M’MEMBE URGES GOVT TO STOP PROPOSED ZAMBIA INSTITUTE OF JOURNALISM BILL
By Lukundo Nankamba
Socialist Party President Fred M’membe says the proposed Zambia Institute of Journalism Bill must be stopped immediately, warning that it would severely undermine media freedom and cripple Journalism in Zambia if enacted.
Dr M’membe says the legislation signals a return to the restrictive environment Journalists faced under Frederick Chiluba’s Presidency three decades ago.
He recalls that a similar attempt in 1995 was declared unconstitutional by the high court and questioned the justification for stimulating such a legislation.
Dr M’membe has argued that statutory regulation would place Journalism under house arrest and that media freedom cannot coexist with strict regulatory controls.
He says Journalism should remain an open calling and dismissed claims that Zambia lacks laws regulating the press, asserting that the media is already burdened by excessive legal restrictions.
PHOENIX NEWS