Zambia to handover SADC chairmanship to SA
Posted on August 8th, 2008
Information and Broadcasting Services Minister, Mike Mulongoti says government is ready and prepared to hand over the Southern African Development Community (SADC) chairmanship to South Africa this month. Mr. Mulongoti says in the absence of President Mwanawasa ,who is the current chair of SADC, Vice President, Rupiah Banda will hand over the chairmanship. Mr. Mulongoti said in an interview in Lusaka today.
He added that Foreign Affairs Minister, Kabinga Pande or any other minister who will be available at the hand over ceremony will present the chairmanship in case Vice President Rupiah Banda will not be available.
Mr. Mulongoti said various ministers are currently preparing to travel to South Africa to handover chairmanship positions in the various committees.
“As a country we are ready to handover the SADC chairmanship despite the absence of President Mwanawasa who is currently the chairman of SADC,” Mr. Mulongoti said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Mulongoti has urged Zambians to prepare and embrace the SADC/ COMESA customs unions once introduced in December this year.
Mr. Mulongoti said Zambian business and the general public should not be scared of the customs union once introduced but rather they should sharpen their various skills in benefit services the facilities will offer.
He said Government is ready to support the customs union adding that other member states should do so in order to ensure success of the union in the region.
ZANIS/YK/AM/ENDS.
Labels: MIKE MULONGOTI, MWANAWASA, SADC
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Read widely, Mulongoti urges Zambians
Posted on August 9th, 2008
Information and Broadcasting Services Minister, Mike Mulongoti has implored Zambians to develop a culture of reading and utilize various public libraries doted around the country. Mr. Mulongoti said libraries were important institutions in any given country from where people should acquire knowledge which was necessary for developing the nation.
He said this in Lusaka today when he officially opened the Francis Kasoma Media Library and Information Resource centre at the University of Zambia (UNZA).
Mr. Mulongoti also launched a book entitled “The Press in Zambia” by Francis Kasoma.
He noted that the Kasoma Media Foundation projects have proved to be effective in the development of Journalism and Mass Communication as it has offered the best and reliable media library.
Mr. Mulongoti said government attached great importance to the provision of information services which he said was an ingredient for social and economic development.
He said it was therefore imperative that journalists and other members of the public acquired the historical book and draw lessons from it, adding that they should also utilize the library.
“As most scholars recommend, for every journalist to have a good and sound historical background of the origin of the press in Zambia, they should understand and exhibit professionalism in the trade,” Mr. Mulongoti said.
Earlier, Kasoma Media Foundation Executive Director, Lesa Basil said the foundation aimed at advancing the practice of journalism through media education and development.
Ms Basil said her organization has since developed a three year strategic plan which would help the foundation to strike a balance between complementing media development and enhancing journalism and mass communication in the country.
And UNZA deputy Vice Chancellor, Wilson Mwenya said the late professor Francis Kasoma contributed significantly to the development of the media community in Zambia.
Dr. Mwenya noted that Prof. Kasoma was in the forefront spearheading media issues, adding that the media has developed because of his tireless efforts.
He said UNZA management was privileged to house the Kasoma Library.
He has since urged students and other members of the public to make use of the library.
ZANIS/YK/KSH/ENDS.
Labels: BOOKS, MIKE MULONGOTI
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Mulongoti justifies pay rise
By Lambwe Kachali
Tuesday August 05, 2008 [04:05]
CHIEF government spokesperson Mike Mulongoti has said the approved salary and allowance increments for constitutional office holders will not be withdrawn because the matter will be taken to Parliament. But International Fellowship of Christian Churches (IFCC) president Bishop Simon Chihana said the failure by Cabinet to withdraw salary and allowance increments for constitutional office holders will send wrong signals to the Zambian people.
Reacting to Sikota Wina who asked Vice-President Rupiah Banda to reconsider and withdraw Cabinet's approval of salary and allowance increments for constitutional office holders, Mulongoti said people criticising the salary increments were simply engaging in politics of poverty because the world had changed.
"Mr Sikota Wina has condemned it. Now just ask Mr Sikota Wina, that 'is he happy with the conditions of the former leaders in UNIP who were in government?' He (Wina) is a board chairman of ERB Energy Regulation Board, now ask him and let him tell the nation, how much he pays members of ERB and himself. We are all answerable," Mulongoti said. "These people are just engaging in politics of poverty. I don't think we have to be party to that. They world has changed, things have changed in the world. So I don't think it is right that we must continue to glue to politics of poverty."
Mulongoti said the government would only issue a comprehensive statement after Parliament looks at the proposed salary increments and allowances.
He said it was not right for the government to pre-empt such a national issue before Parliament exhausted it.
Asked further if it was justifiable for Cabinet to approve salary and allowance increments for constitutional office holders and other senior government officials in view of the country's problems such as the ones at the University of Zambia (UNZA), Mulongoti said Cabinet had an obligation to approve any bill before it was taken to Parliament.
"Cabinet has got this mandate to ensure that all things that go to Parliament are scrutinized. So if we begin to comment on this issue, we are pre-empting Parliament debates. I have told you that we will give a comprehensive statement after Parliament debates it. I hope you would respect that view, because we the government are not the final authority, the final authority is Parliament. As a member of parliament I respect the opinion of that House," said Mulongoti.
But Bishop Chihana advised the government to immediately withdraw the bill without buying any time.
"We have learnt with shock that the increased salaries for the ministers were opposed by President Levy Mwanawasa and therefore could not be implemented but now those that are around seem to have taken advantage of his absence. Our advice to the whole Cabinet and particularly the Vice-President of Zambia Mr Rupiah Banda is that, the increments be withdrawn immediately without buying further time or else it will soon create a very negative situation for the acting president," Bishop Chihana said. "If it is not withdrawn or if it is delayed, people are likely to begin thinking that all Cabinet men and women are bad opportunists when it may only be a fraction of them. This may also affect the Vice-President who is in the acting capacity now, that he may be wanting to please the Cabinet to pursue a known agenda but untimely so."
Bishop Chihana said Cabinet should look at the most pressing issues in the country rather than increasing salaries for government ministers.
"Cabinet must be looking at how best they can take care of the people of Zambia in the absence of its Commander-in-Chief and chief administrator of the country. Cabinet must be looking at what would be the possible way for keeping a growing and steady economy for Zambia," he said.
Bishop Chihana said Cabinet's approval of the salary and allowance increments was clear daylight robbery.
"The worst thing they can do is to start paying themselves hefty sums of money; this is a clear daylight robbery by well-placed people in government. They must heed to the warning given by Mr Goodwell Lungu Transparency International Zambia executive director that government now must not be more corrupt and start stealing public funds in a way that may seem justifiable. I only hope that the salary increments are not one of the new ways of fulfilling the prophecy given by Mr Lungu of stealing public funds," said Chihana.
On Sunday, Wina asked Vice-President Banda to reconsider and withdraw the Cabinet's approval of salary and allowance increments for constitutional office holders.
Former Republican vice-president Nevers Mumba described the approval by Cabinet as immoral, while Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) secretary general Reverend Suzanne Matale said it was fraud for Cabinet to award itself outrageous amounts of salaries and allowances without regard for the majority poor Zambians.
According to the an official document obtained by The Post last week, Cabinet approved a 15 per cent salary increment for constitutional office holders. Cabinet also approved the introduction of a Responsibility Allowance, which shall be paid to the President, Vice-President, ministers and deputy ministers. They also approved an increment in the rates of allowances currently being paid to ministers, deputy ministers and senior government officials by 50 per cent of basic salary for housing allowance and 100 per cent for telephone, cell phone, water and electricity allowances.
