STATE OF THE MEDIA IN ZAMBIA STATE OF THE MEDIA IN ZAMBIA 4.1.2 Access To Information The ATI has been a subject of debate since the year 2002. Throughout the year 2019, declarations were made as regards the enactment of the ATI bill. Just to recap, in the first quarter of 2019, the Zambia Daily Mail publication carried a heading, “Access To Information Bill Approved.” It was reported that cabinet had approved the Access to Information Bill. This was announced through a tweet from Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services, Hon. Dora Siliya. In the tweet, Ms. Siliya said, the bill was meant to promote proactive and organised dissemination of information to the public. She tweeted: I am happy to announce that finally Cabinet has approved the Access to Information (ATI) Bill aimed at proactive and organised dissemination of information. This is a new beginning! In the fourth quarter of 2019, it is surprising that the ATI Bill has not been presented to Parliament for enactment after so much hype as witnessed in the first quarter of 2019. As a result, various stakeholders have expressed worry at the non-disclosure of the contents of the piece of legislation. As stated already, the debate on enactment of the ATI bill has been ongoing since the year 2002. Before the Patriotic Front (PF) government came into power, a promise was made to enact the Access to Information (ATI) Bill. For more than seven years, the debate on the enactment of the bill has raged on. In November 2011, shortly after assuming power, the then Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services, Mr. Given Lubinda mentioned that government was committed to enacting the bill into law. In February 2012, the then Permanent Secretary in the same Ministry, Mr. Amos Malupenga said the bill would be presented to Parliament. In July 2013, the then Minister of Information, Mr. Kennedy Sakeni, also assured the nation that the bill would be presented to parliament. To date, the bill has only gone up to the Cabinet approval stage. Despite scoring on the approval of the bill by Cabinet, government has been taken to task on the publication of the contents of the bill. Stakeholders have argued that the contents of the bill should be publicised so that the public is kept in the know. 8