Mumena calls for full implemention of FoI Bill
By David Chongo in Solwezi
Tue 26 June 2012, 13:23 CAT
THE enactment of the Freedom of Information Bill into law will be meaningless if it is not fully implemented, says chief Mumena.
Speaking during a public discussion initiated by the Coalition on Access to information at his palace in Solwezi on Saturday, chief Mumena said the PF government had done a commendable job in reviving the Freedom of Information (FOI) law, saying it was one way of giving power to the people.
He noted, however, that while there was encouraging political will by the PF administration in making FOI Bill into law, in the past, there had been a tendency by government not to fully implement the provisions of similar laws.
Chief Mumena of the Kaonde people in Solwezi said people would feel cheated if FOI was not fully implemented by the PF government.
He stated that the current government was brought into power by poor people who expected to be given respect and kept informed on important matters related to the governance of the country.
Chief Mumena said there was unfair distribution of the FOI draft copies, saying he himself did not even have a copy and wondered how the ordinary people were expected to contribute to the enactment of a law that should benefit them effectively.
And Coalition spokesperson Kafupi Banda said citizens had a right to demand for access to information through an established law.
He said when society had access to information, it would be easy for them to hold government accountable for its actions, being the ones who choose leaders through the ballot box.
Chief Mumena's senior induna, Jackson Kakoma, said members of parliament had abrogated their responsibility by keeping the electorate without vital information on governance issues.
He said people in rural areas had little information on a lot of issues like constituency development funds and therefore did not have a say in development matters as members of parliament kept them uninformed.
Kakoma, an alderman of the Solwezi Municipal Council, proposed as an alternative that district commissioners be the ones to disburse CDF because they were closer to the people than members of parliament.
Labels: CHIEF MUMENA, FOI, FREEDOM OF INFORMATION BILL
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Ronnie hails stance on FoI Bill
By Moses Kuwema
Sat 23 June 2012, 13:24 CAT
IT is nice that the government is taking the Freedom of Information Bill to Parliament, says Lieutenant General Ronnie Shikapwasha. In an interview, Lt Gen Shikapwasha (left), a former information and broadcasting minister in the MMD regime said it was a good move that the PF government had taken.
"That is nice, it is very good. Let's discuss it in Parliament because it will be tabled for people to discuss, so we will discuss it in Parliament also," Lt Gen Shikapwasha said.
Asked if the government had addressed the concerns that the MMD had with the bill which resulted in them dragging their feet to table it in parliament, Lt Gen Shikapwasha responded: "No comment until we discuss it in Parliament."
Information, broadcasting and labour permanent secretary Amos Malupenga announced that a taskforce working on a Bill had completed drafting the document and was expected to launch it next week for public scrutiny and comments.
According to Malupenga, the task force comprising civil society, legal experts, Transparency International - Zambia, Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) and other stakeholders had been working on the FoI Bill for the past few months.
After public scrutiny and comments, the bill would be tabled in Parliament.
Labels: FOI, FREEDOM OF INFORMATION BILL, RONNIE SHIKAPWASHA
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Media bodies commend PF on FOI bill
By Fridah Nkonde and Chiwoyu Sinyangwe
Mon 18 June 2012, 13:22 CAT
THE Patriotic Front government has gone above political rhetoric by bringing the Freedom of Information (FoI) which will ultimately become law in Zambia, says Anthony Mulowa. And Press Freedom Committee of The Post (PFC) has welcomed the proposed legislation of the FoI, urging "ordinary citizens" to lead in the formulation process.
On Friday, information permanent secretary Amos Malupenga announced that a taskforce working on a Bill had completed drafting the document and was expected to launch it next week for public scrutiny and comments.
According to Malupenga, the taskforce comprising civil society, legal experts, Transparency International - Zambia, Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) and other stakeholders had been working on the FoI for the past few months.
Welcoming the development, Mulowa, the Zambia Union of Journalists president, said the PF government had shown strong political will to bring about the FoI.
Mulowa said it was pleasing that the PF government had fulfilled its promise of ensuring that media reforms were brought to fruition.
"All media bodies were concerned with the FOI bill left by the MMD government which had certain flaws," Mulowa said.
"We are impressed that government has engaged stakeholders to review the bill and we are confident that the promise is being fulfilled by the PF government."
Mulowa said it was good that government would subject the bill to public for scrutiny and comment.
