By REBECCA MUSHOTA –
THE Zambia Air Force (ZAF) has said that it is a public institution whose operations should be open to the public.
ZAF chief of administration Isaac Akakandelwa said that ZAF is a public institution that uses public funds to operate and the public therefore has the right to know of its operations.
Brigadier General Akakandelwa was speaking on Thursday evening at a first-ever ZAF media interactive cocktail at its Chamba Valley base.
“We are a public institution that operates using tax payers’ money and so the tax payers need to know of the activities that we undertake,” he said.
Gen Akakandelwa said it was for that reason that ZAF needed to interact with the media because they are the mandated body that gets information from ZAF to the public.
He said the media, however, needs to exercise responsibility and only give the public information that did not endanger the operations of the institution.
The information that the public may be interested to get may have a negative impact on the operations of ZAF.
The media should closely work with ZAF staff to ensure that the information given to the public was of the country’s interest.
Gen Akakandelwa said ZAF and the media should have close working relations.
