10/05/2023
ERNEST CHANDA BLASTS SELFISH MEDIA OWNERS
By Jessica Mwansa
THE Technical Working Group (TWG) on the proposed Zambia Media Council (ZAMEC) Bill has branded media owners as selfish individuals who want to continue paying journalists peanuts hence their adamancy over the enactment of the Bill into law.
A cat-and-mouse affair has ensued between journalists and media owners over the enactment of the ZAMEC Bill into law with institutions like BBC Media Action and the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Zambia Chapter now siding with media owners and backtracking on the collective agreement to have a statutory media self-regulation.
But speaking to The Scoop, TWG chairperson Ernest Chanda said the media fraternity in Zambia had, during various symposia and conferences, endorsed the process and more specifically the change in approach from the voluntary media regulation to statutory self- regulation culminating in the development of the proposed ZAMEC Bill.
Mr. Chanda maintained that the Working Group will go ahead with the statutory self- regulation as proposed by the journalists concerning media regulation in Zambia because that was the consensus reached during the process and that those opposed to this were just being selfish.
"We have been in constant communication with the Ministry of Information and Media to ensure that they push the ZAMEC Bill to Parliament and enact it into law. Previously, we worked well with the Ministry of Information and Media but along the way, the tables turned and they started siding with media owners," Mr. Chanda complained.
He said the Technical Working Group had engaged the ministry again who assured them that the notice would be given to the Ministry of Justice adding that the Technical Working Group will continue advocating for the Zambian journalists and shall not be pushed by external voices.
"Journalists want a professional body that is backed by an act of Parliament so that we can have decency. Media owners are selfish and want to be hiring Journalists and end up paying them peanuts and they do not care about their welfare.
“Media owners should understand that even the voluntary process they are going through will not protect them. We will continue to advocate for the indigenous voices who are the journalists until the ZAMEC Bill is passed," he said.
