taken on a new twist. As the year progressed, the launch of the Bill scheduled for 21st June was moved to 26th June amidst promises of it being enacted into law by September 2012. However, the only recorded progress was the institution of a Taskforce on the ATI by the government in April that managed to draft and submit a 2012 ATI document by June. The role of the Taskforce was to redraft the 2007 ATI Bill and undertake sensitisation campaigns on ATI. Nonetheless, the Bill could not be launched because it was alleged that the Attorney General had not reviewed it, but even after the he read the Bill, it was still yet to be launched. ATI legislation is viewed as cardinal because it helps to actualise the right of citizens to access public information. The importance of enacting the ATI law is that it would spell out mechanisms to access information and outline grievance procedures in cases were information is denied. It also spells out which information is exempt from public access. In short, it is the oil that would bring to life the constitutional provision on ATI. The sad part is that most African countries, Zambia inclusive, have redemocratised without putting into place sufficient legislation that empower citizens to fully take part in governance processes, which is rendered ineffective if citizens lack ATI. Constitutional Reforms While the above picture seems quiet gloomy, another wind of hope blew for the media and it came in the form of a First Draft Constitution launched in April 2012. The Draft elated media advocacy bodies such as MISA Zambia and Press Association of Zambia (PAZA). This is because, from Article 36 – 38, the Draft contains good provisions that, if maintained in the final constitution, will improve the media landscape. The Draft Constitution provides an expanded right to freedom of expression, which includes academic and artistic freedom. It further guarantees the right to access information under Article 37, while Article 38 guarantees freedom of the media and protects the independence of the media, including the state-owned media. This article is a great expansion compared to the current Constitution, which provides for press freedom in passing under Article 20(2) “Subject to the provisions of this Constitution no law shall make any provision that derogates from the freedom of the press”. Self- Regulation of the Media In July 2012, the media launched a non-statutory regulation body called Zambia Media Council (ZMAEC). This followed an almost three and half year battle between the previous government and the media. The previous government would not allow the Zambian media to launch a non-statutory media regulatory body. This is because a non-statutory media regulatory body is internationally recognised as ideal as it protects the media from the manipulation by the powerful and those in government, whilst providing corrective mechanisms 6R7KLVLV'HPRFUDF\"