Statement On Cabinet Approval in Principle of the ATI Bill

As the government prepares the draft Bill for introduction to the National Assembly, the ATI Coalition wishes to invite all members of parliament to keep the ideals of transparency, accountability and citizen participation at the forefront of their minds. These ideas represent the foundation of this law. This law is not a ‘bedroom bill’, which will be used by the media to obtain private information of politicians in order to embarrass them. This law is not legislation which will be used to target specific individuals – a superficial tool of political in-fighting. In fact, this law is not primarily aimed at the media at all. Its core beneficiaries are the people of Zambia, who desire to collaborate with the government as it seeks to break new ground in Zambian political history.