SECTOR 1

“There is a culture of poverty in Zambia: people have sold their principles, their
ethics and their professionalism to put bread on the table.”
Some panellists felt the real reason for this lack of unity within civil society was
the political structure: “In 1991, Zambia reverted to multi-party politics, but old
structures are still in place as if it is a one-party state. It is not democratic. The
nature of the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC), for example,
has not changed. It is a government tool.”

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:

3.9 (2005 = 3.9; 2007 = 4.3; 2009 = 3.1)

1.12 Media legislation evolves from meaningful
consultations among state institutions, citizens
and interest groups.
While government consults civil society and special interest groups on draft
legislation, their views in most cases have no bearing on the final product, which
usually reflects a straightforward government
approach. This relates to media legislation as well.

“...we, as civil society,
will continue going in
circles as we are still
operating on a one-party
state principle.”

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AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER ZAMBIA 2011

“This happens with lots of laws in Zambia. It does
not qualify as meaningful consultation. People are
being brought in merely as tokens as government has
already made up its mind.”
A recent example is the Electronic Communications
and Transactions Act of 2009, where media
stakeholder input was sought by government but

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