Govt denies remarks telling civil servants not to depend on government salary

Information and Broadcasting Services Minister Kampamba Mulenga has denied uttering remarks attributed to her by The Mast newspaper in which she is quoted telling civil servants not to depend on government salary but venture into businesses like chicken rearing.

Ms Mulenga has since appealed to civil servants that may have been offended by the fabrication to ignore what he she has termed as falsehood and a figment of someone else’s imagination and belongs to gutter journalism.

She says she is a responsible person and respects all Zambians regardless of their status in society.

Ms Mulenga says during the joint press briefing with her Labour counterpart Joyce Simukoko there was only one topic of discussion relating to the transfer of workers by KCM to its contractors.

She adds that after the briefing, there were only two questions asked and both were related to the issue of the miners and that the named reporter from The Mast did not ask any question.

Ms Mulenga says it is, therefore, disheartening that a journalist can concoct a story and even fabricate direct quotations and attribute them to her.

She states that this kind of behaviour by some journalists is what gives journalism a bad name, and that as Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services, she is greatly disappointed that some journalists continue to be at loggerheads with the truth.

The Minister says what is even more scary is that she was not misquoted on the statement she issued, but was drawn into a story she is not aware of and made a source.

Ms Mulenga has advised Journalists to tell the truth and own up when they have misinformed the people.