STATE OF THE MEDIA REPORT QUARTER 4, 2020 of electricity by media outlets. By the close of the quarter, improvements were being awaited from measures announced by Zesco24. As with the previous quarter and unlike other sectors such as the arts, no facility was made available and specifically tailored for the media sector in view of the economic shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, none of the stimulus packages and initiatives rolled out by the government to cushion the impact of the pandemic25 in the previous quarters had any direct benefit to the media sector which has its own peculiarities with regard to economic sustainability and revenue generation26. Some relief was expected from the K119.6 billion 2021 budget presented by Finance Minister, Bwalya N’gandu at the end of the third quarter but all in vain as it did not present any sector specific tax and non –tax measures that would help to revamp the media industry as was the case with other sectors such as agriculture, mining, horticulture and tourism which received significant reliefs27. Among the few ripple benefits from the budget expected to bear fruits in 2021 is the raising of the exempt threshold for Pay As You Earn (PAYE) tax from K3, 300 to K4, 000 per month which will see increase income for employees. This, however, may be undermined by the many job cuts and failure to pay salaries by media outlets in view of economic hardships. There is, therefore, need for a specific stimulus package to be created for the media sector which facilitates information dissemination and supports the functioning of democratic governance in the country through access to information and providing a platform for citizens to express their views, among other functions. It is important that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (in conjunction with the Ministry of Finance) designs a specific 24 One such measure was the filling up of the dam at Kafue Gorge Lower Power Plant in readiness for commissioning of the first 150MW machine by November month-end 25 Some of the measures as announced in the previous quarter by President Edgar Lungu in a national address on 25th June, 2020 included a K10 billion medium term refinancing facility meant to restructure, refinance or extend credit to businesses and households impacted by COVID-19 and issuance of a COVID-19 bond amounting to K8 billion as a stimulus package to enhance economic activity. The full speech is available at https://www.mof.gov.zm/?wpfb_dl=244 26 A summary of government measures in response to COVID-19 can viewed on this brief compiled by KPMG: https://home.kpmg/xx/en/home/insights/2020/04/zambia-government-and-institution-measures-inresponse-to-covid.html 27 The full budget speech is available at http://www.parliament.gov.zm/sites/default/files/images/publication_docs/2021_National_Budget_Speech.p df P a g e 31 | 56