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‘Complex, contentious,’ media enthusiast says media rights often depend on goodwill of political leadership (video)

Published

7 months ago

April 23, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Kitwe Press Club spokesperson, Michael Kaluba, has described the media landscape in Zambia as complex and contentious.

In a conversation with Zambia Monitor in Kitwe, Kaluba examines the place of media freedom and freedom of speech.

He explained that media freedom encompassed the liberties granted to the media under the legislation, allowing them to publish, interact with the public and newsmakers, and disseminate information.

“When discussing media freedoms in Zambia, it’s a contentious issue. In the past, critical media outlets like the Post Newspaper and Prime TV had been shut down under the guise of ‘media freedoms’,” Kaluba stated.

He noted that such actions had led some media houses to tread cautiously in criticizing those in power.

“It’s a delicate balance because media freedoms often depend on the goodwill of those in power,” Kaluba added.

He further argued saying, “If a President is not media-friendly at a given time, media freedoms can be compromised. I advocate for a truly independent media with the freedom to investigate and publish without fear.”

Despite the enactment of the Access to Information bill, Kaluba sees little change in facilitating access to information due to a lack of operational regulations.

“The ATI law is still in its infancy. The media continues to operate under the influence of those in power, despite the constitution’s guarantee of freedom of expression,” Kaluba said.

However, he observed that even though the constitution guarantees freedom of speech, people are still hesitant to discuss certain sensitive topics such as corruption and procurement procedures.

“These are contentious issues that those in power often wish to avoid,” Kaluba noted.

Kaluba voiced his concerns over the seeming overregulation of electronic media by the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) Act, suggesting that IBA regulations should focus solely on professionalism and ethics rather than content control.

He also highlighted the lack of legal protection for journalists while on duty.

“We have heard of legal clinics for the media, but they are not widely publicized. Moreover, most media houses lack in-house legal counsel, leaving our journalists vulnerable,” he explained.

Finally, Kaluba appealed to organisations like the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) and others to connect journalists with legal clinics to ensure the protection they currently lack.

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

Related Topics:Featured Project Aliyense Zambia

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Video: Kenya’s Ruto targets inflation rate below 3%

Published

4 weeks ago

October 24, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In this video, Kenyan President, William Ruto, stressed the economic goals of his government and charged the public to believe in the economic reforms of his administration.

Ruto also emphasized that the international community and multilateral bodies had applauded his policy direction, and urged Kenyans to join the train.

“You do have my commitment that we will be disciplined as a public sector… it my target that by next year inflation will be sub 3%”, Ruto said.

Earlier in the month, the Central Bank of Kenya slashed the benchmark rate to 12.0%, 75.0 bps down. The Central Bank’s prescribed target band for headline inflation is 2.5% – 7.5%, 5.0% being the mid-point · The last time Kenya registered <3.0% headline inflation was May 2007

Watch the video below:

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Video: Amid unpopular reforms, W’Bank chief insists Nigeria must ‘stay in course’ for 15 years

Published

1 month ago

October 15, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In this video, Indermit Gill, the Vice President and Treasurer of the World Bank who also serves as the Pension Finance Administrator of the World Bank Group, at an event in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, commended the recent fiscal and monetary reform policies of the government.

He noted that implementing such reforms was impossible without strong resolve from the political class. He also commended the central bank’s decision to raise interest rate.

The central bank has had to hike its policy rate by a huge 850 points in the last 9 months to boost confidence in the Naira and anchor inflationary expectations.

“But this is only the beginning, Nigeria will need to stay the course for at least another 10 to 15 years to transform its economy,” the World Bank chief stressed.

Gill’s remark brings to mind the age-long argument on the actual interest of multilateral bodies in their engagements with developing countries, largely African states, whether through loans or policy framework. Some have argued that the institutions are only bent on impoverishing the continent through policy positions like the removal of subsidy and the devaluation of currencies, both of which Nigeria under the current administration has done under two years— leading to unprecedented inflation rate and soaring cost of living.