STATE OF THE MEDIA IN ZAMBIA STATE OF THE MEDIA IN ZAMBIA Parliament in July, 2019 unanimously resolved that the government should stop internet service providers from prescribing data bundles that expired daily, weekly and monthly. Instead they should be replaced with data bundles that expired together with a dormant SIM card, which has a minimum of 90 days. Members of Parliament likened the expiry of data bundles before consumers exhausted them to exploitation, extortion and tax evasion. Nalikwanda Parliamentarian Prof. Geoffrey Lungwangwa moved a private motion to stop the expiry of bundles. Meanwhile, cases of fraud as regards cyber-crimes are generally rampant in Zambia. On 18th July, 2019 The Daily Nation Newspaper Publication carried a headline, “ZICTA sends cybercrime alert” the paper reported that: “The Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority (ZICTA) has warned people in Western Province to be on the lookout for increased cyber scams in the country”. According to Mr. Edward Mulenga the Communications officer at ZICTA, social interactions with strangers put one at risk of cybercrimes as it exposes confidential information to the outside world. Mr Mulenga said each year 45 percent of people worldwide suffered monetary loss as a result of fraud and urged people to remain vigilant and heighten cyber security measures. The Daily Nation newspaper reported that Mr. Mulenga said sixty (60) percent of people in rural and urban areas of Zambia had stopped using digital financial services for fear of being duped by swindlers. He advised citizens residents to explore safer ways of banking their money and avoid the burden of carrying cash in their hands. This is as a result of the fact that despite Zambia advancing in digital and computerised systems, the country still has 55 percent of people in the country not having access to computer information technology. In an effort to promote specialised reporting amongst journalists, Bloomberg Media Initiative a pan-African program aimed at building media capacity, convening international leaders and improving access to information in order to advance transparency, accountability and governance on the continent, was launched to train journalists in financial reporting. According to the Daily Mail newspaper on 10th September, it was reported that “Business Journalism matters”. The sentiments were attributed to UNZA Vice Chancellor, Prof. Luke Evuta Mumba. The paper reported that: 13