"This is what democracy entails because a lot of people will be able to comment," Mulowa said.
"Even people in the village can comment on this issue. It is important to appreciate the fact that it will be a people-driven law. It is quite remarkable and impressive in the history of Zambia. The government has to be commended."
Mulowa said having the FoI draft was a stepping stone in ensuring that people access vital information.
He said access to information would help people make informed decisions.
Mulowa said the onus was upon the members of parliament and the public to comment and offer criticism on the FOI bill draft.
PFC chairperson Leah Kabamba said ordinary citizens should take lead in shaping the FoI bill as it was a law that would benefit ordinary citizens.
She said the PFC would continue to sensitise ordinary people about the proposed bill.
"We have been going to chiefdoms to sensitise people about this bill because at the end of day, this bill will benefit the ordinary people and not just journalists," said Kabamba. "We will continue to encourage people to make submissions because when this becomes law, it will enable them to seek answers for the development they are not seeing."
And PAZA president Andrew Sakala said having the FoI draft bill ready was a good development for the media and society in general.
Sakala urged journalists and the public to take keen interest by making contributions to the long-awaited bill.
He said everyone was looking forward to the bill because it was beneficial to the public and media practitioners.
"Society has to be taken into consideration before the final bill is taken to Parliament. We are encouraged by the steps taken by government and the same should be done for other legislations," said Sakala.
Labels: ANTHONY MULOWA, FOI, FREEDOM OF INFORMATION BILL, PFC
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Freedom of information Bill draft ready
By Masuzyo Chakwe
Sat 16 June 2012, 13:23 CAT
THE Freedom of Information taskforce will next week launch the draft freedom of information legislation for public scrutiny and comment.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Information, Broadcasting and Labour, the taskforce which had been working on the freedom of information legislation for the past few months had completed drafting the document.
The task force comprises government representatives from the Ministry of Information, Broadcasting and Labour and Ministry of Justice, the Civil Society FoI Coalition of the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection, Economic Association of Zambia, MISA-Zambia, Transparency International Zambia and the Law Association of Zambia, independent legal experts Kenny Makungu, a lecturer at UNZA and Edem Djokotoe, the World Bank technical team, among others.
Information permanent secretary Amos Malupenga disclosed this when officials from the British government's Department for International Development (DFID) met him at his office yesterday.
"A task force has been working to come up with a draft legislation on the freedom of information Bill. This is now ready and we will be launching it in a few days time for public scrutiny and input. The draft bill will thereafter be submitted to Cabinet and later Parliament for commencement of the enactment process," said Malupenga to DFID governance adviser to Zambia, Sam Waldock and DFID chief professional officer in the governance, conflict and social development division at the organisation's headquarters in London.
Malupenga who is also spokesperson for the Taskforce appealed for financial support from cooperating partners and other stakeholders to publicise the draft bill in the print and other communication channels to enable members of the public access the document countrywide.
"Essentially, we have targeted the month of July for this exercise but our major handicap is money to publicise the draft bill especially in the print media. We are therefore appealing for support form cooperating partners to help us so that people have wide access to the document and make meaningful input," said Malupenga.
And Robinson pledged DFID's support for the ongoing media reforms in Zambia, describing the country's freedom of information process as impressive.
Labels: AMOS MALUPENGA, FOI, FREEDOM OF INFORMATION BILL
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Kalomo implores MPs to support FOI bill
By Cynthia Phiri in Kalomo
Mon 16 Apr. 2012, 13:26 CAT
THE Tonga-speaking people of Kalomo district in Southern Province have passed a six-point resolution on access to information and appealed to their members of parliament to vote in favour of the Freedom of Information bill once taken to parliament.
Reading out resolutions during the first-ever Coalition on Access to Information public forum at chief Chikanta's palace on Saturday, Ngambela (prime minister) Josiah Muzyamba said there was need to establish community radio stations in rural areas to help ease problems of access to information.
The forum organised by the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection, Press Freedom Committee of The Post, MISA-Zambia and the Zambia Civic Education Association also agreed that the government should strengthen the Zambia National Broadcasting Cooperation (ZNBC) signal for both radio and television which was nonexistent at the moment in the area.
The forum also agreed that all custodians of public information should get down to chiefdom level to disseminate information.
And chief Chikanta said members of parliament should accept and approve the Freedom of Information bill with a lot of input from the rural communities.
