Emmanuel Kalulu, a clergy member from the Brethren Christ Church in Choma, has expressed concerns about the misuse of media freedom and freedom of expression in Zambia.

Affiliated with the Kamuuza BIC congregation of the Brethren Christ Church, Kalulu, who also serves as a representative of Chief Chona in Monze District (Monze East), shared his thoughts on the state of these freedoms in Zambia.

In an exclusive interview with Zambia Monitor in Choma, Kalulu acknowledged the significant level of media freedom and freedom of expression in Zambia.

However, he highlighted instances where these liberties were being exploited to attack others.

“Some of us believe that this freedom is excessive because it has been abused. We’ve witnessed the misuse of the freedom of speech. People are speaking without considering their audience, uttering words that contribute to moral decay,” Kalulu said.

He urged Zambians, including the media, to exercise restraint and responsibility in utilising the freedoms they currently enjoy.

“I implore fellow Zambians not to abuse these freedoms. Let’s stay within the bounds of respect and refrain from disrespecting others, even in times of disagreement,” Kalulu said.

Regarding the freedom of the press and any potential external influences, Kalulu noted that instances of harassment due to personal expressions seemed to have diminished compared to the past.

“When a leader announces plans to repeal laws on defamation of the President, what more evidence do we need? Individuals are quite free to express themselves; however, we’ve even seen instances of this freedom being misused,” Kalulu stated.

“Even journalists may feel unrestricted in their work, with few instances of interference. Thus, freedom of speech undoubtedly has its place in Zambia,” he concluded.

This story is sponsored content from Zambia Monitor’s Project Aliyense.

Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has warned that there would be a nationwide power outage for three months if the proposed increase in electricity tariffs is not implemented.

The Minister who gave the warning when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Power during an investigative hearing over the recent electricity tariff hike by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), said the power sector will be grounded without the increase in the tariff.

“The entire Power sector will be grounded if we don’t increase the tariff. With what we have now in the next three months, the entire country will be in darkness if we don’t increase tariffs,” Adelabu told the Committee.

“The increment will catapult us to the next level. We are also Nigerians, we are also feeling the impact.”

During his presentation, the Minister noted that the amount the federal government needs to revamp the sector was enormous and the government would not be able to provide the needed funds.

“For this sector to be revived, the government needs to spend nothing less than 10 billion dollars annually in the next 10 years.

“This is because of the infrastructure requirement for the stability of the sector. But the government cannot afford that. And so we must make this sector attractive to investors and to lenders.

“So, for us to attract investors and investment, we must make the sector attractive, and the only way it can be made attractive is that there must be commercial pricing.

“If the value is still at N66 and the government is not paying subsidy, the investors will not come. But now that we have increased the tariff for A Band, there are interests being shown by investors.

“With what we have now in the next three months, the entire country will be in darkness if we don’t increase tariffs,” the Minister reiterated.