Labels: CABINET, MIKE MULONGOTI
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Levy refutes Mulongoti's pledge to Nyimba accident bereaved families
By Masuzyo Chakwe
Thursday June 19, 2008 [04:00]
PRESIDENT Levy Mwanawasa has refuted the statement by information minister Mike Mulongoti that the government would assist the bereaved families and relatives of the victims of the Nyimba accident. Special assistant to the President for press and public relations John Musukuma stated yesterday that the words attributed to President Mwanawasa by Mulongoti in connection with government assistance through direct financial assistance were not made by the President at the Cabinet meeting or any other time afterwards.
"I would like to correct the wrong impression created by a statement published in the print and electronic media on Tuesday 17, June, 2008 which was issued by the chief government spokesperson and Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services, Honourable Mike Mulongoti, MP," he stated.
Musukuma stated that President Mwanawasa offered his condolences to those who were killed and injured in a road traffic accident during the Cabinet meeting at State House on Monday, June 16, 2008 but did not utter the words attributed to him with regard to government assistance.
About 28 people died and 53 others were injured in the accident that occurred over the weekend at Nyalugwe turnoff, 72 kilometres from Nyimba in Eastern Province.
Labels: CAR ACCIDENTS, MIKE MULONGOTI, ROADS
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'No amount of money would buy Levy to go against Mugabe'
By Lambwe Kachali
Friday June 06, 2008 [04:00]
CHIEF government spokesperson Mike Mulongoti has described reports by the Zimbabwean media that some SADC leaders blocked President Levy Mwanawasa's attempts to convene a meeting on Zimbabwe in Tokyo prior to the runoff as
malicious and unfounded. And foreign affairs minister Kabinga Pande said no amount of money would buy President Mwanawasa to go against Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.
Reacting to stories in the Herald and Chronicle newspapers of June 2 which indicated that some Southern African Development Community (SADC) heads of state blocked President Mwanawasa from convening a special meeting to review political developments in Zimbabwe prior to the forthcoming presidential runoff at the just-ended Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) summit, Mulongoti said the statement was wrong and misleading.
Mulongoti said President Mwanawasa, as SADC chairman in fact, did convene the meeting with SADC leaders.
He said among those who attended the consultative meeting were King Mswati III of Swaziland, Malawi's Bingu Wa Mutharika, Tanzania's Jakaya Kikwete, Mozambique's Armando Guebuza and Namibia's Hifikepunye Pohamba.
"Others were South African President Thabo Mbeki, Vice-President of Botswana, as well as the prime ministers of Lesotho and Angola as well as foreign ministers of Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar and Zimbabwe," Mulongoti said.
He said during the meeting, President Mwanawasa reminded the heads of state and governments about the resolutions that were passed at the SADC extraordinary summit held in Lusaka in April this year.
"It was unfortunate to observe that during this consultative meeting, some leaders concentrated on a procedural debate with the Zimbabwe minister of foreign affairs by referring to the Dar-es-Salaam organ summit in March, 2008 during which President Mbeki of South Africa was mediator to resolve the political impasse in Zimbabwe, instead of giving an update on the electoral process in Zimbabwe as was expected," he said.
Mulongoti said President Mwanawasa proposed that some SADC observer mission be sent to Zimbabwe to monitor the runoff without delay.
He said it was not proper for some members to allow bureaucratic considerations to derail efforts that were aimed at finding a solution to end the political problems in Zimbabwe.
"It must be realised that Zambia, through President Mwanawasa's leadership was among the countries that were against the isolation of Zimbabwe by the western world. As we may recall, Zambia has made several attempts to advise some government leaders in Zimbabwe to stop the uncalled for attacks on President Mwanawasa and his administration as well as the protest through a note by the ministry of foreign affairs. President Mwanawasa found it difficult to reconcile with his conscience when some heads of state and government spoke at length deliberating on the procedural debate and consequently ended the meeting inconclusively," said Mulongoti.
And Pande refuted allegations that President Mwanawasa had received money from some western countries to hold the Lusaka SADC summit and a consultative meeting in Tokyo.
Pande said it was not correct that President Mwanawasa had also threatened to resign as SADC chairman after his alleged move was blocked by other leaders as reported in the Zimbabwean media.
"I was at the meeting and nothing like what was reported in the two newspapers happened. The meeting was held and one of the urgent issues that were discussed was sending of SADC observer mission to Zimbabwe. President Mwanawasa does not need to be paid for him to execute his duties SADC chairman. Our interest in Zimbabwe is to ensure that harmony and peace prevails after the run-off," said Pande.
According to the Herald and Chronicle newspapers, diplomatic sources said President Mwanawasa was blocked from convening the consultative meeting by other regional leaders.
The papers reported that President Mwanawasa threatened to resign after he was blocked but that SADC leaders described the Zambian President's move as unnecessary and improper because the Zimbabwean issue was being handled by the regional body with President Mbeki as mediator.
Labels: COLOUR REVOLUTIONS, MIKE MULONGOTI, MWANAWASA, SADC, ZIMBABWE
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Mulongoti's remark on wounded UNZA students disgusts HH
By Roberta Muchagwe
Monday June 02, 2008 [04:01]
UPND President Hakainde Hichilema has described as disgusting information minister Mike Mulongoti’s statement that he was being populist by paying for the two UNZA students admitted to the UTH. Speaking on the UNZA Radio’s Lusaka Star magazine programme on Friday, Hichilema said what he did, to pay for the two students to be moved to a better ward at University Teaching Hospital (UTH), was a humane reaction.
Hichilema said Mulongoti and education minister Professor Geoffrey Lungwagwa’s reaction to the issue of the two University of Zambia (UNZA) students admitted to the UTH was embarrassing.
Hichilema said that Mulongoti misled the nation by stating on public television that one of the students who was shot in the chest was shot in the arm, the issue to look so simple.
“Then you (Mulongoti) reacted … to say I was being populist, Hakainde was being populist, Mike, that is disgusting!” said Hichilema.
He said Mulongoti should have been embarrassed because he (Hichilema) made a decision for him to move the students, especially the student who was shot in the chest, to a ward that had facilities in order to save their lives.
“You (Mulongoti) left a child, a young man with a bullet in his body and went away to mislead the nation,” he said.
Hichilema said at UTH when he asked why the student with the bullet imbedded in his chest was not being operated on, he was told that UNZA and the Ministry of Education had no money to take the student to a ward that would allow him to get best treatment.
“You left that young man to die on the bed, you the Minister of Information and the Minister of Education. That was utter embarrassment!” remarked Hichilema.
He said Prof Lungwagwa and Mulongoti’s reaction to his help to the students showed lack of leadership.
Hichilema thanked God that the student with the bullet in the chest was still alive.
“For me, that was a humane reaction. For a villager like me, that’s the way we react in the village,” he said.
The two students were shot at by police using live ammunition during the last demonstration at UNZA.
Labels: HAKAINDE HICHILEMA, MIKE MULONGOTI, POLICE BRUTALITY, UNZA
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Mulongoti clarifies remark on Zim refugees
By Bivan Saluseki
Thursday May 29, 2008 [04:00]
INFORMATION minister Mike Mulongoti yesterday said there was a 'variance' in his comments on the Zimbabweans that were reported to be heading for Zambia from South Africa. And the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in their note verbal to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and all diplomatic missions in Zambia on Wednesday stated that there was a misunderstanding by the media on what the head of Southern Africa Zone and Federation referred to.
Explaining his change of statements over the matter, Mulongoti said although he had said that Zambia, under international law, was under obligation to offer asylum to refugees, that did not mean that Zambia was ready to receive them.
On Friday when he was asked specifically about the 25,000 Zimbabweans that were reportedly headed for Zambia and if the government would allow them to enter the country, Mulongoti admitted knowing about the Zimbabwean nationals and said: "Well, the international law on migration of people makes it obligatory. Zambia as a UN member state has an obligation to receive those who are seeking asylum."
Mulongoti said the government was putting in place measures to receive them.
