Proposals for a new Zambian constitution have included clauses planned to prevent government from interfering with online and electronic media.
Delegates from governmental and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are drafting a clause into the constitution that says the Zambian government should “not exercise control over or interfere with any person engaged in broadcasting, production or circulation of any publication and the dissemination of information by any medium.”
The proposed clause comes amid the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) government having repeatedly threatened to shut down online media organisations.
The country’s president Michael Sata has already directed the Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority (ZICTA), the country’s telecom sector regulator to close some online publications.
ZICTA has however failed to act on the decree because the targeted online media organisation’s websites are hosted outside the Zambian jurisdiction.
The Zambian government has accused several media organisations of promoting ‘hate speech’, and the administration has even alleged that these media outlets are being used by opposition political parties to attack and insult officials.
The Zambian government has also been threatening community radio stations with closure for allegedly giving airtime on their programmes to opposition political leaders.
The Zambian government further says opposition political parties are sponsoring some elements in social media to cast aspersions on the government, members of the clergy and traditional leaders supporting the ruling party.
However, the clauses that have been approved in the draft constitution say broadcasting and electronic media will only be subject to licensing procedures that are necessary to regulate signals and signal distribution, but will be free from political interference.
“We have approved these clauses in the draft constitution in order to allow electronic media organisations to operate freely unlike the current situation where we are seeing electronic media are always threatened by government,” said Chilufya Mulenga, one of the delegates.
The draft constitution further adds that the Zambian government shall not penalise any person for any opinion or the content of broadcast, publication or dissemination.
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