Government tightens grip on rural media

The government has replaced six of its eight provincial information officers (PIOs) as it tightens its grip on the media ahead of the presidential election next year, the ‘Daily News’ said on Monday. George Charamba, the permanent secretary in the department of information and publicity, was quoted as saying that his ministry was looking at wholesale changes in the information sector. “All government information will now be centralised at provincial level, with these PIOs being the only ones tasked with articulating government information ahead of the presidential election” said a source. They will be very powerful people and the new minister wants educated and eloquent people to articulate the government position at a local level,” he said.