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Zambia’s President Michael Sata rejects online media freedom

By , ITWeb’s Zambian correspondent.
Zambia , 09 Apr 2014

Zambia’s President Michael Sata rejects online media freedom

Zambian president Michael Sata has rejected a draft constitution which has clauses preventing government from interfering with online and electronic media.

The president said yesterday at State House that Zambia does not need such a new constitution because the country already has a functional constitution.

Delegates from government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), media houses and lawyers last year drafted clauses into the constitution that stipulate the Zambian government should not exercise control or interfere with any person engaged in broadcasting, production or circulation of any publication and the dissemination of information by any medium.

The clauses also say broadcasting and electronic media will only be subjected to licensing procedures that are necessary to regulate signals and signal distribution, but will be free from political interference.

“We don’t need another constitution. We already have a functional constitution and this is why we are running as a country. We have no constitutional crisis,” Sata said.

The Zambian government spent well over $50 million to draft the new constitution which has now been rejected by it.

The clauses came amid persistent threats by the Patriotic Front government to shut down online media organisations.

The draft constitution further adds that the Zambian government shall not penalise any person for any opinion or content of broadcast, publication or dissemination.

Under the current constitution, the Zambian government has powers to clampdown and penalise any media or person for content of broadcast or publication displeasing to the government.

A number of online media in the Southern African country have already been blocked by the Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority (ZICTA) under instruction from government.

The Zambian government has also arrested and taken to court journalists working for online media organisations in an ongoing clampdown online media.

This week, the Zambian government said it was drafting a law that will regulate online media and address ‘internet abuse’.

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