STATE OF THE MEDIA IN ZAMBIA STATE OF THE MEDIA IN ZAMBIA The Minister further stated that there were misconceptions about the ATI Bill as some society thought the proposed law was meant for journalists when in reality it would cater for the general public. Rhetoric from the government side has continued with top government officials passing pronouncements for the enactment of the bill into law. For example, on 6th June 2019, the Lusaka Times online publication carried a headline, “Access to Information Bill will reinforce accessibility to information by journalists and citizens” In the article the Information and Broadcasting Services Minister, Dora Siliya disclosed that there is apprehension on the ATI Bill within and outside government circles despite the Bill having powers to enhance effective and timely communication by government and potential to reinforce accessibility to information not only among journalists but also citizens. As of 30th August 2019, the ATI has not been tabled in parliament and almost 17years on, the bill still is a subject for debate and civil society organisations have continued calling for its enactment. 4.1.5 Digital Migration and Cyberspace Regulation Digital migration which is understood as the transition or switch from analogue television to digital television had been received mixed feelings in Zambia. The switch, which was set on October 1, 2017 has been completed but stakeholders have expressed concern over its viability. The Lusaka Times publication on 10th May 2019 carried a headline, “TopStar must act now to stop discrimination and switch on all local licensed channels.” The article attributed to the Media Owners Association of Zambia (MOAZ) was urging the national signal distributor TopStar not to default on its mandate by ensuring that it acts immediately to switch on all licensed local television channels. The MOAZ said that they had been following the matter of digital migration with keen interest as the project was implemented to promote national development and pluralism in the media landscape. The association argued that some of their members met all technical requirements and had been waiting for TopStar to allocate them broadcasting spectrum which they are aware that previously, TopStar cited lack of capacity as the reason for its failure to carry local licensed television channels. The association urged TopStar that as a signal distributor, it is mandated to carry all licensed local channels without discrimination. They argued that Chinese content has been given preference over local channels. To date, the impasse between TopStar management and MOAZ has not been resolved and the association still demands that TopStar gives priority to local content providers by suspending some of its Chinese content until it has resolved the technical challenges being cited as reasons for not carrying local channels on the recently approved conditional spectrum. 13