He said the introduction of television stations in provincial centres was good effort being made by the government and that it was long overdue.
"It is important to have television stations in all the provincial centers and is a welcome move but they should be structured in a way that it carters to the rural communities," said chief Chikanta.
And Press Freedom Committee of The Post chairperson Leah Kabamba said once enacted, the FOI bill would not be for journalists only but will work for all Zambians.
"We have realised that there was actually a lacuna on what people know on the Freedom of Information bill and the good place to start was to make sure that the people of Zambia understand this Freedom of Information bill. If enacted, it's something that will work for everybody in the country and not just the journalists alone," said Kabamba.
And representing the coalition, Kafupi Banda said the forum was meant to raise awareness among the rural communities on the Freedom of Information bill.
Labels: FOI, KALOMO, PRESS FREEDOM
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Media bodies optimistic about FOI Bill
By Ernest Chanda
Mon 08 Mar. 2010, 09:30 CAT
Sheikh Chifuwe with PFC coordinator Leah Kabamba at The Post Newspaper offices
MEDIA bodies in the country have expressed hope that government will implement the Freedom of Information Bill and other Acts as this year’s gift to the industry.
Briefing the media on activities lined up for the World Press Freedom Day which falls on May 3 every year, 2010 World Press Freedom Day organising committee chairperson Sheikh Chifuwe said if media freedom was guaranteed through various pieces of legislation, it would be a great gift to the media fraternity.
Chifuwe said media freedom had been a constant topic in the country because the media industry was under constant threat from various spheres.
“It is our sincere belief that the media freedom has been a constant topic for discussion in this country because its existence is being threatened either by statutory impositions, physical violations, social, political and economic challenges,” Chifuwe said. “It still remains our conviction that the government shall meet the expectations of the people by implementing the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) Amendment Act, Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) Act and Freedom of Information Bill. Our prayer is that these pieces of legislation shall be given to the people as a May 3 gift.”
And Chifuwe disclosed that the committee would introduce a Media Freedom Prize to honour outstanding and courageous institutions and persons in the industry.
“The organising committee is pleased to announce that it will this year introduce a national Media Freedom Prize which honours a person, organisation or institution that has made an outstanding and courageous contribution to the defence and/or promotion of press freedom in Zambia.
We hope this will motivate local media personnel to perform to the public’s expectation in the media reforms,” he said. “We call upon all our people to turn a new page and start demanding for a free press and free speech, without which there can never be justice in any society. The challenge perhaps to those of us in the media industry is to ensure that our people understand this.”
And Media Institute of Southern Africa Zambia Chapter chairperson Henry Kabwe challenged journalists to highlight various issues affecting them.
Kabwe said journalists had suffered a lot of physical and verbal harassment that could not be ignored.
“The greatest challenge we face each year is the harassment of journalists. In the past, politicians have complained that they resort to harassment because we’ve not had a regulatory body where they could complain. But now that we shall soon have the Zambia Media Council, we hope that the same politicians will complain to this council,” Kabwe said.
“I challenge my fellow journalists to publicise activities pertaining to the media. We have written so much about others. We’ve seen journalists covering workers who have gone for four months without pay, but we’ve not seen journalists covering other journalists who have gone without pay for eight months. So, let’s take interest in issues affecting us because no one will write about us.”
The organising committee comprises the Catholic Media Services, Zambia Media Women Association, Media Institute of Southern Africa, and the Zambia Union of Journalists.
Others are the Press Association of Zambia, Zambia Union of Broadcasters and other Information Disseminators, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services, Press Freedom Committee of The Post, United Nations Information Centre, Panos Southern Africa, Human Rights Commission and the Zambia Commission of UNESCO.
Labels: FOI, LEAH KABAMBA, PRESS FREEDOM, SHEIKH CHIFUWE
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Govt cautious on FoI bill because of some irresponsible media – Kunda
By George Chellah
Sat 07 Nov. 2009, 04:01 CAT
VICE-PRESIDENT George Kunda yesterday said the government was treading carefully on the Freedom of Information Bill (FoI) because it can be used for espionage by what he termed some irresponsible and unpatriotic media houses.
During the Vice-President’s question time in Parliament, Vice-President Kunda, who was responding to a question from United Liberal Party (ULP) president and Livingstone member of parliament Sakwiba Sikota, raised some security concerns over the Freedom of Information Bill. Sikota wanted to know when the FoI would be reintroduced.