But later in the evening, Mulongoti issued a statement saying the correct position was that there was no such movement of Zimbabwean nationals.
He stated that the International Federation of Red Cross had since clarified the matter saying there was a misunderstanding by the media of what the head of the Southern African Zone of the body referred to.
And in an interview yesterday, Mulongoti clarified although UN member states where under the obligation to receive those seeking asylum, that did not mean Zambia was ready to receive them. He said in principle, while Zambia might be obliged, it did not mean it was ready because there was a process to be followed.
"It's not possible. The variance is only that we are not preparing for them," he said.
Mulongoti said even when there was such a movement; a request must come from the UN.
"The position of government, however, is that if such a situation developed, the government of Zambia will only consider the matter after receiving an official request from the United Nations, through the High Commissioner for Refugees," said Mulongoti.
And the International Federation of Red Cross stated that the head of the zone was referring to the inter- agency contingency plan development by the UN agencies and the government of Zambia through the Commissioner for Refugees as a preparedness measure for potential sudden population movements from Zimbabwe.
"This contingency plan was developed in March 2008 even before violence arose in South Africa. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies supports and will continue to support the auxiliary role and humanitarian activities of National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies worldwide including the 10 Red Cross Societies in Southern Africa," stated its report.
The Society stated that so far, no record about people fleeing South Africa to seek refuge in Zambia in great numbers had reached its office.
"However, the Federation will continue to monitor the situation closely with relevant authorities and humanitarian actors so that when necessary timely humanitarian assistance is provided to those in need in the framework of national contingency plan," stated the Federation.
Labels: MIKE MULONGOTI
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Levy, Sata deal is unique in africa, says Zukas
By Patson Chilemba and Inonge Noyoo
Sunday May 18, 2008 [04:00]
THE reconciliation of President Levy Mwanawasa and PF leader Michael Sata is unique in Africa, veteran politician Simon Zukas has said. And information minister Mike Mulongoti said all those criticising Sata's decision to reconcile with President Mwanawasa were against peace. Commenting on the reconciliation between President Mwanawasa and Sata yesterday, Zukas said the two leaders' move to reconcile was good for the future stability of the country.
"I'm sure it will even affect our investment. Investors will see us as a peaceful country," he said.
Zukas said the continued bickering between President Mwanawasa and Sata was one of the problems that greatly affected the country. He said there would be no need for Sata and President Mwanawasa to continue attacking each other on a personal basis. Zukas said the two could now attack each other on issues. However, Zukas said PF should remain an opposition party and provide checks and balances to government.
And Mulongoti, during a seminar at the Inter-religious and International Federation for World Peace (IIFWP) yesterday, revealed that Sata had called him to ask whether he had done the right thing by reconciling with President Mwanawasa.
"I told him that it's what we have been calling for and that he had done the right thing. All those criticizing him are against peace. What he has done is good for Zambia. It is opening a new chapter and all those practicing politics of confrontation are in the past," he said.
Mulongoti said it was normal that some members of Sata's political party appeared to be lost with their president's decision.
He likened President Mwanawasa and Sata's reconciliation to two army generals reconciling after a war saying it was obvious that the soldiers would be lost but that the move by their leaders would be a great one.
Mulongoti said Sata must be commended for his decision and not condemned.
He urged all political competitors to move forward and work together.
Mulongoti also said leadership qualities of management skills and administrative qualifications should be balanced in every true leader.
He said a true leader should have the attitude of a true teacher, a true owner or a true parent.
Mulongoti said a true teacher would always try to teach, raise and educate subordinates to become better and always speak for other people's benefit.
He said each form of leadership required its own approach and had its own particular demand on leaders and the other people alike.
IIFWP chairperson General Malimba Masheke said peace was an essential quality that should characterize all relationships.
"We should seek to build a broad strategic alliance among individuals, educational institutions, organizations, religions, NGOs, corporation, the media and government for the sake of peace," he said,
Gen Masheke called for all people to be guided by a vision of humanity as one global family under God living in accordance with universal principles.
Labels: MIKE MULONGOTI, MWANAWASA, POLITICS, SATA, ZUKAS
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Sata is a useful political opponent - Mulongoti
By Lambwe Kachali, Mwila Chansa and Patson Chilemba
Wednesday May 14, 2008 [04:00]
SATA is a useful political opponent and is welcome to work with the MMD government for the benefit of all Zambians, chief government spokesperson Mike Mulongoti has said. And UPND president Hakainde Hichilema has said he was glad that Patriotic Front (PF) president Michael Sata had become his student of issue-based politics as opposed to mediocrity and insults.
Meanwhile, Sata yesterday confirmed that he would be meeting with President Levy Mwanawasa today at State House and would jointly address the press after the meeting.
Commenting on Sata's statement that he was ready to open dialogue with President Mwanawasa as politics of confrontation were long gone, Mulongoti said the government harboured no enemity against Sata. Mulongoti, who is also Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services, said President Mwanawasa had consistently advised the opposition to work with the government in order to uplift the living standards of the majority poor Zambians.
He said the MMD regarded all opposition leaders as friends and partners in development and were free to associate with government in improving the country's economic development.
"First, as government, we would like to welcome Mr. Sata home and we are happy that he has recovered. Despite his ill-talks against the government, it does not mean Mr. Sata is our enemy. And now that he has offered himself to work with the leadership of President Mwanawasa, I think he is welcome because we regard him as a useful political opponent who cannot be ignored to work with," Mulongoti said.
He said there was urgent need to change Zambia's political spectrum by divorcing politics of antagonism, hatred, name-calling and insults. Mulongoti said as far MMD was concerned, opposition political parties were not its enemies and that their criticisms against the government were an exercise of one of their democratic rights.
He said democracy entailed that both the government and the opposition should be open and tolerant to criticisms especially on matters of national importance. Mulongoti said Sata's critic stance was a bygone and the government was looking forward to fresh and mutual understanding between the two parties so that the country could continue moving forward.
"We respect opposing views and Mr Sata's critic position does not stand. Democracy is about opposing opinions and whether you agree to it or not, you just have to respect that. That is even enshrined in our Constitution. So as government, we don't have to be hurt by Mr. Sata's attacks. We should be tolerant," Mulongoti said. "Any advice or contribution from the opposition will be accepted."
Mulongoti said now that Sata had returned, PF supporters and Zambians at large were expecting his usual contributions to the nation.
And Hichilema said he was glad that Sata was now emulating UPND's stance of promoting issue-based politics away from insults and mediocrity.
"I am glad that UPND is already providing leadership even before we are in office. When we came on the political scene, we promised Zambians that we would provide them with quality debate on issues, we are providing leadership in changing politics from insults and mediocrity to issues," Hichilema said.
"I would like to welcome Sata to the new type of politics. I would like to see a situation where President Mwanawasa, president Sata and president Hichilema can openly debate on television on issues of the energy crisis, rising food prices, job creation, agriculture, education and all other matters."
Hichilema said such open debates would give Zambians an opportunity to make decisions on who was best suited to take over the leadership of their country after 2011. He reiterated that it was only through quality debate that shouting and noise making would be taken out of Zambian politics.
Hichilema said Sata had always been fighting everybody.
"When I met President Mwanawasa sometime back, Sata criticised me and accused UPND of trying to form an alliance with MMD. Sata and Levy have been quarreling in public and your paper once carried a story where I said the two were quarrelling like children at the Electoral Commission and I was disgusted," said Hichilema.
He said he was happy that he was called to comment on the matter because Sata had always ridiculed him and called him names such as 'under five' or 'calculator boy'.
Hichilema also wished Sata a quick recovery so that they could now start discussing national issues.
And Lusaka lawyer Dr Rodger Chongwe advised Sata not to compromise the opposition's role of providing checks and balances to government in his dialogue with President Mwanawasa. Dr Chongwe said it was good for the ruling and opposition parties to dialogue for national development but that the opposition should always perform the role of a watchdog.
