government. An IBA Act and a ZNBC Act were passed into la w during 2003. The problem, however, is that the government is not implementing them. The IBA Act removes the Minister of Information’s regulatory powers in terms of awarding broadcasting licenses to non-state broadcasters, which will instead be performed by a publicly nominated board ratified by Parliament. Delays in the ratification of this board means that the Minister of Information so far continues to control this function. The government refused to surrender its right of licensing the ZNBC, but the new ZNBC act does require the state broadcaster to transform into a public broadcaster serving the diversity of political views and interests across the spectrum. It also enables the government to charge the public a TV license fee. Additional funds are urgently required to refurbish the antiquated equipment and facilities of the state broadcaster. In practice, however, the IBA Act has not yet taken effect and the ZNBC has not changed and still functions as the voice of the government. The Freedom of Informa tion bill reached the second reading stage in Parliament, but was then suddenly withdrawn by the government around concerns of its implications on ‘the war against terrorism’. It will supposedly be tabled again in an amended form in the next session of Parliament. The ‘New Deal administration of laws and not men’ of President Levy Mwanawasa also stands accused of not matching rhetoric with action. During October 2003 he called on the state owned media not to flatter the government and to report ‘constructive criticism’ objectively. He also guaranteed the jobs of editors in the state owned media should they publish and broadcast content critical of his administration. A few weeks later the television service of the state owned Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) banned a live morning show reviewing the headlines of the daily and weekly media presented by two independent journalists. To add insult to injury, recommendations emanating from the Constitution Review Commission and a national Indaba convened by the government during 2003, makes no mention of the role of the media or freedom of expression. The civil society media coalition in Zambia has nevertheless performed a sterling role and no doubt will redouble its efforts to grease the wheels of media reformation during this year. MISA Annual Report (April 2003 – March 2004) 10