By TEDDY KUYELA
MINISTER of Information and Broadcasting Services Mwansa Kapeya says the ongoing comparative study tour on Freedom of Information legislation currently being undertaken in the United States is informative and educative.
Mr. Kapeya, who is also Chief Government Spokesperson, said although the Access to Information Bill (ATI) is still in its draft form in Zambia, it is evident that after consultations in the US, it will be well examined and inclusive.
The minister was speaking at the Zambian Embassy in Washington DC when he called on Zambia’s Ambassador to the United States Palan Mulonda.
This is according to a statement issued in Lusaka yesterday by First Secretary for Press and Public Relations at the Zambian Embassy in Washington Patricia Littiya.
During the meeting, Mr Kapeya briefed the Zambian diplomat on the developments in the various key sectors of the country’s economy.
Mr Kapeya said Government has made tremendous progress in the formulation of the access to information bill.
“We discovered that in its current form, the draft ATI bill cannot be operationalised unless other existing pieces of legislation, about 13 of them, which have a bearing on the draft ATI bill, are addressed to bring them in tandem and harmony with the proposed ATI bill,” he said.
Mr Kapeya said his ministry has submitted the draft bill to the Ministry of Justice for subsequent legislative processes.
And in welcoming the minister and his delegation, Ambassador Mulonda said the ATI bill is a welcome development but one that requires wide consultation and deep reflection.
He said information is a double-edged sword which has the potential of building a nation or destroying it altogether.
Mr Mulonda was optimistic that the piece of legislation would help Zambia produce sector-specific thought leaders once enacted.
Mr. Kapeya, who is accompanied by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Permanent Secretary George Zulu and senior officials, earlier met with officials from the United States Department of State.
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