He said the opposition should guard against towing the line of government, as doing so would amount to taking the country back to the one party state.
"I know that he knows his role. But just in case he has forgotten, first and foremost, he is leader of the opposition and we expect him to articulate issues that are good for the country, not to compromise the principles of his political party," Dr Chongwe said. "The opposition should stick to opposition politics, not necessarily politics of confrontation but national politics."
Dr Chongwe also advised President Mwanawasa to seek dialogue with other political party leaders who had representation in Parliament and not Sata alone.
He said in most countries, the ruling party dialogued with the opposition to come up with important instruments such as the foreign policy.
"So when Sata says he is tired of politics of confrontation, it may be that where he was in South Africa, he has been exposed to other elements of how a democratic country is run," Dr Chongwe said.
He hoped that this was the beginning of change in the way politics was conducted in Zambia. Dr Chongwe said in most cases, it was the MMD which resorted to politics of confrontation and because of that, other parties had taken confrontational positions.
"Let's see what will happen. We should not think that confrontation is behind us," said Dr Chongwe.
And PF Matero member of parliament Faustina Sinyangwe congratulated Sata on his new approach to politics.
"I would like to congratulate him for, at last, seeing things for what they are," Sinyangwe, who is Sata's niece, said. "We have always advised him that being in opposition does not mean that you have to criticise everything the government does. The opposition is there for checks and balances so that when government does a good thing, you commend and when they do things wrongly, you criticise.
I remember one time in Parliament when I praised my sister Sylvia Masebo for the good work she is doing, Sata phoned as soon as I sat down. I was told that there was a phone call outside and when I went to the phone, Mr Sata shouted at me for praising Sylvia for the good work she did. That is Mr Sata for you. He believes in painting black that which is white. That's why I congratulate him for his new approach to politics. And I hope he means what he says."
On Sunday whilst in South Africa, Sata said he was ready to open dialogue with President Mwanawasa because politics of confrontation were long gone.
Labels: MIKE MULONGOTI, SATA
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God bless the media
By Editor
Sunday May 04, 2008 [04:00]
In life it is very important to be clear about things. And we would like our politicians, especially our parliamentarians and government ministers, to make their decisions on the basis of principles and reason. We don’t want them to be led by emotion and fears. They shouldn’t be manipulated into taking certain positions.
We therefore see no reason for anyone to try and comfort them that the media doesn’t intend to injure. We would like to remind our Minister of Information that we belong to the media and not to the insurance business and he must not think that support for the access to information bill should be a premium which would ensure any politician that they would be untouched by the media.
This seems to be an attempt to make a virtue out our inadequacies. We want our political leaders to make intelligent decisions. And it is the triumph of optimism of will over pessimism of intelligence that has always sustained us.
It doesn’t make sense to try and tie the issue of a press or media council to the enactment of an access to information law. The transgressions of any media or journalist should not be tied to this.
Our Minister of Information says our neighbours in Tanzania have a council which is responsible and if one of the media organisations transgresses, they can go to the council and appeal for regulation.
And the Minister is wondering where he should go if his rights are infringed. He says going to court may take 10 years and in the meantime something has been written about him and he is divorced at home. He asks if he is going to be compensated for being divorced.
Actually, when one critically examines the example our minister has given, one will realise that falsities that have usually led to divorces are not in the media; they lie elsewhere. They are usually found in the unpublished or unbroadcast words.
They are not part of the libel but slander. So if this is his concern, then he should look for a council of some form that will regulate slander since he doesn’t want to spend 10 years in court.
No one should be opposed to self-regulation. It is not possible to practice journalism without one form or another of self-regulation. Every journalist and every media house regulates itself in one form or another. Self-regulation does not necessarily mean belonging to a media council of some form.
We have adequate defamation laws in this country and we will not run away from them by creating all sorts of kangaroo courts and trying to force citizens to join such syndicates. If our court processes take too long to complete, it is the duty of our legislators and those in government to ensure that these processes are shortened by providing our judiciary with necessary capacity – financial and otherwise.
And it is not only politicians who are affected by libel. Even us journalists sometimes have our reputations injured by fellow journalists and their media organisations. The editors of this newspaper have had litigation against the Daily Mail, the Weekly Angel, Today, among others, and won.
The cases have taken long but they were eventually closed and judgment passed. No one should injure the reputation of others with impunity.
If we publish anything legally offensive against anyone, they have every right to seek redress in our courts of law. Just the same way if one is slandered by another citizen, they have every right to sue for slander. Usually there are no shortcuts to justice.
We have no problems with a media council as long as it is a voluntary one. And being voluntary means that we have a choice either to join it or to stay away from it. This choice must be respected otherwise the whole thing becomes mandatory.
And as we have stated before, one cannot in one breath advocate for a non-mandatory media council and at the same time try to force everyone to take up membership in it. Again, there is need to be clear about things.
In any given discipline, there are people who pursue it with honour and with decency and there are people who don’t.
To say that the media are terrible is not quite accurate or fair.
To the press alone, chequered as it is with abuses, the world is indebted for all the triumphs which have been gained by reason and humanity, over error and oppression.
The press should be considered not as the fourth branch of the government but as an essential counterweight to the government, the basic check against abuse of official power.
Both freedom of speech and press freedom often provoke public and political controversy, but experience shows again and again that when freedom is diseased, the only cure is more freedom.
A newspaper should tell the truth as only intellectual honesty can discern the truth. It should do what is in conscience needful and right.
No one should be able to pull the curtains of secrecy around decisions which can be revealed without injury. And we will never forget what President Levy Mwanawasa had to say on this in 2002.
When we obtained the Zamtrop Account through a court order following an application we had made in court, we asked our lawyers to go and see President Mwanawasa and find out from him if there was anything in these accounts whose exposure would jeopardise national security so that we could avoid doing so.
The President’s response was simply that there’s nothing of national security in theft, theft could not be hidden behind national security and we should use the accounts as we deem fit. This was our President’s response. Who can disagree with this? Why can’t we use it as a benchmark when looking at our access to information bill?
The truth is, if you don’t like what you are seeing in the news, you probably don’t like what is going on in society right now. If we don’t mirror our communities as they exist, then we may not have thriving and growing newspapers.
People believe that having freedom of expression is a natural phenomenon. It’s not. It is a result of intense care and vigilance.
The unregulated voice, the unregulated media isn’t as dangerous to the public as is the silenced voice.
We all want to do right and do well. But if you don’t do well, you are not going to be in a position to do right.
In our popular discussions, unwise ideas must have a hearing as well as wise ones, dangerous ideas as well as safe, unZambian as well as Zambian.
The need to protect what we detest is the reason freedom of the mind both exists and remains under siege.
Power corrupts, and there is nothing more corrupting than power exercised in secret.
The things we are seeking are about freedom and tolerance – to believe, speak, publish, congregate and lobby as you see fit, while allowing others to do likewise, even people whose expressions you find abhorrent.
It may not be pleasant to see the truth, but we can assure you that the alternative is virtual slavery.
It seems that some government officials never learn that the cover-up can be worse than the underlying conduct.
In every country, press freedom boils down to a three-way deal between state power and popular instinct and the media’s muscle. The freedoms we are seeking are not so that we can freely praise and comfort our public officials. We are seeking them so that we can freely criticise our public officials.
A free press is not necessarily an angelic press. Therefore, tolerance for a free press is the touchstone for a democratic society. We say this because speech is the mark of humanity.
Standing up for what is right isn’t always popular.
The press has a responsibility not only to report the truth, but to do so with a sense of accountability and decorum. Freedom of speech is not about good speech versus bad; it is about who holds the power to decide which is which.
To us, it’s clear that only a strong and secure democracy can guarantee the fullest and more free exchange of ideas, no matter how much those ideas hurt or incite. You cannot have a democracy and you cannot have a community if you do not have a way to share ideas.
