Ministry of Information a n d Broadcasting S e r v i c e s P e r m a n e n t Secretary Chanda Kasolo has accused some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) of being paid to attack the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) for suspending the broadcast licence of Prime Television. And the Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) has refuted reports that it issued a statement over the suspension of the broadcast licence for Prime Television.

On Monday, the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) suspended Prime TV’s broadcast licence for 30 days for exhibiting unprofessional elements in its broadcasting. And on Wednesday, a statement purportedly issued by three church mother bodies, including CCZ, was released condemning the suspension of the private station’s broadcasting licence.

The statement allegedly issued by the CCZ, Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia and Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops, the church mother bodies were quoted as saying that the suspension of Prime TV’s licence was an embarrassment to the Government. But CCZ president Sydney Sichilima, who has distanced CCZ from the statement purportedly issued by the three church mother bodies, said as president of the council, he did not approve the statement. Bishop Sichilima, who is also United Church of Zambia synod bishop, is disappointed that the language that was used in the statement against Government is unchristian and does not represent the conduct of the Church.

He said this yesterday after holding a meeting with UCZ bishops, leaders and Protestant churches. Bishop Sichilima appealed to the Church to ensure that whenever there is a national issue, procedure must be followed. He said government leaders also need to be engaged before rushing to the media, noting that failure to do so has potential to set the country on fire. Bishop Sichilima has cautioned members of the three church mother bodies not to take sides with political leaders but to be neutral. This is according to a bulletin monitored on Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation last evening.

Meanwhile, Prime TV has appealed to the Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services, Dora Siliya, against the 30 days suspension slapped on it by the IBA. Speaking when he featured on 5 FM radio yesterday, Mr Kasolo wondered why some NGOs and stakeholders are quick to condemn Government over the suspension of Prime TV’s licence when they are silent on many other issues affecting the country.

“Stop interfering in the operations of IBA as it conducts its work within the law,” he said. He wondered how the appeal letter by Prime TV found itself on social media before the minister could see it. Mr Kasolo said the minister is yet to attend to the appeal by Prime TV because she is out of office and will only deal with the matter next week.

“They are free to go to court if they want but I think they will be wasting their time. The minister will decide how to handle the matter when she is back in the office, she can take it to Cabinet if she wishes,” Mr Kasolo said. He said the minister is also waiting to be presented with a full report from the IBA on the matter.

Mr Kasolo said Prime TV was earlier warned about its unprofessional conduct but nothing changed. “Anarchy will not be allowed in my tenure,” Mr Kasolo said. And in a letter of appeal against the suspension of its licence, the TV station, through its director David Shawa, said the suspension is not the only remedy available to address unprofessional conduct.

“We request that your ministry reviews the IBA action and reduce it to a warning with specific guidelines as has been the practice with other institutions before,” Mr Shawa said.

And the European Union has urged the IBA to reconsider its decision to suspend Prime TV. The EU said in a statement y e s t e r d a y t h a t f r e e d o m of expression and media are amongst fundamental values that Government committed to respect under international and regional human rights agreements. “They are ess e n t i a l t o sustaining an inclusive, peaceful and transparent democracy,” the statement reads in part.