The Zambia Army says it wants to keep its doors to its activities open to the public, which is a departure from the past, particularly during the liberation struggle.
Zambia Army Public Relations and Foreign Liaison Director Martin Liyungu said this yesterday during an interaction with Zambia Daily Mail management at the newspaper’s offices in Lusaka yesterday.
Colonel Liyungu said the Army endeavours to inform the public about its activities, which are centred on the maintenance of peace both in the country and outside.
“We found a ‘closed’ Army because of the liberation struggles, but I would like to assure the public through you, the Zambia Daily Mail, that it is no longer the case,” he said.
“The Zambia Army is now open as evidenced from a number of public events that we have had and still continue to have.”
Colonel Liyungu said the first ever media interaction event held in August last year was well attended and highlighted.
Looking back, Col Liyungu said Zambia Army and Zambia Daily Mail have had a long-standing relation as evidenced by the numerous events that the public media organisation has reported on efficiently.
“We have received positive response from Zambia Daily Mail and we believe that the mutual understanding will continue,” he said. “We know the more we interact, the more we learn about each other’s etiquette, to avoid mistakes in names and ranks.”
And Zambia Daily Mail Acting Managing Director Simate Simate was grateful for the positive feedback from Zambia Army.
Mr Simate said the newspaper’s core mandate is to serve the people of Zambia through publishing of quality news and information.
“We have a duty to ensure that the Zambian public is informed of government programmes,” he said. “As an institution, we are just a phone call or an email away, and we will ensure we are there to give coverage.”
