INDEPENDENT Broadcasting Authority (IBA) director general Josephine Mapoma has been sent on forced leave.
Following the coming into being of the IBA in 2013, after Cabinet effected IBA Act No. 17 of 2002, Mapoma was announced as the IBA’s first director general, by Kennedy Sakeni, the then minister of the then Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services, in June 2013.
Mapoma, a veteran journalist, once served as permanent secretary in the then Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services, under the Frederick Chiluba and Levy Mwanawasa administrations.
A well-placed source told Kalemba that IBA Board chairperson Chikosola Chuula addressed the Authority’s staff yesterday and announced Mapoma’s fate.
DG Josephine Mapoma has been put on forced leave by our Board,” the source said.
She added that the reason given by the IBA Board is that the Authority has been stagnant under her leadership.
What they are saying is that there is no progress for the IBA under DG Mapoma’s leadership. So, going forward the Board is saying the IBA should function in an orderly way as an institution owned by Zambians. They are saying the IBA should not be abused by one,” said the source.
IBA director – standards, licensing and compliance Eustace Nkandu has been named as the Authority’s acting director general, while the process of looking for a substantive replacement for Mapoma as started.
The IBA was established through an Act of Parliament No.17 of 2002, which was amended through the IBA (amendment) Act No.26 of 2010 and IBA Act No. 18 of 2017.
The Authority became operational in 2013.
The IBA is responsible for regulating the broadcasting industry in Zambia, by ensuring the promotion of a pluralistic and diverse broadcasting industry.
The functions of the IBA include, among others, granting, renewing, suspending and cancelling radio and Television licences.
The Authority is further mandated to set standards to be followed by radio and TV stations and monitor licences, to ensure that they are compliant.
Statistics from the IBA show that Zambia has 159 radio stations and 48 TV stations.
Kalemba March 3, 2023
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