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An evaluation of the media coverage of the 2011 general elections in Zambia: a case study of the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation,MuVI TV, Times of Zambia and the Post NewspaperSince the reinstitution of multi-party democracy in Zambia, the media landscape has been liberalized. This also meant access to different sources of information improved dramatically. This helped stimulate lively debate on current affairs and politics amongst Zambians. However, during recent years the media became increasingly perceived to be polarised with media houses blatantly choosing sides, i.e. being clearly pro-government or clearly pro-opposition. Some of the leading media houses seem to have abandoned all pretext of fair reporting to support their chosen party. This also makes it difficult for the general public to make objectively informed choices and decisions in national elections. It was against this background that this study was undertaken to evaluate media content before, during, and after the 2011 general elections in Zambia. The study sought to investigate what messages the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC), MUVI TV, Times of Zambia and The Post provided for voters in the run-up-to the 2011 general elections so as to establish whether there was a relationship between the way media covered the electoral process and the way citizens voted. To achieve this goal, the study utilized the triangulation method. A total of 100 respondents were interviewed and 377 pieces of news were collected for quantitative data. The study also examined civil society perceptions towards the coverage through in-depth interviews. The central hypothesis of this research is that the polarisation that characterised media coverage of the electoral process in Zambia did not favour the electorate who might have had to rely on media representations of the various political parties as a basis for their political choices. The research established that most media content had low quality and depth of coverage of the electoral process. This was reflected in most content that had more verbatim quotes from sources lacking in-depth follow through, analytical and researched information to help the electorates in deciding on political candidates. Added to this were the low levels of policy and impact information in content presented in the media. Much of the content further showed a bias towards certain political parties apparently preferred by media outlets. This was evident in the numbers of sources from particular political groupings, consistently dominating over long periods of media coverage. On a positive note however, the research uncovered evidence which showed that the media kept personalities based news to minimum levels of approximately 2% of the news during the campaign period. The implications of this research are clear. The media’s coverage of the 2011 elections was driven by the political allegiances of the public and private media
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Zambia Economic Brief, October 2013 : Zambia's Jobs Challenge--Realities on the GroundZambia shares its robust economic growth and capital inflows in the past few years with other Sub-Saharan countries, growth supported by high commodity prices that while declining are still at historical high levels. High commodity prices have induced large foreign direct investment (FDI) flows, mainly in extractive industries but also in services sector, supporting growth. Zambia's mining sector has benefited from FDI, receiving almost 1 billion dollar in 2011 alone. A large gap has emerged between available resources and likely spending in 2013. The government is responding with a full range of adjustments, including cutting recurrent spending (such as on travel and motor vehicles), cutting capital projects, and stepping up revenue collection. The government has raised fuel prices and reduced maize and fertilizer subsidies, but the medium-term fiscal impact of these initiatives is uncertain. These reforms aimed to create space for expanding better targeted spending programs. Zambia's economy has seen far too many unexpected policy changes in recent years. Persistent and even escalating perceptions of an uncertain policy environment can weaken investment, thereby reducing gross domestic product (GDP) growth. Zambia's population and labor force is young and growing fast. The current structure of the economy and sources of growth are such that formal wage jobs are being created slowly. Creating formal jobs in the private sector is rightly accorded top priority in government policy and strategy documents. The government's general approach is to provide an enabling environment for the private sector and address constraints to growth. For wage employment, understanding the technical and vocational education sector is a priority for future skills development. There is a need to address the gaps in access to basic education and prevent dropouts through targeted programs for children at risk of not starting or finishing school. This report is divided in two sections: section one gives recent economic developments and section two presents jobs challenge: realities on the ground.
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An Evaluation of the Communication Strategies used by the Anti-corruption commission of Zambia to raise awareness on corruption in members of the public as a way of preventing corruption in ZambiaThe main objective of the study was to evaluate communication strategies used by the A n ti-Corruption Commission to raise awareness of corruption among members of the public as a way of preventing the scourge.Corruption is a vice that negatively impacts on the delivery of basic services and goods to members of the public, especially the poor. It deters potential investment, thereby hindering the consolidation of democracy. Studies have shown that the most devastating effects of the scourge are on the weak economies of developing countries such as Zambia. It wastes resources by distorting Government policies against the interests of the majority who are denied proper access to public goods and services. This report provides findings of the research and an account of the experiences and observations of the researcher during the practical attachment to the Community Education Department of the Anti-Corruption Commission Headquarters i n Lusaka. The goal of the department is to raise public awareness of corruption as a way of preventing the scourge. The purpose of the attachment was to learn and contribute to the communication processes and strategies used by the A C C in an effort to curb corruption. Both qualitative and quantitative data was collected through the use of two types of questionnaires, one administered to members of the public and the other to community education officers of the ACC. Data collection through questionnaires was supplemented by interviews and observations made by the researcher during the attachment. Data was analyzed by use of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), and this is how the findings were arrived at.The results revealed a number of cardinal points which are to be considered by the ACC in the design and implementation of messages for their target adopters. For instance, it was revealed that the ACC research the information for their target adopters without researching the target adopters.It is hoped that the report will enlighten the A C C community education officers on the perceptions members of the public have on corruption and the awareness activities offered so that they can improve their communication strategies i n order to reach out to all members of the public as a way of inducing positive change. The report also hopes to enlighten them on the weaknesses revealed so that they can learn from them i n order to design quality message content and use appropriate communication channels that can benefit members of the public who are their target adopters. Finally, it is hoped that the research will provide feed-back to the ACC, the initiators of corruption awareness activities, and the nation as a whole.