Govt has no power to reopen Post – BCZ

Tue, 23 May 2017 12:28:29 +0000

By AARON CHIYANZO

THE international community should not exert unnecessary pressure on the Zambian Government by demanding that it reopens the Post Newspaper (in liquidation) when Government has absolutely nothing to do with the closure of the newspaper, the Bishops Council of Zambia (BCZ) has charged.

In an interview with the Daily Nation, BCZ spokesperson Fred Chingole said that the international community should desist from making demands for Government to reopen the Post Newspaper.

The bishops were reacting to the recent call by the International Press Institute (IPI) on the Zambian Government to ‘‘end its pressure on The Mast Newspaper and allow the Post to reopen’’.

Mr Chingole said that Government had made it clear that it was not up to it to order for the reopening of the newspaper company because it was not mandated to.

He explained that it was just the law taking its course in the matter involving the Post Newspaper (in liquidation) and its debtors and that Government had no right to interfere.

Mr Chingole pointed out that all companies were required to pay tax in Zambia and that the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) had the right to close down a company in breach of that law.

“It’s ZRA who closed down the Post Newspaper and the reasons are well known. So it’s ignorance for the international community to demand that Government should reopen it as if they were responsible for the closure,” he said.

The IPI had passed a resolution at the 66th International Press Union (IPU) annual general assembly, during the IPI world congress on May 20, 2017, in Hamburg, Germany, that Zambia should reopen the Post Newspaper.

The resolution was adopted by unanimous vote, calling on Zambia to end its alleged harassment and persecution targeting independent media, particularly the Post newspaper and its successor, The Mast.

The IPI claimed in a statement that the raid on the newspaper followed authorities’ refusal to allow the paper to enter into a repayment plan, and authorities later refused to honour a court order to return the assets to The Post.