“Our main concern is the fact that we are very much concerned about state security. That particular law can destroy this country if it is not properly handled,” Vice-President Kunda said.
“And some of the media houses have displayed that they are irresponsible and they are very unpatriotic and they can sell this country.”
He said the FoI could be used for espionage.
“We are treading on this particular bill very carefully. At the moment it remains shelved for further consultation,” he said.
And Vice-President Kunda said the Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) law was very important for the development of the country.
“The NGO Bill is going to be operationalised. Currently we are working very closely with the NGOs. There are many NGOs which are doing extremely fine apart from a few that are doing politics here in Lusaka,” he said.
He said all NGOs were subject to public criticism and scrutiny.
“Some of them do not take criticism. If you just pinch them, they will be crying the whole month. If they criticise us, they should be ready to be criticised,” he said.
Vice-President Kunda said some NGOs even go to an extent of holding press conferences and putting adverts in the press to defend themselves, once criticised.
“We take criticism and we accept criticism,” he said.
He said the government considered NGOs as public entities.
“That’s why we require them to declare their assets and liabilities. This particular requirement is important,” he said.
He explained that NGOs were public entities and they were funded with public resources.
“So they are supposed to be accountable to the people of Zambia,” he said.
Chitambo MMD member of parliament Dr Solomon Musonda sought to know the relationship between the government and donors.
In response, Vice-President Kunda said the relationship between the government and the donor community was extremely warm.
“Most of the cooperating partners are ready to assist us. They have promised budget support…it’s the intention of government to strengthen cooperation,” he said.
He said the government had made progress on its governance programmes especially in the fight against corruption.
Vice-President Kunda also dismissed criticism on the government’s commitment to the fight against corruption.
“In this country we have what we can call celebrated critics, fault-finders; they never see anything good in what government is doing,” said Vice-President Kunda. “We are committed to the fight against corruption and we shall fight corruption head-on.”
Labels: FOI, FREEDOM OF INFORMATION BILL, GEORGE KUNDA, PRESS FREEDOM, SAKWIBA SIKOTA
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Govt still consulting on FoI Bill – Shikapwasha
Written by Ernest Chanda
Saturday, July 18, 2009 9:33:31 PM
INFORMATION and broadcasting services minister Lieutenant General Ronnie Shikapwasha has said the Freedom of Information (FoI) Bill will not be considered in this session of Parliament. In an interview on Thursday after he toured some media houses in Lusaka, Lt Gen Shikapwasha said the government was still consulting on the matter.
"In this session of four weeks, as you have seen from yesterday [Wednesday] to today [Thursday], there are going to be 10 or 15 Bills. So the independent broadcasting Act, to amend the Act and the Freedom of Information Bill are still pending. There are many other 15 or 20 Bills that have to come through. But we are on line, once we move in we will get them done," Lt Gen Shikapwasha said.
"In this session here we may not get the Freedom of Information Bill dealt with because; as you know some of you in the non-governmental media have gone with our wonderful lady [Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation acting director] Mrs [Juliana] Mwila to the UK [United Kingdom] to go and see how the UK have gone ahead to first of all pass the law and then implement the Freedom of Information Bill, and this is being done. And what we gained from there we are trying to adjust that position to our own programme. There are still some consultations to be done. We feel that this session here will not be able to make it but we will make it for the next session."
Asked if the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) Act would be tabled in this session of Parliament, Lt Gen Shikapwasha simply expressed hope.
"The IBA I'm hopping that it will be tabled. It's at Cabinet level, it's been there for some time and after Cabinet has dealt with it then it goes to Parliament," he said.
And Lt Gen Shikapwasha said he sees greed in Patriotic Front (PF) leader Michael Sata and United Party for National Development (UPND) leader Hakainde Hichilema.
He said the duo had no interest in national unity other than their quest to get to State House.
"Today you see the desperation of the opposition that they feel and think that out of chaos they can rule Zambia. But the people of Zambia don't want chaos, the Zambian people want peace, the Zambian people want development. The youngsters, young women and young men that are there now don't want politics of old, to try and impeach a President with no apparent reason. That impeachment will fall flat on the face of Mr Sata," Lt Gen Shikapwasha said.