And the right to express yourself is not something that is inherently part of being a journalist; it’s part of being a human being.
And we don’t think it’s fair to blame press freedom or access to information when someone makes a fool of himself in public.
As a newspaper, we have to stand up for what is right and not worry about what is politically feasible. And surely, the glory of journalism is its transience.
We think the great thing about the freedoms we are talking about is that they extend to everyone, the wise and the foolish.
For this reason, the best we can say is simply to ask God to bless the media.
Labels: FREEDOM OF INFORMATION BILL, MEDIA, MIKE MULONGOTI, PRESS
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Don't be arrogant in your push for reforms, Mulongoti urges media
By Masuzyo Chakwe
Sunday May 04, 2008 [04:00]
INFORMATION minister Mike Mulongoti yesterday urged the media not to be arrogant and confrontational in the manner they were pushing for law reforms. But Press Freedom Committee of The Post chairperson Chansa Kabwela said The Post will not beg for the enactment of freedom of information laws.
During the commemoration of the World Press Freedom Day (WPFD) which fell yesterday under the theme 'Freedom of the Press, Access to Information and Empowerment of People', Mulongoti said the confrontation by the media was not necessary because what was needed was dialogue.
Mulongoti accused the media of pushing an open door.
"I don't know why people are busy pushing an open door, you might falland break your bones. It is not necessary. I have spent this time going round seeking information on the benefits. I have gone round trying to learn from the best experiences that others have had over this piece of legislation," he said. "What I need to be comforted with is that we are moving together.
I have spent time studying this piece of legislation and I have looked at the British one and I have the question 'is this all there is to this law' and I was told 'yes' that was all there was to the law. I find that piece of legislation very comforting."
Mulongoti said at no time had the government said the freedom of information bill was for the press alone.
"Like our neighbours in Tanzania, they have a council which is responsible and if one of the media organisations transgresses, they can go to the council and appeal for regulation and that's all we say," he said.
"All we are saying is if I am abused, if my rights have been infringed, where do I go? Going to court may take me 10 years. In the meantime you have written about me having done something and I am divorced at home. Are you going to compensate me for being divorced?"
Mulongoti said people only wanted some consideration and that if one asks for an apology, it should be given.
"Apologise and my wife will reconsider that and we will reconcile. But if I am in court for 10 years, what is going to happen to me? All we are saying regulate yourselves; no one is imposing legislation on you," he said.
Mulongoti said the government only wanted media organisations to report responsibly.
"I have to go to Parliament to convince the other legislatures that it is a good piece but they have also had experiences. I heard Mr Chanda (Press Association of Zambia vice president Amos) the other day saying 'don't fear', surely once bitten, twice shy.
You expect those legislatures not to be scared if you reported something that had injured them? Comfort them that you don't intend to injure them. Comfort them not by insisting that you must put this piece of legislation whether you like it or not. That is not dialogue. We must move together," he said.
Mulongoti said if there were issues that the media organisations were not agreeable to, they should dialogue.
He warned that the beneficiaries of the information, the public, could take the law into their own hands when they get hurt if parties involved do not act together.
"We must provide remedies for each other. In this country we have got situations where we need to consult each other. Consensus does not mean agreeing on everything, consensus means we have been consulting each other. Sometimes you agree and disagree," he said.
Mulongoti said he had been accessible to everybody in the past one year he had worked in the information ministry.
Mulongoti also accused Post columnist Laura Miti-Banda of lacking humility.
"Last week when I was leaving somebody sent me a text that ‘have you talked to Laura Miti because she lacks humility.’ I have got that text in my cell phone.
She lacks humility, those of you who have read her articles, she writes so many things, as if those she is writing about are her age mates. But I believe I’m older than her and some of the things she writes about us, all us, is like our socialisation is meaningless," he said.
Mulongoti said people should have courtesy when they write about each other.
"We have no cause to write to her and say Dear Madame, eeh...you know in life there are people called termagants, they take advantage of freedoms to abuse others because by nature they are termagants. If you don't know that word, check it up," he said.
He said there was need to protect people from injury.
"There are others who suffer in pain quietly and silently and when they die, you can't say that you sat in the way of legislation, legislation empowered to abuse me more? The issue here is not the question of quarrelling, we are trying to put in laws that help," he said.
Mulongoti wondered whether journalists had taken time to read the freedom of information bill in Zambia as well as that of other countries.
"They were telling me that in England that in fact now the people asking for the law are not journalists because they read and found that what they thought, they had difficulties. So colleagues in the press, don't take it as if it is a fight, fight with who? I have given you an example, my office and phone is open to you, what more do you want? Are you not getting access and freedom of information from me?" he asked.
Mulongoti said he had agreed to have a workshop where he could meet with media organisations and sort out the issues.
"It's not me to comfort myself but to comfort other colleagues because they have fears and I must ensure that those fears must be put to rest. And we will not put those fears to rest as long as you intimidate me and insist ‘unless you give us this piece of legislation... we will...’ You don't do that, it's a process of legislation and negotiation," he said.
"And those of you fighting with yourselves, come on board, you are all part of the process.
As your minister, I can assure you I also want freedom of information but I am also mindful of the fact that because human beings are different, people are different. If you give them too much freedom, I don't know what they will do with that freedom."
He said there were people who wrote comforting things about others and people who made him feel like vomiting.
"Because we acknowledge that people are different we can't stop them but we want to implore them to consider that within our society we have respect for each other, we have customs," he said.
"Let us move the process together, we won't move if you insist and intimidate those who say they have another divergent view, consider those views as one opinion, Parliament, civil society, the church, government all have pieces of opinions that must be harmonized. Comfort me that what I am doing is right.
Don't insist from an arrogant position. Insist from a position you have a correct argument because you are making those people dig in and once they dig in, it becomes difficult."
He said media organisations would not have an ally in him if they insisted on positions that could not offer an opportunity for compromise.
"That is not right, democracy is about viewpoints. Respect other views. Help me but don't guide me with a stick. It's like a dog; if you can't call it with a stick it will not come," he said.
But Kabwela said enacting access to information laws was not a favour to the media, let alone The Post.
She said if this was the case then The Post would not ask for it because they were not in the business of seeking favours.
"We have never been favour seekers. We don't trade in favours. And it should not be a reward to us for doing certain things or behaving in a certain manner," she said
Kabwela said some politicians had even suggested that they would only support the access to information bill if the Post joined the Media Ethics Council of Zambia (MECOZ).
She said this would not happen.
"Certainly not for this reason. Membership to MECOZ is voluntary. And voluntary means voluntary; it does not mean mandatory. If they want it to be mandatory let them go ahead and make it so by legislating. However, this will be undesirable.
But if it is their wish, let it be. We are much better placed to deal with laws and courts. We have seventeen years of experience in this area. And we have demonstrated great and increasing capacity in defending ourselves and our rights in the courts of law," she said.
Kabwela said The Post would never seek favours from anyone over these issues because these matters were for the people of Zambia.
She said freedom of information and access to information laws were aimed at benefiting the people of Zambia.
However, Kabwela said The Post would always be willing to share knowledge and experience over these issues with the politicians and anyone else.
"For us, we have demonstrated that we know how to get the information we need. If we didn't, Mr Chiluba and his friends wouldn't be facing corruption charges in our courts of law today. So if you erroneously think that enacting access to information laws is a favour to The Post, please don't do it," she said.
"But the truth is, out of ignorance, you will only be doing yourselves a dis-favour; you will only be harming your own interests. And don't hold us, or the media in general, for the harm you will cause to yourselves."
Kabwela said a free press was non negotiable.
"Don't complain that the media is not informing you adequately. In short, what I am saying is that The Post will not beg for the enactment of these laws; it will not be coerced or blackmailed into joining MECOZ. It will only join MECOZ if it becomes a mandatory requirement," said Kabwela.
