By CHUSA SICHONE –
THE Government is concerned with the media’s “appetite” for covering politics at the expense of economic and development issues, Information and Broadcasting Services Deputy Minister Poniso Njeulu has said.
The Government has since urged the media to re-define and re-align its editorial policies by prioritising financial and economic issues.
Officiating at the first-ever Standard Chartered Bank Financial Markets media workshop in Lusaka yesterday, Mr Njeulu observed that business and economic reporting had for a long time received piecemeal attention from the media as journalists largely wrote advertisements under the guise of business stories.
“News headlines on most media platforms are saturated with political rhetoric that adds no value to people’s living standards. This Government is not interested in political rhetoric.”
Mr Njeulu attributed this to lack of specialisation and misplaced priorities on the media’s information dissemination agenda.
Mr Njeulu said besides the various infrastructure developments, the country’s economy had remained strong, with real gross domestic product (GDP) averaging 6.9 per cent during the Patriotic Front’s three years in office.
He cited the agriculture, mining, construction, transport, communication and energy sectors as being the main drivers for the economic growth and that Zambia’s business and banking sector had also significantly developed.
“I can only urge the media in the country to re-define and re-align its editorial priorities by according financial and economic issues the priority and importance they deserve in moving our national development agenda forward,” Mr Njeulu said.
Mr Njeulu commended Standard Chartered Bank for the initiative.
Standard Charted Bank chief executive officer Andrew Okai said the institution cherished the strong relationship it shared with the media, and the workshop was a manifestation of such collaboration.
As Standard Chartered, we really pride ourselves in being part of this country and its development, its economy and its people,” Mr Okai said.
He said the workshop was important as correct and accurate business news reporting and economic information had an impact on the kind of investment flows in Zambia.
Mr Okai said Zambia, like other African countries, had over the years been recording economic growth and development in various sectors of the economy and the country’s strides needed to holistically be told to the locals, continent and the world at large.