"Democracy requires that you sacrifice your position to allow for democracy to go forward. And I see no sacrifice that's being made by Mr Sata or Mr Hakainde, all I see is greed. I see people who want to get into government without an agenda, and you can have a disastrous country when you have people that just want to have power and they want to get into power without an agenda."
Meanwhile, local government deputy minister Chrispin Musosha challenged Sata to disclose the names of MMD members of parliament who were supporting the impeachment of President Rupiah Banda.
Musosha, who is also Mansa Central MMD member of parliament and acting Luapula Province party chairman, said as far as he knew there was no MMD parliamentarian who could support the impeachment.
"First of all I want to thank Mr Sata for making that revelation. And in the same vein I'm challenging him to disclose the names of MMD members of parliament supporting the impeachment of President Rupiah Banda. For me I don't support the idea because the man [President Banda] has just started and you can't judge him so early," said Musosha.
"I admit that Mr Sata has a track record of having worked very well at every ministry and I thank him for that. I also appeal to him to praise President Banda when he performs well. We should give credit where it is due, and as far as I know there is no MMD member of parliament supporting the impeachment. Can Mr Sata help us by telling the nation which MP from the ruling party is supporting the impeachment."
Labels: FOI, RONNIE SHIKAPWASHA
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'Infrastructure vital in FoI implementation'
By Mwila Chansa and Maluba Jere
Friday June 06, 2008 [04:00]
VISITING United States media law expert Kevin Goldberg has said proper infrastructure is cardinal in ensuring the effective implementation of the Freedom of Information law. And Goldberg said the Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill, if enacted would not solve all the problems faced by the media.
Speaking when he paid a courtesy call on the Press Freedom Committee of The Post (PFC) on Wednesday, Goldberg said inadequate infrastructure had proved to be a challenge in implementing the free flow of information law in his country.
He said while freedom of information was a good law, it had its own problems in terms of delays in releasing information requested adding that journalists should put that factor into consideration even as they advocated for the law.
“Delay is one of the problems since reporters are not the largest users of information. Like in the United States, it will take twenty days to respond to your query so you need the right infrastructure in place,” he said.
Goldberg added that Freedom of Information offices in the US were not properly funded and lacked the necessary technology to respond to queries electronically so as to minimise delays.
He said in his country most users of the freedom of information law were those that did not have strict deadlines and that the law had worked well in reviewing government’s performance in responding to issues.
And Goldberg said if leaders had nothing to hide, they should freely give information to their citizens.
PFC Secretary General, Sheikh Chifuwe observed that some leaders had a lot to hide and that as things stood, they were not accountable.
Goldberg advised the Zambian media to educate the public on the importance of the FOI.
He said the FOI Act was not exclusively for the media but the public too.
And during a media workshop on Freedom of Information at the American Centre yesterday, Goldberg said access to government records was the most guaranteed ethics saying it was nearly impossible to misquote a written document.
“If say the government doesn’t like what you’ve written, they can get the same document and verify. They have every right to do that,” he said. “Unlike when you rely on people you may make mistakes but if you quote a written document then you can’t misquote and that protects against unethical behaviour.”
He also said Freedom of Information was the right of the public saying people had the right to know what goes on in the country.
Goldberg said secrecy bred mistrust and that openness and transparency limits corruption.
“A country cannot be truly democratic unless it has the full participation of all, in this case, the FOI needs not to be a secret,” said Goldberg. “Sunlight is the best of disinfections. Information is power and holding it back is denying people power.”
Labels: FOI, THE POST
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Corruption - And What The Government Can Do About It
The way I see it, corruption is helped immeasurably by the secrecy surrounding government finances and contracts.
The way this government could make huge strides in combating public corruption, is to end all secrecy about financial deals, procurement, tax collection and all the deals made with the mines.
Therefore, I'm calling for an initiative to end secrecy about public finance, and make all government transactions and receipt of funds a matter of public record.
Labels: CORRUPTION, FOI, FREEDOM OF INFORMATION BILL, SECRECY
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Sata and FOI
By Editor
Tuesday August 07, 2007 [04:00]
It is now manifestly clear that the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill will remain a pipedream for as long as politicians remain as lawmakers on behalf of our people. For the FOI to become law, members of parliament will have to enact that. However, it seems to us that these members of parliament who are supposed to be representatives of our people do not actually represent the people that gave them authority to sit in the National Assembly on their behalf.