Women for Change (WfC) assistant programme officer for information and advocacy Mwaba Simfunkwe said as Zambians commemorated WPFD this year, they should not forget that rural communities were also part of Zambia and that they needed to know how they were being governed.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon called on societies to spare no effort in bringing to justice the perpetrators of attacks on journalist.
MISA Zambia chairperson Henry Kabwe said Zimbabwe was the lead country in the southern African region in terms of violations against journalists.
Kabwe said in the course of last year, MISA issued 181 alerts on violence against journalists and Zimbabwe had the highest at 57.
Kabwe also said linking freedom of information to media ethics was wrong.
Press Association of Zambia president Andrew Sakala urged members of parliament to support the bill once it is taken to Parliament.
World Press Freedom Day Organising Committee Chairperson Amos Chanda said the Bill was not meant for the media but for Zambians.
Labels: FREEDOM OF INFORMATION BILL, MIKE MULONGOTI, PRESS
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Opposition has lost grip in E/Province, charges Mulongoti
By Lambwe Kachali
Sunday April 20, 2008 [04:00]
MMD chairperson for elections Mike Mulongoti has charged that the opposition has lost grip in Eastern Province, saying the MMD is ready to scoop the Milanzi parliamentary seat. But UNIP deputy general secretary Reverend Alfred Banda said the party would retain the seat without difficulties. The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has set June 26, 2008 as the date for the Milanzi Constituency parliamentary by-elections.
The seat fell vacant following the death of Dr Chosani Njobvu last month.
Mulongoti, who is information and broadcasting minister and chief government spokesperson, said looking at the popularity and support the MMD was currently enjoying in Eastern Province, it was clear that it would carry the day.
He charged that although UNIP won the seat in 2006, its political muscle had declined completely.
Mulongoti said it would be difficult for the opposition to get the Milanzi seat because MMD was commanding a lot of support in the province.
“I am not underrating our competitors but as MMD, we are going to fight not for survival but to increase the number of parliamentary seats in the province. We are going with full conscience, aiming at taking the seat without fail. We are well organised and there is no doubt that the seat is already ours,” said Mulongoti.
But Rev Banda said UNIP would seriously take on MMD and other political parties.
He said UNIP would defend the seat and bragged that the late Dr Njobvu brought a lot of development in Milanzi.
“The development that Dr Njobvu brought in that constituency will speak and campaign for us. The people of Milanzi know that they cannot vote for MMD or any other party apart from UNIP.
Milanzi is our stronghold and I have no doubt that we will defend our seat,” said Rev Banda. “I just urge the people of Milanzi not to succumb to MMD’s tricks of using public money and resources during campaigns.”
Opposition UPND president Hakainde Hichilema last week said his party was ready to participate in the by-election.
Hichilema said easterners had now realised that MMD had failed them and that the only hope was in UPND.
ECZ public relations manager Cris Akufuna last week announced the date of the by-election for Milanzi and four wards.
“Aspiring candidate in the by-elections should lodge completed and attested statutory declaration and nomination papers subscribed before a magistrate, local court justice, head of primary school, head of secondary school, principal of a college, commissioner of oaths, election officer or returning officer on Thursday, 29 May, 2008 between 09:00 hours and 15:00 hours,” he stated.
He stated that the campaign period for the by-elections would commence on May 28 and end at 18:00 hours on June 25.
Labels: EASTERN PROVINCE, MIKE MULONGOTI, MMD, UPND
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Levy refuses to mediate in Zim political crisis
By Mwala Kalaluka
Saturday April 19, 2008 [04:00]
PRESIDENT Levy Mwanawasa has turned down calls by Zimbabwe's MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai to take over mediation in Zimbabwe's political crisis. And the Zambian government has described Zimbabwean justice minister Patrick Chinamasa's assertions that President Mwanawasa is collaborating with the West to bring about regime change in that country as a mark of unfairness.
Chief government spokesperson Mike Mulongoti said at a press briefing in Lusaka yesterday that the idea of taking over South African President Thabo Mbeki's mediatory role in Zimbabwe was not within President Mwanawasa's contemplation.
"While the call from Mr Tsvangirai would have some moral persuasion, this is a matter which Mr Tsvangirai had discussed with President Mwanawasa and he advised Mr Tsvangirai that it was not possible for him to undertake that," he said.
Mulongoti, who commended President Mbeki for the well-coordinated manner in which he had so far handled the Zimbabwean political situation, said the decision to appoint the South African President as a go-between in Zimbabwe was collective because it was arrived at during the summits of Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) heads of state in Tanzania and Zambia respectively.
"Any decision to depart from that mandate can only be arrived by the same," he said. "President Mwanawasa State Counsel has been in contact with President Mbeki over the matter because President Mbeki had called to just hear President Mwanawasa over the matter.
President Mwanawasa advised that the issue is not in his contemplation."
Mulongoti said President Mwanawasa was not willing to take over the mediatory in Zimbabwe because he already had so many things on his hands.
"As SADC chairman, he is already deeply involved in the matter related to Zimbabwe and that the leadership which he is providing for now is adequate," he said.
Mulongoti said for now any fresh developments taking place on the Zimbabwean political landscape would be handled through the regional body's collective effort.
Mulongoti said the last extra-ordinary summit of SADC heads of state in Lusaka was not able to conclusively deal with the Zimbabwean post-election question because of issues that were before the court in Harare.
He said people would be notified of SADC's next step over Zimbabwe once the courts decide on the matter.
And Mulongoti said the Zambian government was not working with Western nations to bring about 'regime change' in Zimbabwe, as claimed by Chinamasa in a story that appeared in Zimbabwe's Herald Newspaper on Thursday.
"It is a mark of unfairness and more so we take strong exception," said Mulongoti.
Labels: MIKE MULONGOTI, MWANAWASA
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It's not ours: it's yours
By Editor
Sunday March 30, 2008 [04:00]
IT is difficult to understand or appreciate why the government seems to be very uncomfortable with enacting laws that guarantee the Zambian people freedom of information. It is paradoxical or a contradiction for information minister Mike Mulongoti to say people should make decisions from an informed point of view yet he appears reluctant or unwilling to give them access to information they need to make such informed decisions.
And Mulongoti says the media plays an important role in the development of the nation but again he appears unwilling or reluctant to ensure that a law is enacted that gives the media guaranteed access to information so that it can play its role in development in a more efficient, effective and orderly manner.
Mulongoti urges the public to understand the challenges faced by the media and journalists in newsgathering, yet he himself is reluctant to take concrete measures that make this undertaking easier.
But as the nation continues to discuss the issue of the freedom of information laws, there is need to realise that power corrupts, and there is nothing more corrupting than power exercised in secret.
There is actually no good reason for anyone to fear a law that guarantees citizens more access to information. We say this because when so much is secret in a nation, secrecy is not respected - leaks upon leaks become the order to the day.
Actually, if one takes a critical look at things or life, it will not be difficult to realise that a people without much and meaningful access to information is a dead people.
And we in the media have been reminding the government and our politicians that although we have been in the forefront pushing for the enactment of freedom of information legislation, we are not doing so just because it aids our work, simply because
we need it for our practice; we are doing so much more for their own good, their own protection and indeed for everything that is theirs and that is for their benefit. Yes, the freedom of information legislation is interested in the truth. But the freedom of information legislation is not intended only for what somebody may think is the truth. It is intended for freedom of speech.
Mulongoti says "the important role the media plays in our everyday lives is taken for granted as if it is a birthright to have news". Yes, news may not be a birthright but nothing in this world can move without communication, without mankind's ability to speak out and to be heard by others. Actually, our ability to speak out and be heard is the bedrock of civilisation. Even biblically in John 1, it says that in the beginning there was the word and the word was God...with the word everything was created.
