The Ministry of Justice has written to the Media Liaison Committee guiding it on the Zambia Media Council (ZAMEC) draft bill which is aimed at actualizing self-regulation of journalists in the country.
In an interview with ZANIS in Lusaka, Media Liaison Committee Chairperson Enoch Ngoma said the Ministry of Justice wants the ZAMEC bill to include the regulation of visiting international journalists.
Mr. Ngoma said the government wants the regulation of the media to also include regulating individual journalists, photographers, camera persons and online media.
He added that his committee will soon make fresh submissions concerning the issues raised by the government.
Mr. Ngoma said the Media Liaison Committee is eager to move quickly so that the draft bill can stand a chance of being tabled in the current sitting of parliament.
“Going forward, we are looking at how soon this process can be concluded. We know that this legislative sitting of parliament might come to an end before the bill sees the light of the day. We are engaging with the Ministry of Justice and Parliament on whether it shall be feasible if our bill can be taken to parliament,” he said.
The Media Liaison Committee has been spearheading the process of self-regulation of the media.
In November last year, the committee handed over the ZAMEC draft bill to the Ministry of Information and Media.
Since the mid-1990s, various attempts have been made for self-regulation of the Zambian media but the efforts have never materialised.
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