Reject self-regulation at own peril warns Shikapwasha

General Ronnie Shikapwasha has warned media associations about rejecting the six months ultimatum saying they do so at their own peril. He says Government will proceed to present to Parliament a bill to regulate the media.

Shikapwasha said he is disappointed with the media bodies’ decision to U-turn on their agreement with Government that they would come up with a document on self-regulation of the media in the country within six months.
He said this in an interview yesterday in Lusaka.
“It is wrong for the MISA chairperson and his group of media associations to say we have rejected the ultimatum when they had agreed to come up with a self-regulation of the media document. That is being unreliable because this is only two weeks ago when they agreed with the Vice-President to come up with that document. That’s not the way we operate,” Gen Shikapwasha said.

He said self-regulation of the media is the desire of the people in the country.
“The people are looking for self-regulation of the media to ensure ethical reporting in the media. If nothing comes up then the Government is obliged to bring a media regulation bill,” he said.

Gen Shikapwasha said coming up with legislation to help the media operate in ways that ensure adherence to ethics is not a new phenomenon in the southern African and gave Zimbabwe, Kenya and Botswana as some of the countries where such legislations have been made.

Gen Shikapwasha was reacting to media associations that have rejected Government’s six-month ultimatum for them to come up with a self-regulatory body or have Government present a draft statutory media regulation bill.