MORNING live on ZNBC or the breakfast shows on Muvi TV are the very first contact with television every day. Needless to say that the two
programmes compete with Sky Sports news on the Super Sport Blitz channel for updates.
Last Wednesday, Morning Live which was anchored by Chiwanza Nachalwe particularly caught my eye when the programmes was discussing how over
50 per cent motorists in Zambia only fasten their seat belts upon seeing a traffic police officer.
The argument was that buckling one’s seat belt should come naturally as a way of motorists can protect themselves in case of anything untoward on the road.
This campaign follows a seat belt survey undertaken by the Zambian Road Safety Trust on 1st July 2014 which revealed an alarming seat belt wearing rate of 54 per cent in Lusaka.
The revelations by The Zambian Road Safety Trust Board chairperson, Daniel Mwamba the survey carried out by the Trust Research Volunteers showed that occupants are most likely to wear a seat belt in Zambia is the driver at 51 percent rate.
However, the wearing rate drops sharply for other occupants revealing 46 per cent of front seat passengers buckle up. The snap survey did not
include passengers on rear seats. According to Mr Mwamba, the seat belt research was carried out in Lusaka at two locations simultaneously during peak-hour morning traffic.
All this is against the background that the wearing of safety belts is compulsory in Zambia for drivers and passengers of motor vehicles occupying seats equipped with such belts.
Zambian Road Safety Trust – I heard Mr Mwamba calling on the Zambia Police and Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) to step up enforcement of seat belt wearing probably by using such stringent measures as sending them to court will convince them. He wouldn’t have said it any better!
A thought immediately struck me of how most motorists will only buckle up when using routes that are notorious for road blocks or check
points and then relax when in the so called VIP roads which should not be the case.
How about television stations carrying road safety tips during peak hours? It was a good choice of discussion by Chiwanza and crew. In the end I am sure most motorists and passengers got an education out of the programme.
****************
Comedy is my passion for a long time. I do enjoy watching comedy in most forms but not when it is masked in something that is supposed to be a serious show. But for today I will talk about out and out comedy.
Two and Half Men is a ridiculously cracking comedy, so is Mr Bean and other on the DSTV platform. ZNBC rolled back the years by showing the Jeffersons on Tuesday evenings and what a way to wind down a long day.
Particularly last week, I ignored small teams such as Arsenal that were losing to their fellow minnows in the League Cup to watch some rib cracking show that the Jeffersons always is.
Compared to most of the programmes available on our local television stations, it is difficult to be glued to the screen after a hard day’s
work but the decision by ZNBC to bring back the old faithfuls like the Jeffersons is spot on.
Now I fully understand why some time back someone wrote me an email asking ZNBC to bring back Play Circle and other such old shows to spice up what is on the menu currently.
On the flip side of the coin, though, it is an indictment on the part of local comedians who have fared better in adverts than producing a full drama series that people can look forward to when knocking off from various chores.
Talking about local actors, there seems to be more concentration to comedy among our artists and artistes. Pamudada on Muvi TV and
Constable point to the fact that drama is more appealing compared to other projects in the growing film industry.
The much maligned telenovelas on Telemundo will obviously account for big audience whether we like. Local actors better pull up their socks.
From the mailbag, I got a contribution that made me laugh Dear Xavier,
This column has in the past attacked individuals including what they wear on TV but nowadays you are talking about an institution as a whole and what they do not do but I feel there is a lot that still needs to be said about what some television personalities wear.
As a layman, I have always thought there must be a makeup room at the TV stations which is why people still look fresh even at 19:00hrs when
reading the news despite having reported for work at 08:00hrs in the morning.
My worry is that some presenters, especially women, overdo the makeup while some guys also appear to be trying to finish all the colours on the rainbow in the way they dress. It is easier to just wear something simple but sharp.
How can you explain so much lip stick on one person as if someone was under obligation to finish the lipstick bottle in one application?
What happened to the saying you are what you wear?
I always watch BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera even SABC in awe looking at the sharp dresses by the female presenters and the flawless colour
combination by the gents. You wonder if our television stations have backroom staff to check what the presenters are putting on before they
go on air.
Kind regards, Tony.
For more comments manchishi@gmail.com