SECTOR 1 1.7 Confidential sources of information protected by law and/or the courts. are There is no law in Zambia, which deals with the protection of confidential sources. However, there is a provision under Article 58 of the Penal Code and Section 143 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which can compel journalists to reveal their sources for reasons of national security or in criminal matters. “In the criminal sphere, government can force journalists to reveal their sources and journalists have no recourse to the law to protect their sources. However, in civil cases journalists can refuse to reveal their sources.” New legislation, in the form of the Public Interest Disclosure Act of 2010, also known as the ‘Protection of Whistleblowers Act’, provides protection to individuals who make disclosures about serious wrongdoing (‘whistleblowers’), such as corruption, provided the disclosure is in the public interest. This act does not protect journalists, however, but their sources. Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country meets only a few aspects of indicator 3 Country meets some aspects of indicator 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator. 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator Average score: 3.1 (2005 = 1.2; 2007 = 1.1; 2009 = 1.8) 1.8 Public information is easily guaranteed by law, to all citizens. accessible, “There is no file in a government office that is not marked secret, confidential or classified.” There is still no freedom of information legislation in Zambia. A Freedom of Information Bill, tabled in Parliament in 2002, was withdrawn without reason by the government, which said only that more consultations were needed. The bill 18 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER ZAMBIA 2011