We do not think it will be an exaggeration for us to say that three quarters of the time, these members of parliament either represent their own interests or those of their various political parties. They do not represent genuine people’s interests.
We have no difficulties understanding why this is the state of affairs. Politicians are always pre-occupied with self-preservation. That is why it has been difficult for us as a country to make progress in the media law reforms because these politicians are well aware of the influential role the media can play in the enhancement and promotion of democracy and good governance.
Politicians from both the ruling and opposition political parties have, for a long time now, been dragging their feet in ensuring that the FOI materialises into law. That is why at every turn, these politicians do not restrain themselves from misleading members of the public that FOI is meant to benefit journalists alone. We have said many times before that this law is designed to give journalists and members of the general public access to information that is unnecessarily shielded or hidden by those in authority for selfish reasons.
FOI is not designed to give journalists excess power in seeking information. It is not even exclusive to the media personnel. It is meant to enable anyone seeking that information from government ministries and departments, or indeed any other public institution to do so without being blocked. And this information is not necessarily for the purpose of media use.
But because politicians are sometimes even afraid of their own shadows, they have always opposed the enactment of FOI because they think they can one day become victims of the new law when the media digs deeper into some of their activities. So they want to insulate themselves from such possibilities by making sure that the FOI does not come into existence. That’s why our politicians are everyday coming up with all sorts of compromising conditions if the FOI is to be turned into law.
It is not surprising, therefore, that even Michael Sata who is very familiar with the operations of the media can today champion a vanity cause that the FOI should not only allow journalists access to information but should also oblige them to disclose their sources of information. This is where the difference is between the media practitioners who are pushing for the FOI and the politicians who are to enact it.
The media people, realising that they are not the only beneficiaries of this law, want to look at a bigger picture for the benefit of the public. But our politicians are looking at how they will be affected personally, without looking at the general public good that this law will bring to bear on our society.
Because some coward Patriotic Front member of parliament went on Yatsani Radio to castigate his dictatorial tendencies, real or perceived, without disclosing his names, Sata suddenly feels that journalists should be compelled by law to disclose their sources of information. In saying this, Sata is only guided by his personal interest in the matter. He is oblivious, unconscious or insensible to the ethical requirement that journalists should not disclose their sources of information when there is need to do so.
As a result of personal interest, Sata has forgotten that on a number of occasions, he has given us information off the record. Is he now saying that each time he gives us such information, it will be all right for anyone to use the law to compel us to disclose that it was in fact him who gave us the information? If it is normal that every source of information should be known, why does Sata sometimes prefer to speak off the record?
It is true that our ethics as journalists do not allow us to disclose certain sources of information, especially if doing so might endanger their lives or even jobs. But there is an exception to every rule. This ethical requirement was made in good faith. It is meant to protect genuine news sources releasing information in the interest of the public and for public good. Sources who want to malign other people whilst hiding behind this ethical requirement are not to be supported. Sources who want to tell lies about other people whilst hiding behind this ethical requirement are not to be protected.
And we demonstrated this exception to the rule sometime last year when we exposed this same Sata as the man who gave us a forged letter alleging something against President Levy Mwanawasa. We did this because we realised that Sata must have known that the letter was forged at the time he was passing it to us. So we went against our ethical requirement just to demonstrate that wrongdoers are not to be protected under this noble ethical requirement seeking to protect genuine sources of information. Of course, we also acknowledged our own share of the blame in this because there was a lapse in our verification process.
We are saying all this just to illustrate that most of the fears expressed by our politicians concerning media law reforms are irrational. It is said that freedom comes with responsibility. We do not think that journalists, or indeed other people, would want to abuse their freedom.
But when that abuse occurs, as it is likely to be sometimes since we are all imperfect, there should be a way to deal with that. When all the law compels journalists to disclose their sources of information, then we are likely to experience a ‘draught’ of news because all sources will be endangered.
If today we report, using our sources, that a Zimbabwean top cop was shot dead at Lusaka’s Pamodzi Hotel when the Inspector General of Police is saying that the police officer died of natural causes, what will stop the Inspector General of Police from using the law to compel us to disclose our sources so that he can victimise them for saying the truth?
These are the issues that Sata and many others who say things without deep reflection should look at before they attempt to mislead the public. We have a country to serve, not individuals and their selfish agendas.
Labels: EDITORIAL, FOI, SATA
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