That is our comment. It is ironic that some media feel abandoned and then grovel for political patronage from the Patriotic Front (PF). This is the danger of political patronage; it takes away professionalism and independence.
We have borrowed all the money we have used for capital development. The records are transparent and the banks we deal with will vouch for us because we pay back our loans. We also make sure we pay for our obligation with the Zambia Revenue Authority.
There is no basis therefore for any suggestion that the PF, who have abandoned them, are now giving us money. We did not even know that the PF gave media money.
Our policy as a newspaper has been to emphasize the need for institutional integrity because only an able and functioning Government, opposition party and civil society will make for an equally vibrant nation in which substantive issues will be discussed. Less time will be wasted on mindless trivialities which consume tremendous emotional energy without substantive return.
We have by conscious decision decided not to immerse ourselves in the cesspool of human failure, foibles and base inclinations which appear to provide so much fascination to some sections.
We take no pleasure in stoking intraparty or indeed interparty divisions because these distract from the greater picture of creating a positive synergy towards development.
Unless the various sections of our polity work and discharge their functions-our efforts at creating a better Zambia will be in futility. Human failure is not endemic to Zambia, it is a characteristic of humanity that we must constantly struggle with.
Humanity however is not about failure. It is about resilience and survival against all odds. It is for this reason that we search out for positive attainments in our society, we seek men and women who excel and provide inspiration.
We do not shun failure and corruption; we report them with the intention of seeking swift Government action for redress. We will never make it our preoccupation as a means of making ourselves relevant or indeed for us to hound individuals with malicious concoctions. We leave that to lesser enterprises.
We truly believe that we can set a positive agenda. Three German scholars-Christian Pfeiffer, Mathias Kleimann and Michael Winzio have ably demonstrated that the media has a very critical potential of influencing public perception and focus.
We would like to be on the positive side of encouraging change for common good.
We want to rise above tribalism and focus instead on the message that each Zambian politician offers. Ethnicity should not feature in the calculus of the worth that an individual politician will bring to this country.
We are different and we make no apologies for it. That is why we are consistent; we will not praise politicians for the sake of winning favour because this will be self-serving and at worst inimical to national interest.
That is why, in the face of strong criticism, we published demands for a medical board, while hypocrites went out of their way to prove us wrong. They have been forced to eat humble pie.
That is not our way. We are principled and will always seek a path that provides the best solutions for the country.
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