JOURNALISTS CHALLENGED TO EXPOSE ALL ILLS THAT COULD BE CAUSING CORRUPTION AND OTHER CRIMINAL ELEMENTS IN SOCIETY

Action-Aid Zambia has challenged journalists to take up the mantle embedded in their profession and expose all ills that could be causing corruption and other criminal elements in society.

Organization Interim Country Director, Andrew Chikowere has noted with concern that Journalists have been brutalized searched and intimated on mere suspicions that they would expose the ill dealings of some criminal elements in society especially those that yield political or financial muscles.

Mr. Chikowere however, reminded journalists not accept to be silenced by authorities but be ahead of society in determining the national agenda.  

He said this yesterday (On Wednesday, 21 June 2023) in a speech read on his behalf by the Action Aid Zambia Social Accountability Project Coordinator Geoffrey Sizala during the opening of a 5-days investigative journalism training held in Chilanga district.

Geoffrey Sizala

"Investigative journalism in Zambia, and the region at large has seen faced with immense challenges over the years due to various reasons such as the decline in media freedoms and punitive legislation meant to silence people," Mr. Chikowere observed

"ActionAid has therefore thought it prudent that our partnership in fostering development and offering checks and balances in communities as a way of promoting justice and ending poverty can be best achieved by empowering you journalists with more skills to execute your work diligently. This is not the first time that we are offering this training to journalists. We aim to make it a continuous process as we believe that learning does not end. There are a lot of news stories that have gone unreported in society because journalists lack the extra capacity to probe and bring the truth to the fore. People want that information; society wants criminality to be exposed and ended. You have a big role as journalists," he said.

Mr. Chikowere says the organization hopes to create better synergies in future to bring a much-desired society, where all human rights are protected and poverty is fought especially against women and the young people.

"Most media organizations face financial constraints and lack the necessary resources to support investigative journalism in Zambia. Most media organizations lack the specialized skills and techniques required to investigate stories. We hope we can discuss such issues during this training," he added.

Journalists who participated in the training

And speaking in his presentation on Agro-Ecology the Participatory Ecological Land Use Management-PELUM Zambia, Programs Manager, Wilfred Miga cautioned that Zambia risks failing to feed its growing population in the near future if the unsustainable land use practices are left unchecked.

Mr Miga said as the country’s population continues to increase, it means that the land needed for agriculture or food production purposes will also continue reducing especially if unsustainable land usages persist.  

Mr. Miga emphasized the need for the country to make a paradigm shift and start sustainably using land in view of the growing population.

He is concerned that despite the country having several policy frameworks, such as the Vision 2030, the 8th National Development Plan and the Second Generation National Agriculture policy which aims at guiding the agriculture sector, the country has not been making headways in ensuring sustainable production of foods, crops and Animals.

 “One big demerit that comes to my mind if I look at where we are coming from, there is a lot of charcoal production, [the] cutting down of trees rampantly, there is a lot of clearing of land for agriculture purposes and all these other mining activities that are going on [in different parts of the country]. If you go along the Serenje-Mpika road, you will see a lot of mines mushrooming and those are not utilizing the land sustainably. What will happen to the land? It means that the land which is supposed to be arable is also diminishing and that has a ripple effect in that in the long run will not be able to feed the growing population,” he said.

“We have a lot of challenges like I earlier mentioned, which will lead to a lot of soil erosion by wind, and air. It will also lead to the loss of biodiversity. Biodiversity I talking about the different flora and Fiona that is found in our ecosystem, the different plants, animals….he said,” he said.

He added that there is a need to remind policymakers of the importance of preserving the land.