“PRESS STATEMENT Lusaka, Sunday 12 April 2020 IBA Must Explain and Justify Prime TV Licence Withdrawal” insists Laura Miti’s Alliance for Community Action

“IBA Must Explain and Justify Prime TV Licence Withdrawal,” insists Laura Miti

Laura Miti
Executive Director  Alliance for Community Action

The Alliance for Community Action, ACA would like to join other concerned organisations and individuals in expressing deep concern over the continued harassment and repeated withdrawal of the Prime Television broadcasting license.
The ACA would like to remind the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA), through whom the latest abuse of Prime TV has been perpetrated, that Zambia’s democracy, which the right to expression and information are a vital part of, is a critical public resource whose management must be carried out accountably and indeed in the public interest. The IBA therefore needs to explain and justify how the continuation of Prime Television operating places the public good in danger as stated in the letter withdrawing the broadcasting license.
It is most concerning that, in citing the invoked law to withdraw the license, the IBA makes no justification on how, the cancellation of the license is “necessary in the interest of public safety, security, peace, welfare or good order.” The authority makes no attempt whatsoever to state how the broadcaster breached section 29 (1) (j) and (k) of the Independent Broadcasting (Amendment) Act No. 26 of 2010 on which the withdrawal of the license is supposedly based.
We would like to place it on record that the withdrawal of the broadcasting license from Prime TV by the IBA is not only an abuse of power against one institution but a clear assault on citizen’s constitutional rights. As a broadcaster, Prime TV is a facilitator of citizen’s rights of expression and to receive and impart information. The media, through its content, also helps citizens to develop their abilities to the greatest possible extent through acquisition of knowledge, continuous learning and the development of skills. This is as enshrined in the Article 43 of the Constitution of Zambia, Amendment Act No. 2 of 2016.
In interrogating the closure of Prime TV, it is vital to note that Zambia, is currently facing a very uncertain economic future. It is, therefore, in the public interest that every viable business concern is not only protected but supported to continue existing and growing. It therefore goes against basic logic that at a time when the nation needs every stream of revenue to continue flowing into the treasury, state actors are conspiring to unjustifiably close a vibrant business entity.
While Prime TV is the immediate victim of the closure of Prime TV, the ultimate victims are the deprived of a preferred source of news.
Citizens are affected by this unjustifiable action because news consumption is vital in the way they are able to make informed choices on governance and other issues of interest to them. News directly enables citizens to hold public officials accountable. In the absence of free and independent media, citizens are left to consume content from unverified sources and this is what poses a real danger to public good because there is usually no one to hold accountable for content broadcast or otherwise distributed by sources with no known reporters or institutions.
Zambian citizens who depend on Prime TV for their jobs and livelihoods, advertisers who can no longer reach their clients and citizens are also victims for an inexplicable decision to close the station.
In light of the above, it is our considered view that that this action by the IBA cannot be seen as anything other than an undemocratic move by the state. The action cannot be considered independent of the earlier actions by the state, first the directive to all state actors to withdraw from any dealings with Prime TV and secondly, the removal of the broadcaster’s signal from the Top Star service by the signal carrier, Star Times. Mst perplexing is the surrounding of the Prime TV premises for a matter is not criminal in nature. The question arises, does the IBA have the power to order the police to surround a media house whose license has been revoked and what is the justification for that? It is clear that these actions are a coordinated attack on Prime TV for political interest and have nothing to do with the public interest. It is deeply saddening that the IBA would find itself viewed as a tool to silence platforms that provide information not controlled by the state.
Finally, we would like to urge all citizens unhappy and deeply concerned about the closure of Prime TV to demand for the immediate reinstatement of the broadcaster’s license. We ask citizens to peacefully resist this action by communicating to the IBA, the Zambia Police and Minister of Information to stop the abuse of power and victimization of Prime TV.
Laura Miti
Executive Director

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