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“The core business of journalists is collecting information; and how easy or difficult they find it determines how effective they will play the onerous role as government and societal watchdog. This very function is the primary purpose of journalism and it is within this frame of thought that the subject of Freedom of Information (FOI) for accountability leadership falls,” says Press Association of Zambia president, Amos Chanda. And Patriotic Front (PF) president Michael Sata says there can be no real progress in the country with a slumbering media. “Nothing can afford the citizens an opportunity to participate in the processes of creating wealth for the nation when they are not told the truth. Journalists need a free media that exposes public wrong doings to bring liability and create public trust in the whole system,” he contended.

Against this backdrop, many people and government officials have shown great fear that if the media are given the freedom some proponents are propagating for, there would be anarchy in the nation as the media are coupled with a lot of irresponsibility. They cannot regulate themselves. Additionally, some members of the public do not see the meaningful role the media can play in their lives; they have therefore not taken part in fighting for the enactment of the Freedom of Information Bill (FOI). They argue that it will only benefit journalists who want to be ‘squaring’ their enemies in public with ease.

But the question is; for whom do journalists gather and report for? Does not the information they collect go into the public domain? In real sense, journalists are mere trustees and pool of the information gathering reserve meant for public consumption. Anti Corruption Commission (ACC) Director for Education and Prevention, Kayobo Ngandu adds that the fight against corruption has not yielded much because there is no free media to unearth scams that are always swept under carpets in many public offices. “A free media promotes responsibility especially that public offices are held on public trust and comes from the people, and therefore people must know how decisions are arrived at, in particular that Zambia is part of the UN Convention Against Corruption which provide for state parties to have legislation which gives access to information,” she highlighted. She said there is no need to give excuses, in giving people what they deserve, there should be no strings attached. She further added that fighting against corruption was not easy, it required full participation of citizens, and the media have a critical role in this battle by providing a medium of communication between government and the public.

Meanwhile, UNESCO Zambia Chief Programmes Officer Felistus Chinanda says any state system that fails to open up to public scrutiny will fail the test of public accountability because the public will not be accorded with an opportunity to participate effectively in the processes of creating public trust more than the FOI legislation would. She said the law enables the media at large to call for information the public need whenever it was needed. “Who says the media are there to serve themselves, they are there to serve the people, same as public offices do, so there should be an environment for that to be done,” she questioningly advised.

And Primus Media Consultant director, Edem Djokotoe says the best eye-opener to the seemingly unseen importance of FOI is the unprecedented trend of misappropriate of public funds by many financial controlling officers in several ministries. “What more proof do people need? Had it not been for the media, would they have known that about thirty tonnes of drugs worthy K24 billion were left to expire when thousands of Zambians were dying even from simple diseases? There is no room for kidding, FOI is a must,” he said. He said in that view, it was for the citizens and key stakeholders to devise ways of providing leadership in exposing and shaming non accountable leaders.

This entails that freedom of Information laws are important; and of that, there is no doubt. They are important for public answerability and the equal treatment of all people under the rule of law. They are important as an anti-corruption tool. They are important to the advancement of commerce and science. And they are important to the legitimacy of democratically elected governments. For without access to government records, citizens cannot determine whether their leaders deserve re-election or whether they should be thrown out of office because of fraud or mismanagement. As James Madison says “A popular government without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a preamble to a ridiculous situation or a tragedy; or perhaps both. . . . A people who mean to be their own governor, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.”

According to Transparent International Zambia (TIZ) president Reuben Lifuka, there are three primary reasons why national Freedom of Information laws are so worthy of greater attention. First, most governments exist not at the national level, but rather at the sub-national level. Second, most people interact with government, not at the national level, but at the regional and local levels. Thirdly, Freedom of Information laws at national level provide a very effective – and perhaps the best -- laboratory to test most aspects of such laws

He said with the possible exception of military forces, governments in most countries provide the basic services of management. They provide police protection. They often provide public education, health and welfare services. They record and maintain birth, marriage and death records. They record and maintain real estate and commercial documents, and implement land use rules. They often have responsibility over public transportation, utilities and other infrastructure, and maintain a judicial system to enforce laws and resolve disputes. And, of course, they most often levy and collect taxes. In carrying out these duties, there is need for an independent organ to monitor all operations to reduce abuse of both power and resources, thus denying citizens the most needed ingredients for the development of their communities. In such circumstances, the significance of Freedom of Information laws should not be underestimated.