STATE OF THE MEDIA IN ZAMBIA STATE OF THE MEDIA IN ZAMBIA The conditions of the broadcasting licence may require the licensee or any other person concerned in providing any service, to furnish the authority with such documents, accounts, returns, estimates and other information as the board considers necessary. In line with freedom of expression, on 31st May, 2019 the Mast Newspaper carried a headline “media in Zambia under threat.” This was attributed to MISA Zambia Director Mr. Austin Kayanda who was speaking during a reporting on media freedoms, digital rights workshop and media roundtable in Zambia. It was reported that there are a lot of media violations and attacks on freedoms which were calculated to silence the media. Mr. Kayanda said this was a major affront to media freedoms and democracy in Zambia. In his speech Mr. Kayanda said Zambia had sufficient laws to regulate the media and promote press freedoms and that these laws have been used to convict several people in Zambia who have abused the online space. He said if cyber laws were to be enacted, they must not include clauses that would work against freedom of expression, the right of citizens to participate in governance and hold their leaders accountable, including communicating with one another other. Mr. Kayanda said: The process to enact the laws must be transparent. The Zambian government’s proposal to regulate the digital space was a source of worry as it creates further arsenal for the government to control freedom of expression. While intentions sound genuine, the media was concerned that the bill had not been made public despite the government stating that it would take the bills to parliament this month. He added that the threats to regulate the online space by the government would further choke press freedom and freedom of expression in Zambia, leading to poor democratic governance and accountability by duty bearers. He added that “the online space as it stands, was far more accommodating than any other platform of expression and thus the proposed laws stand as a threat to citizens and media rights”. The MISA Zambia Director further stated that there was a risk that the piece of legislation would be used to shut down the online space, especially for social movements and other dissenting voices all in the name of protecting national interests. He said, “if the cyber laws were to be enacted, they must not include clauses that were inimical to freedom of expression, the rights of citizens to participate in governance and hold their leaders accountable, including to communicate with each other. He said the process to enact these laws should be transparent. 11