Why we need the Freedom of Information Act

Being a “good” journalist is hard. I must confess that I nearly quit journalism every year while in my early career. My poor family have been up and down with some of the decisions I have made or threatened to make (such as pursuing certain stories). 

The job demands you to disregard self and other aspects of your life. Despite the glory and drama shown on televisions, the reality is very different. The pressure can be immense, the work load punishing, and the thanks for the sacrifice, well, obsolete. I hate the attitude of ‘well it is going to be well with you because this piece of legislation or that will make your job easier'. We should always be striving to make the system better, more efficient and smarter.

I therefore, totally agree with information minister, Dr. Joseph Katema when he says “real democracy and development can be elusive without access to information”. However, what the journalistic experience has taught me is that, it is easier said than done.

The PF had promised to run an open government that would be subject to scrutiny by the media and the Zambian people. They went further to say they were going to allow media freedom by granting nationwide coverage to some of the private radio stations that had been in the business for a long time. Failure to implement these promises has led to a feeling of nostalgia, anger and sometimes regret. 

After winning the ideological war and subsequent elections in 2011, all that remained was to watch the orderly transition from the 'perceived' corrupt MMD to an 'open' PF government. Problems that have emerged in the constitution-making process, scraping of radio licences for nationwide coverage and a standoff with civil society over the NGO Act, have changed the initial sense of euphoria to guarded optimism. The transition experience has taught us that, while the commitment to change may be professed quickly, change itself comes slowly.

 

There is no doubt that the free-flow of information is an added incentive to a free and democratic society. People need to know what is going on in government in the same way that government ought to know what goes on in society. That way government would be in a position to come up with effective policies that would bring about positive change. 

I hope what the minister said is what he and his government genuinely believes in. Yes, you do give statements from time to time, but what we need is more and better engagement with you so that people can know what you're doing. I think that is what every journalist and the people of this nation want too. 

As you rightly said “real democracy and development can be elusive without access to information”. And this is what is happening right now. By enacting the Freedom of Information Act, you will make our job easier.

Why are we "Spectators of our own development"

Are we just a bunch of ‘useful idiots’ or ‘cry babies’ who mourn about anything except our own attitudes or our cries are genuine? To whom do we direct our complaints? Is it the Breton Woods Institutions or our own leaders? The later question is definitely out because even our leaders are also crying. The problem then is so complex but simple than one would think.

Over the past few weeks, there have been cries about Zambians’ lack of participation in their economic development. Some are saying we have turned ourselves into “spectators of development in their own land” and others have said we have lost control of our economy. In fact, it is the minister in charge of business (commerce) or "amakwebo" if you like, Hon. Bob Sichinga who said “the truth of the matter is that we think somebody else should come from a different location and continent to come and invest for us”.

There is nothing new in these cries, except perhaps that the minister has also joined the cry wagon, somebody we employed to find us solutions to all these challenges we are facing. Ministers have a responsibility among other things of putting in place policies that should direct the way business is done and how its citizens should participate and benefit from that. It seems our leaders’ focus and appetite is more on what is in it for them and not for their citizens. We have allowed investors to come and invest without really paying particular attention to what the citizens’ benefit from these investments. Mind you these are not our brothers and sisters; they’re business people who are out to make profit.

If our leaders had helped us by putting in place policies which ensure that there is local participation in any investment or business, we would not be crying today. Let us take the example of MMD when they were in government, they were cutting deals with some investors to benefit their party and a few individuals at the expense of ordinary people. The deals I am talking about here are those to do with donations from certain nations for use during campaigns. Some of these cases are in our courts today and I hope the PF are not doing the same. The Chinese and all these other investors have a tendency to donate items to political parties in power in order to gain favours. This was happening during the MMD and is still happening now.

Zambia is a country that has all the attributes of a country that can rise above where we are. The business environment is conducive, the weather is excellent, the people are peaceful and friendly but of course the economic policies are misplaced. How, for example can you allow a country to give you a loan to build a stadium and then from that loan they buy all the equipment, provide the labour and acquire all the material for that project from their country? Under such deals, what is in it for the nation? Yes, you will have a stadium but you will have lost out on employment for your people and on empowering local businesses and skills transfer. In the end, that country that has assisted you will get back the 80% of that project money leaving you with 20% for casual workers and a few local experts.

Perhaps, it is the way we have always viewed economics as the dark mysterious figure walking along highways and wants to be alone. But put simply economics is the way we use our scarce resources which have other alternative uses. What sort of choices do we make when we for example apply for a loan or receive a grant? It starts from the household level going all the way to the top – at Government level. This is where we perhaps miss it. The choices that we have made in deciding what to do and what not to do requires us to read the simple economics book by Robert Sanyikosa entitled, Getting the Economics Right. Economist Sanyikosa offers simple solutions to questions that might seem difficult. 

What we need is a complete shift from the way we have been making our economic decisions then we will stop being spectators of our own economic development.