To the media alone, chequered as it is with abuses, the world is indebted for all the triumphs which have been gained by reason and humanity, over error and oppression.
We know what those in government fear is well-founded criticism, criticism that is based on facts or accurate information. But media which are not free to criticise government, or that are not representative of the broad spectrum of society, are inherently limited in their capacity to support and bolster democracy.
We all want to do right and do well. But if one doesn't do well, one is not going to be in a position to do right. And to do all this we need reasonable and meaningful access to information. But is it up to us journalists to wrestle with what is in the public interest, not necessarily what is of interest?
We must realise that in a world of one point political agendas and armies of spin-doctors trying to tailor the truth, a free press has to be more vigilant, professional and courageous than ever before.
The need for us to protect what we detest is the reason freedom of the mind both exist and is under siege.
And freedom or liberty is the one thing no man can have unless he grants it to others. Those in government today may think that they themselves have the right to information and it doesn't matter whether others don't have that right. Their day will certainly come when they are not in power.
All truths begin as hearsay. But there is need for facts to verify hearsay. And this will be much easier if citizens have reasonable and meaningful access to information that is legally guaranteed. For us our job is sometimes very simple - to publish, and set up a standard; publish, and not conceal.
If good freedom of information legislation is put in place, leaks will reduce considerably and the accuracy of information that is carried by our media will also improve considerably.
Without good freedom of information legislation, asking journalists to denounce leaks because of their deleterious effects on the functioning of government is as hopeless as asking an airline to denounce jet fuel because of its impact on the environment.
Of course the Zambian people are not asking for freedom of information legislation so that they can freely praise their public officials. Those in government know this very well and are very uncomfortable with it.
They know that the Zambian people are seeking freedom of information legislation so that they can freely criticise their public officials. Those in government know this and they don't like it at all.
But it seems our government officials never learn that the cover-up can be worse than the underlying conduct. Our right to information must be fought for and won over and over again. And the first step in this battle is for us to understand as a people the threats that we face.
We need access to information because it aids the ferment of ideas, the clash of disagreeing judgments, the privilege of the individual to develop his own thoughts and shape his own character that makes progress possible.
The impulse to restrict individual access to information in official hands is as ancient as the very history of mankind. But surely we are better than that impulse.
In a nation that aspires to be democratic, we want the spread of information to the widest audience possible. In that way, it is going to be more and more difficult for public officials to keep the truth out because the public have got access to it.
Today Mulongoti is accusing journalists of all sorts of things over the freedom of information bill. But we journalists are used to this. As journalists, we have been harassed, beaten, clubbed, tortured and detained. Freedom's price is high. And we know and understand this very well.
We also know that once one starts controlling the information to citizens, basically that is the end of the idea of democracy. Well, some journalists seem to believe that democratic politics, which alone underwrites their craft, is a self-perpetuating machine that can withstand any amount of money. They are wrong.
In a democracy, the freedom of discussion, the right to information and the freedom of expression are of the highest value. Without them, democracy stands into a caricature. Necessity is always the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants.
The most effective means of ensuring government's accountability to the people is a good and meaningful freedom of information that is well combined with an aggressive, free, challenging, untrusting media.
Of course freedom of information, freedom of speech and press freedom often provoke public and political controversy, but experience shows again and again that when freedom is diseased, the only cure is more freedom.
We also shouldn't forget that the right to information, freedom of information is very much close and tied to the right for one to express himself.
The right to express yourself is not something that is inherently part of being a journalist; its part of being a human being. You cannot have a democracy and you cannot have a community or a nation if you don't have a way to share ideas. And only a strong and secure democracy can guarantee the fullest and freest exchange of ideas, no matter how much those ideas hurt or incite. As journalists, we have to stand up for what is right and not worry about what is politically feasible. If a press is free, the facts cannot be concealed forever. While that is true, everything else is somehow correctable. It is said that the only sources that are worth a damn are the confidential sources.
Standing up for what is right is not always popular. But freedom is a precious thing and the inalienable birthright of all who travel this earth.
Freedom of information isn't an issue for majority rule. It isn't six foxes and a sheep deciding what to have for dinner. It is about protecting public interest and the interests of every individual.
Our hope is that we in the media and our fellow citizens in this country realise and remember that for all the disquiet that can come from a free press, life without it will be much worse. It is easy to embrace freedom of speech for ideas we accept. But the essence of freedom of speech, the press and freedom of information is that we must protect the ideas we hurt.
And those in government are not sliding reluctantly down a slippery slope, they are eagerly tumbling down it, extending their regulation of political speech in order to make their lives less stressful and more secure. We know from logic and from observation and from experience that the more powerless you are as a group or gender, the more you should defend your freedom of speech and your right to access information in official hands.
Labels: FREEDOM OF INFORMATION BILL, MIKE MULONGOTI
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Govt refuses to be moved on FOI bill
By Sydney Mungala and Angela Ntentabunga
Sunday March 30, 2008 [04:00]
INFORMATION minister Mike Mulongoti has said it would be wrong for the Speaker of the National Assembly to order him to take the Freedom of Information Bill to Parliament. During the Barclays Cup media awards ceremony at Cresta Golfview Hotel, Mulongoti said it was wrong for media houses to petition the Speaker to order him to take the Freedom of Information Bill to Parliament because he belonged to an independent wing of government.
"It would be wrong for Mr Speaker to order me, a member of the Executive to bring the Freedom of Information Bill to Parliament because he has no such powers," he said.
Mulongoti said it was very sad that the media did not follow the right channel by petitioning the Speaker and that they should have understood the separation of powers according to what prevailed in the country.
"I was very ashamed that even the public media were part of those who reported on this matter. We don't want personal preferences. People should make decisions from an informed point of view," he said.
He said the media should have exhausted dialogue with the government before petitioning the Speaker.
Mulongoti said he had written a letter of complaint to the Speaker over the matter.
Early this month, six media bodies indicated that they would petition Speaker Amusaa Mwanamwambwa to order Mulongoti to take the Freedom of Information Bill to Parliament for enactment.
Press Association of Zambia (PAZA) vice-president Amos Chanda on behalf of the others also asked members of parliament to reject the Freedom of Information Bill if it was taken back to Parliament without being made public.
Chanda urged parliamentarians, individually or as groups, to support the cause for an open FOI. He also urged them to amend, repeal and enact other pieces of legislation that hindered media freedom.
And Mulongoti noted that the media played an important role in the development of the nation, which he said was being taken for granted.
"The important role that the media plays in our everyday lives is taken for granted as if it is a birthright to have news," he said.
Mulongoti urged the public to understand the challenges faced by the media and journalists in news gathering.
Labels: FREEDOM OF INFORMATION BILL, MIKE MULONGOTI
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Chitala was off the mark, says Mulongoti
By Speedwell Mupuchi and Chibaula Silwamba
Monday February 04, 2008 [03:00]
INFORMATION minister Mike Mulongoti yesterday said former Zambian Ambassador to Libya Mbita Chitala has acknowledged that he went off the mark. And United Liberal Party president Sakwiba Sikota urged the government to clarify its position on Pan Africanism and Chitala’s dismissal. Asked to comment on Chitala’s dismissal over an article he wrote in Libya’s Tripoli Post in his personal capacity and the likely consequences on freedom of expression, Mulongoti said he would issue a statement during the week. Mulongoti said he wanted to balance things first before issuing a statement over the matter.
“I have no comment, actually I am on my way to Nakonde. This thing happened outside Zambia, it’s a bit difficult for me to comment.
So to be fair to Chitala and the authorities, I would want to get the official position first,” Mulongoti said. “I have talked to Chitala personally from the day this issue started. It’s a critical situation at the same time if you are an employee of government, your voice is that of your country, so it becomes difficult to distinguish between personal and official view.”
Mulongoti said at Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there were rules of protocol that ambassadors were obliged to observe. He said that Chitala had acknowledged he acted as if he were not an ambassador.
