ZANIS reports that President Hichilema was speaking when he officially opened the Fourth Session of the 13th National Assembly, where he said Government is committed to upholding and protecting the principles of the rule of law.
The Head of State said the current administration respects and upholds the rights of Zambians.
“Your government remains committed to respecting, protecting, and upholding the rights of all citizens. With every right, however, comes obligation and responsibility,” President Hichilema said.
And the President Hichilema said in the past three years, no single media institution has been shut down by government.
President Hichilema said there are now more community radio and television stations that have been opened and are operating freely.
He added that all political players, civil society organisations and other stakeholders, are using media platforms to reach out to the public without any hindrance.
Mr. Hichilema pointed out that to enhance access to information, the access to information act no. 24 of 2023 was enacted.
He added that the legislation enables citizens to access information from public institutions.
The President however urged Zambians not to abuse the freedoms.
“With these freedoms, we urge citizens to avoid abusing social and other media by spreading hate speech, misinformation, and propaganda that has the potential to threaten national security. No one should hide in the social media space to commit crimes. Criminality is criminality and it will be prosecuted,” he said.
