Zambia: MISA Presses for ATI Bill Passing

By Development Diaries
October 13, 2020

The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) has urged the government of Zambia to quickly pass the Access to Information (ATI) Bill.

The ATI Bill, according to the Zambian media, is critical not only to the growth and promotion of the media industry but to preserve democracy and good governance.

‘We are calling upon the government to enact this piece of legislation which has stalled for the same duration the MISA Zambia awards have been in existence’, MISA Zambia Chairperson, Hellen Mwale, said during the 18th MISA Zambia Platinum and Golden Media Awards in Lusaka.

Ms Mwale said that the enactment of the ATI Bill into law would benefit every Zambian, adding that delay in enacting it was tantamount to hindering the free flow of information in the country.

‘Access to information will not only bring hope to the citizens but also help them build trust in the government and governance systems of the country’, Ms Mwale said.

‘Access to information will not only bring hope to the citizens but also help them build trust in the government and governance systems of the country’, she said.

The Zambian government is understood to have promised to support the media’s proposal to operate under statutory self-regulation.

Source: MISA