By MOSES CHIMFWEMBE and JULIUS PHIRI –
GOVERNMENT has reaffirmed its position to recapitalise Times Printpak, publishers of Times of Zambia and Sunday Times of Zambia newspapers.
. Kambwili
Information and Broadcasting Services Minister Chishimba Kambwili has said the Government would not sleep until operational challenges at the Times Printpak were resolved.
Speaking when he appeared on the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) Sunday interview programme, Mr Kambwili said Government would bailout the Times Printpak and ensure the company runs profitably.
Mr Kambwili who is also Chief Government spokesperson said under his leadership, he would not allow employees of the public media to go unpaid for several months.
“We are coming up with a system that will resolve the challenges being faced by the Times of Zambia,” Mr Kambwili said.
The Times of Zambia, Zambia Daily Mail and ZNBC had the capacity to operate profitably and that the Government would make sure the three institutions were self sustainable.
“All public media should be self sustainable. As for the Times of Zambia, the company cannot borrow from anywhere because their balance sheet is bad but as Government, we will ease its debt burden to statutory bodies so that it can become viable,” he said.
Mr Kambwili urged the media in the country to uphold the Journalism norms in their reporting to avoid fueling discontent among citizens.
His ministry would not hesitate to revoke the licenses of media houses that do not conform to the norms of Journalism in their operations.
“I want a media that will stick to the norms of educating, entertaining and informing the public as opposed to championing divisive messages,” he said.
He said the media should report responsibly and stop twisting facts which he said had the potential to plunge the country into turmoil.
He reiterated that Government was in a hurry to enact the people driven Constitution as evidenced by the roadmap that was released recently.
Mr Kambwili wondered why some Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) were speaking loudly on the Constitution when they were not representing the majority Zambians.
