Thu, 04 May 2017 12:04:41 +0000
By OSCAR MALIPENGA
PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu has told the media to regulate themselves because he does not subscribe to the media being regulated by the State.
And President Lungu has told the media in Zambia not to take sides but be neutral, comment, give opinions and admit whenever they were wrong and, above all, be friendly to everyone.
Speaking before departure for Durban South Africa at the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport (KIAA) yesterday, President Lungu asked the media to unite the country, criticize and applaud the leadership if there was need, adding that without the media Government could not succeed.
“Those who oppose and those with us just articulate issues with objectivity; at the end of the day we shall benefit from the cooperation but if the media becomes a whipping stick even for issues which are not supposed to be dividing us then we shall remain divided,” said President Lungu.
The Head of State assured Zambians of a free space for the media to operate.
“So in Zambia we shall give you free space in which to operate but also regulate yourselves and if you want us to regulate you we will but I don’t subscribe to doing that.
“If you choose to regulate yourselves, fine, but if you cannot and force us to regulate you we will but I shall not allow anyone under my watch to regulate anybody,” he said.
He added: ‘‘Be part of the process of growth and you know the media is part of us; it is the fourth estate as you all know, but if you do not have introspection and reflection you may lose your role.
‘‘And for us we think that we can only wish you the best and hope that you will grow with us.’’
And committing on his attendance at the World Economic Forum in Durban, South Africa, President Lungu said Africa was the place to be in terms of economic growth.
“We are all competing and if we are competing we have to compare notes in the region and attract best practices and invite more investment in the country,” he said.
He said the more African leaders talk to each other the more space was cut for each other.
President Lungu said the more leaders interacted at global level the more they were able to agree on how Africa and the world at large should be.
“But for us I think Zambia has to place itself, Zambia has to position itself.
“Zambia has to speak out, Zambia has to position itself. If the President stays at home all the time and he can’t speak to the rest of the people in the neighborhood then Zambia will sink in the end they will not even know that Zambia exists,” he said.
President Lungu however said he was glad that Zambia was on course generally.
