EX-OSISA chief appointed info PS

HICKS SIKAZWE
Correspondent | Wednesday January 26, 2011 00:00

Dr Phiri is a well-known media trainer in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, who for many years served with the now defunct Nordic-SADC Journalism Centre then housed in Maputo, Mozambique.

His appointment has been hailed by media practitioners and other stakeholders in the country, including the Zambian chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) which has been trying to mediate the wrangle with government, which seems bent on statutory regulation of the media.  Given his background, Dr Phiri, who launched his journalism career as a cub sports reporter at the Times of Zambia before graduating from the newly established School of Journalism at the University of Zambia in the 80s, is expected to help resolve the haggling between media practitioners and the government.

After 20 years of multiparty democracy, Zambia's road to media reforms still remains rocky and full of craters.  It must be acknowledged that some aspects of reforms such as in media diversity have been achieved, but hopes of setting up a self-regulatory mechanism keep sagging.

At one point, the government and media groups, through the Media Liaison committee (MLC) - an amalgamation of professional associations - seemed to be agreeing that self-regulation could be attained.  But alas, the MLC and government later became poles apart. The government, whom some officials (at least through press statements) appeared to be supporting self-regulation, suddenly decided on statutory regulation.

So when the MLC, basing on earlier interaction with the government, went ahead to register the Zambia Media Council (ZAMEC), as a self-regulatory body, the government opposed it insisting that talks on the modalities of setting up such an organisation had not been concluded.

Information Minister Ronnie Shikapwasha described ZAMEC as a fraud and demanded that the body be de-registered so that discussions can continue.  When the MLC insisted that ZAMEC would not be de-registered, Shikapwasha countered that should ZAMEC continue in its current form, government media organisations would not be part of it. However, early this month talks resumed.  A technical committee has been appointed by secretary to the cabinet Joshua Kanganja to look at the ZAMEC contents.

But on the surface the government does not agree with much of what ZAMEC espouses and rather favours the Kenyan model. On the other hand most media practitioners fear that statutory regulation in Zambia would disadvantage many practitioners because of the government's large ownership of the media. Whichever side of the fence one takes, setting media regulation bodies has always been contentious. What perhaps is needed is to take advantage of the resumption in talks and broaden the consultation on the matter.

It is on this score that most analysts, not only in Zambia but elsewhere in the SADC region, have particularly welcomed Dr Phiri's appointment.  As permanent secretary, Phiri will no doubt play a vital role in the current search for a mutually acceptable model which could even benefit other media practitioners in the region who are equally threatened with state media regulation. To be fair, some significant aspects in media reforms have been achieved. They include the opening up of airwaves to allow the setting up of private radio and television stations. 

Today the country is awash with radio stations in private hands. As a result, the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) is no longer a monopoly in either radio or television. Since the end of one-party rule in 1991 new publications in Zambia have emerged, thus broadening the landscape for the flow of information and it is this free press that media practitioners and various non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are seeking to preserve  through self-regulation. (Sila Press Agency)