BY NCHIMUNYA MIYOBA
Zesco Director for Commercial and Customer Services Chiti Mataka says the media in the country needs to be respected as the fourth arm of law with capability of altering policy decisions and shaping people’s opinions on critical issues.
Mr Mataka said currently the media in the country appears to be treated as an accessory to facilitate communication or an evil without being given the recognition and respect due to it as a critical pillar of a robust functioning democracy.
Speaking during a media cocktail held at Kitwe’s garden Court last evening dubbed ‘Bridging Information Gap,’ Mr Mataka urged Media personnel in the country to provide balanced, objective and accurate news when disseminating news as failing to do so may result in irreparable damage to institutions or individuals covered in the stories.
“As Zesco we would like to urge all of you to strive for accuracy and impartiality reporting and we believe that you can avoid or lesson cases of misinformation or misrepresentation by sharing information with the media on a timely basis,” he said.
On current power load management, Mr Mataka said Zesco will continue with the four hour load management as the company continues to monitor water levels at the Kariba north Bank.
He emphasized the power management currently underway is due to the critical water levels and not a technical fault adding that the country will be informed of any changes.
“We will continue with the current four hour power management until further notice. Zesco will continue monitoring the water levels at the Kariba north bank and as such the media is implored to report accurately to avoid misinformation,” he said.
