The board of Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) is plotting to sack Director General Chibamba Kanyama for airing sessions of the Parliamentary Accounts Select Committee on live television.
The live broadcasts from the select committee incidentally resulted in major expose of blatant abuses of public funds by government officials at all levels of government.
The parliamentary sessions were originally aired to educate and inform the public about the use of public resources arising from revelations in the Auditor General’s report.
Sources closer to Patriotic Front (PF) members on the ZNBC board said the government was not happy at the embarrassing exposure of abuse of public resources by the government ministries and departments.
“Chibamba may survive, but the truth is that the board is meeting almost on a daily basis to map out a plan to hound him out of his position,” the source said. “The broadcasts were so damning and they have left an indelible mark on the reputation of the government.”
The source said senior government officials were asking in whose interest was the decision to air parliamentary sessions on live television. The source further indicated that the people after Chibamba Kanyama’s blood had been plotting for some time now to remove him from the helm of ZNBC.
“Some people on the board feel that Chibamba Kanyama is not perpetrating the PF vision and slogans through ZNBC and it is not just working. The opportunity came to deal with Chibamba during the airing of live sessions from the select committee,” the source said.
In the wake of the surprising broadcasts, there has been much public controversy and outrage over the apparent abuse of resources.
Since the incident took place, ZNBC has halted the live broadcasts of parliamentary sessions, as the network explained it as a “trial project” – however now sources indicate that the broadcasts were deliberately and abruptly removed off the air.
ZNBC public relations Manager Masuzyo Ndhlovu said the live broadcasts from parliament were a temporal measure.
Masuzyo Ndhlovu, who is largely seen as a representative of the ruling party, said the decision to broadcast live sessions from the parliamentary committee would have to be reviewed.
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