of thing where you ban the media."
Sakala said the media were the window, ear and eye of the public.
"If there is a problem with the media, deal with each individual media institution because we don't believe that if for instance there are five media representatives covering a specific committee or indeed the entire NCC, all of them will get it wrong. I don't think that is possible," Sakala said. "The NCC cannot make a blanket decision to ban everyone from covering the NCC deliberations because the constitution is about the people. Hopefully the NCC has not made that decision already. That decision should not be made. People should know what their representatives are discussing."
And Kabwe said the delegates to the NCC should put the people's interests first because the constitution was for Zambians.
Kabwe said it was necessary for the media to cover the sittings of the NCC.
"It is very unfortunate that the people who we have entrusted with the powers to come up with the constitution have already started showing bad attitude towards the media by scheming ways of banning journalists from covering their proceedings," he said. "We expect the NCC members to lead by example in promoting media law reforms because they are there to represent us [media bodies]. But with the recent debates we have been hearing from NCC, we are worried that even the media law reforms will not be included in the constitution."
Kabwe said the NCC delegates were on that body on behalf of all Zambians.
"What they should know is that they are there to represent the people and they only put in the constitution what the people are saying because they are doing all that using tax payers' monies," he said.
Kabwe hoped that NCC members would change their attitude towards the media and allow journalists to cover their proceedings without undue influence.
On Monday, the executive committee of the NCC considered banning journalists from covering its proceedings following what it termed as misrepresentation of facts by some media organisations.
The debate comes in the wake of Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) trustee Mtumbi Goma's complaint that he was misquoted by a Daily Mail reporter during matters arising from last week's minutes. Goma claimed that the reporter quoted him as having said the Speaker of the National Assembly should take over the country in an event that the presidential election result is nullified and yet he proposed that Cabinet take over.
Labels: ANDREW SAKALA, HENRY KABWE, MEDIA, MISA, NCC, PAZ, PRESS FREEDOM
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Politicians have misunderstood media regulation – PAZA
Written by Masuzyo Chakwe
Sunday, January 25, 2009 7:26:12 AM
PRESS Association of Zambia (PAZA) president Andrew Sakala yesterday said politicians have misunderstood statutory regulation of the media.
Commenting on justice deputy minister Todd Chilembo's statement in Parliament on Friday in which he accused the media of playing double standards by refusing to be regulated, Sakala said politicians had misunderstood the meaning of statutory regulation because in their debates, they speak as though there is no statutory regulation in the country.
"In my understanding, statutory regulation means laws that help to promote freedom of the press and protect the public from malicious publications by the media. Laws of libel are statutory regulation of the media which are laws that protect the public from the media publicising false information on an individual and organisation, that is statutory regulation," he said. "Secondly, the Electoral Code of Conduct which is under the electoral Act, this is also statutory regulation of the media. It talks about how the media should cover political campaigns in an election, if you look at the Electoral Code of Conduct which is part of the electoral Act, it tells you how the media should conduct itself, that is statutory regulation of the media."
Sakala said there were many laws in the country that regulate the media so people should come clean and say what they want when they talk about statutory regulation of the media.
"Are they talking about licensing journalists or calling for a body that will deregister journalists they think are not doing their job fine," he said.
Sakala said politicians should not try to create laws that were targeted at specific individuals or institutions.
He said politicians should try to create laws that would help enhance Zambia's democracy.
Sakala said it was sad that politicians changed position on matters depending on which side of the political sphere they were on.
"Our experience as PAZA is that if these politicians are in the opposition, they will support media and press freedom but when they get into government, they change positions. So what we want is politicians who are sincere and honest and help build young democracy, politicians who should not create laws just for self-preservations or self-promotion and self-perpetuation," Sakala said. "They should create laws that will move the country forward. They should focus and look into the future, look beyond themselves, look at strengthening and growing democracy."
On Friday, justice deputy minister Todd Chilembo accused the media of playing double standards by refusing to be regulated.
Contributing to the President's opening speech to Parliament, Chilembo said it was important for the media to belong to a professional body that would guide the conduct of its members.
"...It is common knowledge that most professional bodies have associations to which they are affiliated and these associations guide the conduct of the members. I will give an example of the Law Association of Zambia, which has regulations that guide the conduct of its members, Chilembo said. "...It is interesting to note that some journalists are also lawyers, and they are affiliated to the Law Association of Zambia. But I wonder how they find it difficult to belong to a professional media body as journalists if they can accept to be regulated by LAZ as lawyers. These are journalists who are playing double standards."
Chilembo emphasised that government would help to regulate the media if they failed to regulate themselves as one opposition parliamentarian shouted; "simugona chifukwa ca M’membe [you don't sleep because of M'membe, in reference to Post editor Fred M'membe].
"It seems that President Banda's opening speech to Parliament has been misunderstood by the media. The President did not say government will regulate the media. Our position is that the media is free to regulate itself, but that if they fail to regulate themselves we will help them," Chilembo said. "When you live in the media and do whatever you want, be mindful of other people's rights. We cannot have a media which writes whatever it chooses. You choose one person and you always write headlines about that person. In every game, there are rules, and it is important that we have some kind of rules to protect others, and I am very glad that the President came out very clear on this."
Labels: ANDREW SAKALA, MEDIA, PAZ, REGULATION
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