Some opposition members of Parliament yesterday differed on whether the
Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill should be reintroduced to Parliament
in the absence of a statutory ethics regulatory body for journalists, writes Isabel Chimangeni in the Times of Zambia.
At a heated consultative meeting organised by MISA-Zambia, some MPs said they would only support the FOI Bill if the issue of media ethics was addressed.
They wondered why, despite a self-regulatory media ethics council being in place, The Post Newspapers opted not to subscribe to it.
They said this confirmed Government fears of some journalists not being sincere in their dealings.
However, on the other hand, other MPs argued that it would be detrimental to address the two issues together because they were both contentious and would in turn derail the whole process.
However, United Liberal Party (ULP) Livingstone MP Sakwiba Sikota and PF’s Given Lubinda for Kabwata argued that while the issue of ethics was paramount, the two issues should be separated because the FOI law concerned all citizens.
Click here to read the full report, posted on the the Times of Zambia's website.
