Thus according to Sikota, a question such as - what would it be used for? - did not matter again. In his view it can be for mere curiosity, research or to embarrass a Government official. “This is a very important thing. If a Government official or anybody else has done something for which they should be embarrassed, we should not shield them. We should have them exposed. They should be embarrassed. We need to get into a situation where people should be ready to have an open society where nothing is hidden under the carpet.” The Times covered both the minister and Sikota on the FOI. In the case of Sikota’s contribution the paper reported that the MP “wondered why government was dillydallying on the re-introduction of the FOI Bill which was cardinal to tackling corruption as it would expose wrong-doing and embarrass the culprits.1 And closing the debate on his ministry’s Mwaanga thanked everyone who had contributed to the debate. However, he apparently had special thanks to Hon. Sakwiba Sikota, for talking on his “usual subject of freedom of information”. Mwaanga assured the House that he would continue to consult with the stakeholders. On Sikota’s assertion that the FOI was not just for journalists but for all citizens the minister agreed. “You were very correct in stating that this does not only affect journalists, but the citizens of Zambia as a whole,” he said but quickly added: “It also affects the lives of Members of Parliament, the life to privacy and the respect for ethics in terms of how they are reported so that there is a certain amount of protection given to them. We will not be blind to these realities in considering the issue of the freedom of information.”
1
Times March 14, 2007 - He said it was wrong to think that the proposed piece of legislation was only meant to benefit journalists. On the contrary the public at large would benefit as well through easy access to information of public interest, the paper reported.