Net Rights Coalition calls on Zambia to uphold digital rights ahead of crucial elections - ITREALMS Online

With Zambia’s general election just days away on August 13, 2026, the Net Rights Coalition (NRC) has issued an urgent call to the Zambian government to uphold and advance fundamental digital rights, reports ITREALMS.

The Coalition, a network of Internet freedom activists dedicated to defending digital rights through knowledge exchange, expresses profound concern over recent arrests of journalists and a wider decline in civic freedoms documented early this year.

Transnational repression: RightsCon 2026 abruptly cancelled @Zambia - ITREALMS

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Access Now has officially announced that RightsCon 2026 will no longer take place in Zambia. The decision follows a unilateral move by the Zambian government to "postpone" the summit just days before it was set to welcome over 2,600 in-person participants from 150 countries, reports ITREALMS.

Access Now, the host organization, has cited foreign interference and transnational repression as the mechanical necessity behind the summit's collapse, marking a dark day for digital rights and civic space on the continent.

FIFAfrica22: Biker to ride to Zambia across six countries - ITREALMS

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The distance between Kampala, Uganda and Lusaka, Zambia is approximately 3,300 kilometres by road. As part of a road trip to the Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa 2022 (FIFAfrica22), Ugandan digital security expert Andrew Gole will travel between the two countries over 28 days on his motorbike, making multiple stops to impart tips and advice on digital security.

Gole’s trip will take him through Uganda, before crossing into Rwanda, Tanzania, Malawi, and finally to the FIFAfrica22 host country Zambia. The return trip will include stops in Tanzania, Zanzibar and Kenya. Along the way, Gole will interact with human rights organisations and communities along the way in addition to human rights organisations on the value of securing devices and communications as a means of protecting their digital rights.

FIFAfrica'22 goes to Lusaka, Zambia - ITREALMS

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The Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) is pleased to announce the return to a physical event of the ninth edition of the annual Forum on Internet Freedom in Africa (FIFAfrica22).

The landmark event, which convenes a spectrum of stakeholders from across the internet governance and digital rights arenas in Africa and beyond, will take place in Lusaka, Zambia, from September 26-29, 2022.

Trending #AfricaThisWeek Volume 1, No. 2 - ITREALMS

#AfricaThisWeek@ITREALMS:

Highlights:

1. Bank of Zambia upgrades notes with security features
2. Senate President, 3 Governors defect to opposition, PDP
3. Giant multinational SOCFIN battles local communities over palm lands
4. Ramaphosa escorts son for traditional ceremony @Uganda
5. Rural populace returns ZANU PF to Presidency
6. Chinje advocates for CAS, no miniaturization of states

Follow on Twitter: @#AfricaThisWeek. 

Full edition: #AfricaThisWeek Volume 1, No. 2. This edition is also available in French.

*Courtesy Remmy Nweke/ED, Ops

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Econet’s KweseTv takes off with pay-as-you-watch in Ghana, Rwanda, Zambia

ITRealms:

The operators of Kwese Tv networks in Ghana, Rwanda and Zambia, Econet, has launched a ‘pay-as-you-watch’ service that enables viewers to purchase three or seven day passes to its full programming bouquet, reports ITRealms.

Confirming this to ITRealms, the Econet Media President and Group Chief Executive Officer, Joseph Hundah, said the launch would put a stop for people never have to miss out on trending sports or entertainment programming.

In an official statement also made available to ITRealms, Mr. Hunday said the latest Africa’s satellite network is here to stay, beaming Kwesé’s full suite of superior entertainment and sports programming to households in Ghana, Rwanda and Zambia, which make up the initial phase of the Kwesé TV rollout across Africa.

According to him, other countries will be announced in due course, while viewers in these countries could now access Kwesé TV via Kwesé’s own satellite and set-top-box (decoder) available at leading retailers.

He explained that Kwesé TV has launched with a full-suite of top-shelf content which is unprecedented for a new broadcaster, with impressive portfolio of sports assets on its premium sports channels Kwesé Free Sports, Kwesé Sports 1 and Kwesé Sports 2, Kwesé TV introduced some fantastic entertainment programming to the mix including some exclusive, first-to-market content as well as original programming.

In addition to great content and its multi-platform, he said  the multi-screen broadcasting model, Kwesé’s key differentiator is its innovative payment options that offer flexibility and convenience.

“Kwesé offers a ‘pay-as-you-watch’ service that enables viewers to purchase three or seven day passes to its full programming bouquet so they never have to miss out on trending sports or entertainment programming,” he said.

These payment options, Hundah said, turns the traditional pay TV model on its head, provides unparalleled access to premium programming at an affordable price. The monthly subscription option, which gives subscribers access to the full suite of Kwesé TV programming, is available at an astonishing $25 (USD) per month excluding VAT.

“We are a dynamic, young company built to respond to the way audiences want to access and consume content, whether you subscribe for the full Kwese TV bouquet, watch amazing sports programming free-to-air or choose to watch TV on the move, we aim to be the first choice for viewers all over Africa by bringing them the best in programming, at an affordable price making it accessible to more people than ever before,” Hundah said.

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Uganda, Sudan others understudy Nigeria’s DMO

 ITRealms

 

Some countries including Uganda, Sudan, Zambia and Zimbabwe have approached Nigeria for their debt management offices, central banks and national planning to understudy Nigeria’s experience in public debt management, as the country’s DMO has become a model in Africa, ITRealms reports.

Information reaching ITRealms has it that Uganda had twice visited Nigeria for same reasons, which had impacted efficiently on the economy of the East African country.

The first was in November 2006 when a delegation came to learn from Nigeria’s debt management office model as basis for institutional arrangement, towing same line, a delegation from Sudan also came on a study tour to Nigeria on two occasions.

Disclosing this, the President of Heritage Savings, Mr. Adegboye Ikiola, who has a deep knowledge of the workings of DMO, said‘’The first delegation came in December 12-16, 2005. Similarly, another delegation from the External Debt Management Unit in the Central Bank of Sudan and Domestic Debt Unit in the Ministry of Finance of the same country, visited the DMO for a month secondment programme from Monday, June 23 - Tuesday July 15, 2014.

The core objectives of both visits by the Sudanese teams, ITRealms gathered, were to learn from the Nigeria’s debt relief and restructuring phases as well as Nigeria’s debt management experiences prior to the establishment of the DMO.’’

Another instance, he said, was a visit by: “A delegation from the Ministry of Finance and National Planning of the Republic of Zambia  which undertook a one-week study tour of the Debt Management Office in Nigeria, from 20th - 24th September, 2009. The purpose of the study tour was to enable the Zambians learn how the Debt Management Office, Nigeria is structured, the functions of the Office and how it carries out its responsibilities of managing the country’s public debt and issuance of the FGN Bonds.’’   

‘’I can continue with the examples, because we have to understand what the DMO is doing at this time. A seven-man team from the Zimbabwe Aid  and Debt Management Office (ZADMO) in the Ministry of Finance of Zimbabwe visited the DMO for a week study tour from July 17 to 27, 2011 to understudy the processes of establishing and running an effective debt management office in its efforts to set up a centre of excellence in debt management in Zimbabwe.’’

Industry players are of the opinion that given the successes of the DMO the Nigerian model should be extended to other African countries to emulate in order to strengthen

their debt management profiles.They are as well quick to add that the Office should be encouraged to sustain the training and equipping of her staff for the challenges ahead, particularly in this period that our nation is facing some economic challenges, ITRealms learnt.

CyiacusNnaji/GEE

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