Media Owners demand for the immediate withdrawal of ZAMEC bill

The Media Owners Association of Zambia (MAOZ) has demanded for the immediate withdrawal of the Zambia Media Council (ZAMEC) bill that has been resubmitted to the Ministry of Information and Media by the Media Liaison Committee (MLC)

The association says the final draft of the ZAMEC bill has a number of clauses that are detrimental to the development of the media space in Zambia.

Association President Evans Banda has told journalists i a press conference today that if left unchecked, Media Owners and those spearheading the bill might end up creating a monster that will create problems for the media in Zambia 

Mr. Banda says as major Stakeholders in the media landscape, MOAZ wants to engage with the Ministry of Media and Information and the Ministry of Justice on media regulation and the dangers of the in the final draft of the ZAMEC bill.

Speaking at the same event, News Diggers Editor-in-Chief Joseph Mwenda has questioned the MLC on what they are trying to fix by championing the ZAMEC bill under the guise of media self regulation when in actual sense there are sufficient laws to regulate the media space.

Mr. Mwenda also wondered why the UPND government is eager to enact the ZAMEC bill instead of focusing on the Access to Information (ATI) bill which has not been tabled for about twenty years now.

Meanwhile individual media owners including Moses Nyama from Q FM and Q TV, Costa Mwansa from Diamond TV, Oscar Chavula from Hot Media Group of Companies say MOAZ is not opposed to self regulation, but statutory self regulation where a handful of individuals should determine how the media is regulated without consulting them.

Others who voiced their disapproval of the final draft of the ZAMEC bill are Pastor Kennedy Mambwe from KBN TV, Michael Njovu from City TV, Kenny Tonga from Power Media Group and Pastor Moses Chiluba of CAMNET TV.