He said that if Chitala was in Zambia and went to a public university and gave a lecture on the subject he wrote about, it would have had a different connotation.
“But when you are in a country of accreditation, it’s (what one speaks) official and Chitala has acknowledged that he went off the mark,” Mulongoti said.
President Mwanawasa on Friday fired Chitala following his article titled: ‘The Federal Union of African States Must be Established Now’, which was published in The Tripoli Post newspaper as an editorial comment.
And Sakwiba Sikota expressed hope that Chitala’s dismissal would not affect Zambia’s relations with Libya.
“As you know, Libya is a country which very much believes in the concept of Pan Africanism and has been one of the major backers and campaigners for us to move in terms of African integration. The other thing is that Mr. Chitala has for a long time been a good friend of Libya and for Zambia having him there as our Ambassador,
Zambia was gaining because of his own connections with President Gaddafi and the Libyan people. Even before he was sent there, he had several connections with the Libyans,” Sikota said. “I hope that the Libyans will not take his removal as being a fright to them because of his Pan Africanism beliefs. It is important that government clarifies as to what their position is on Pan Africanism, otherwise we could find that our relationship with Libya does become sourly.”
Sikota said Chitala’s support for Pan Africanism should not be a reason for him to lose his job.
“I do understand that it is the prerogative of the President to make ambassadorial appointments but in so doing, he must not send wrong signals to make people now think that he is against Pan Africanism,” Sikota said.
“The other thing is that even what was stated is not even offensive in the manner in which it was made to seem when the President gave his reasons. I am glad The Post newspaper had actually printed it. There is actually nothing offensive about it. It is a well-thought-out and well argued arguments that Mr Chitala was putting forward.”
Sikota said since Chitala wrote the article in his private capacity and not on behalf of the government, his dismissal had stifled his freedom of expression.
“He was merely expressing his view point to advance the intellectual discussion,” Sikota said. “But if you stifle the discussion by saying that if somebody expresses an opinion fire them, then you will not be able to explain your foreign policy. That is why freedom of expression is so important that alas, this action shows intolerance to freedom of expression.”
Labels: MBITA CHITALA, MIKE MULONGOTI
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Learn to carry your own cross
By Editor
Wednesday January 30, 2008 [03:00]
It is always noble for one to accept responsibility for one’s own statements or deeds. It is not noble, just or fair to blame others for one’s failures and the consequences thereof. There is a tendency in this country, especially among our politicians, to blame others, the media, for their own self-created problems.
When they speak carelessly and their statements attract a backlash, they want the media to be responsible for that and take the heat. They accuse the media of misquoting them, of inaccuracies, sensation and unprofessional conduct, among other things.
Like a Swahili adage states, we would like to advise our politicians not to put blame on the darkness if they bump into a pole. If they knowingly go into a dangerous situation, they should not be surprised if they get hurt.
It is ludicrous for information minister Mike Mulongoti to suggest that we sensationalised, for the sake of making profit and hurting him, his statement last week that those who have not subscribed to pay television could watch the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations tournament from neighbours, taverns or bars.
For the benefit of those who did not read Mulongoti’s statement, when he was approached last Thursday by our journalist Lambwe Kachali for clarifications after he delivered a ministerial statement in Parliament explaining why the government was unable to assist ZNBC with K5 billion to enable it to televise the matches from Ghana, Mulongoti advised Zambians to watch the ongoing continental soccer tournament from bars or neighbours who subscribe to pay television channels because the government has no money to facilitate that through ZNBC.
He said the government’s failure to financially support ZNBC to broadcast the African Cup of Nations matches was because there were other pressing needs, like helping people who had been affected by this year's floods.
Mulongoti said: "Sport is not a matter of life and death. People are watching through DStv, GTV and for those who don't have those facilities should watch from their neighbours, taverns and bars. The government's priority now is to mitigate the sufferings of the people in flood areas because the implication of that is that we must also start to prepare their future because the floods have destroyed crops and roads. So, any little resource should go towards those areas.”
Mulongoti said people would laugh at the government if flood victims died and yet money was being spent to broadcast soccer matches.
And this is what we reported him as having said. But because a lot of people phoned him trying to clarify whether or not he was encouraging people to go to the bars to drink or he made the statement with malice, Mulongoti found it easier to accuse The Post of lacking sensitivity when reporting on serious national matters, of sensation and reporting things out of context just to gain profit and hurt people’s feelings.
Mulongoti further says the media should exercise maximum restraint and responsibility when reporting on such sensitive national matters; otherwise the government would be forced to come up with laws regulating media operations and also to ensure that those who practised journalism had the necessary qualifications.
This is the way politicians would like to abuse the law in order to hide their own inefficiencies, iniquities and transgressions. This is the way politicians would like to use repressive press laws to shield themselves from public scrutiny and therefore avoid checks and balances.
For a long time, successive governments have laboured, though in vain, to scheme something nasty against the media and its practitioners. The most common excuse they give, which they think can easily be bought by the public, is that the media is invaded by unqualified people. Justice minister George Kunda is one of those who have consistently pushed this line for quite some time.
But we have argued and encouraged our people to realise that journalism can draw upon other professions for its practitioners, including accountants, medical doctors and lawyers like Kunda who even once enjoyed writing a weekly column for this newspaper.
Going by Mulongoti’s absurd justification for his call for government’s regulation of media operations, it is clear that he doesn’t want a free and independent media to expose his inconsistencies, failures, iniquities and absurdity. We remember not long ago, Mulongoti was advising us not to accompany, with an editorial comment, any story exposing ministers or senior government officials’ shortcomings or transgressions. In Mulongoti’s wisdom, accompanying such stories with editorial comments would be tantamount to inciting the President to dismiss the affected ministers or government officials.
Clearly, it is not difficult to discern that those advocating for the government to regulate media operations do not mean well. They are more concerned about preserving themselves at the expense of public good. But in a democracy like ours, the thought of statutory media regulations should not even cross the minds of progressive people. We have stated before that in democratic societies, media freedom should be guaranteed by the fact that the industry should be allowed to regulate itself within the limits of acceptable libel laws.
Publishers, editors or journalists on newspapers should be given the freedom to draw up their own codes of ethics in order to protect their independence from undue pressures from other forces. It should also be remembered that journalistic codes should not be for the purpose of protecting those who hold public office from scrutiny.
Instead of scheming to frustrate democratic ideals and liberties such as freedom of the press and that of free speech, the government should concentrate on removing bad laws from our statute books.
On our part, we look at media ethics in terms of our ability to stick to the key canons or standards of the profession. We believe that we have been ethical in our work by insisting only on the truth, accuracy, impartiality and fairness as outlined in our mission statement. We also believe that we have been ethical by insisting on the independence of our work from all forms of vested external interests, including those in government like Mulongoti and others. We have been responsible in our work not to any one interested party but to the wider society and public good. Those who are objective will have no difficulties in agreeing with us on this score. That is why we are proud that we have continued to adhere to questions of moral decency and good taste of the contents of our newspaper on a daily basis.
This is not to suggest that we operate like angels, with no mistakes. We do make mistakes. And when this happens, we learn from those mistakes with a view to making improvements to our work every day. We have no problems at all acknowledging our mistakes, apologising and promptly correcting them. And looking at the work we have done over the years, we can confidently say we have performed our duties with sufficient honour and integrity. Looking at all this, we are confident that issues of ethical conduct do not affect us in the way suggested by Mulongoti. However, we are aware that people with empty schemes have always targeted us for allegations of unethical or unprofessional conduct. But we take heart in realising that the general populace see what we do on a daily basis and we think that these will be our best judges.
We therefore advise Mulongoti to learn to meet the temerity of his words and actions and not to smear filth on innocent people. Let him carry his own cross, we have our own Calvary.
