Africa-Press – Zambia. The media can build or break a nation. It can ignite war like it did in Rwanda. It can win you an election like it did for the UPND in 2021. It is no joke that it is called the Fourth Estate. But one wonders if this government understands that.
Even the few gains it has made in governance have not been effectively shared. That is not the media’s fault. Sources must be accessible. Ministries must reach out. Ministers must respond. Government must not wait to be pursued for information.
I speak for myself. It has been extremely difficult to reach most government sources. Ministers are unavailable. PR officers are silent. Yet they are all on the public payroll.
Government must be proactive, not reactive. It must be on the front foot. The ZAMMSA drugs scandal is not new. The Sino Metals pollution on the Copperbelt is not new. Government has known these things. The public has been kept in the dark.
Then the American Ambassador speaks, and suddenly we see action. Suddenly there is panic. Suddenly statements are flying. Where was the urgency before.
Where is the government media machinery. Where are the ministry PROs. Where is public media.
The President tries. He updates the people on Facebook. But the President is one man. He carries the weight of the nation. He should not carry the burden of communication alone. That is the job of those employed to do it.
Elections are less than a year away. Yet there is no serious communication of the government’s progress. That silence is dangerous. That silence can cost.
Maybe the government is too comfortable. Maybe the lacklustre opposition has given it false confidence. But the real opposition is the people. They are watching. They are waiting.
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