“It is disheartening that the President has announced that he is reluctant to enact the Access to Information bill (ATI) because he feels that some sections of the media will use the bill irresponsibly. The Civil Society Coalition on the ATI bill is very disappointed that this statement should come from the President himself, after the commitment shown in the past by the Patriotic Front government to have this law enacted. The Presidents statement indicated a clear lack of commitment to a cause that they themselves championed prior to and after the January 20 elections. “We, as a coalition, take great exception that government intends to stall the ATI process once more on account of a non-issue. Be that as it may, government is fully aware that concealing such information regarding debt contraction from tax payers is tantamount to warrant the process of raising a red flag of no confidence in a regime. ATI law has never been about the media, it’s about public access to information from institutions that channel development.”2 The Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) released a statement disagreeing with President Lungu’s position that the ATI bill, if enacted into law, could be abused by the media to publish state secrets. “The nation is reminded that two weeks ago, President Lungu was reported in the Times of Zambia of 30th April, 2015 as having said that access to information is a right for all Zambians and that no one should be barred from accessing information as stipulated in the constitution…. “LAZ does not agree with the position now espoused by the Republican President that the Access to Information bill, if enacted into law, can be abused to publish state secrets by anyone. The public is aware that there are existing safeguards against abuse of public information in the present laws, such as the State Security Act Cap 111 of the Laws of Zambia that provide penalties for such abuse.” The LAZ president, Mr. George Chisanga called upon government and especially President Lungu to enact the ATI bill.3 Panos executive director Lillian Kiefer said Panos was concerned about the recent pronouncements attributed to president Edgar Lungu and Information Minister Chishimba Kambwili. “PSAf considers the recent leakage of information on the alleged US$192 million loan from China as an issue of management of confidential and/or sensitive government information. This is totally different from the issue of Access to Information. Restricting access to information will not stop the leakages but will increase suspicions among citizens that their duty bearers are hiding some information from them, thereby, increasing leakages.” 2 The Post Newspaper 14.05.15 3 The Post Newspaper 14.05.15 10