President Hakainde Hichilema Denies Rumours Of New Military Bases In Zambia

President Hakainde Hichilema has reiterated that there will be no construction of new military bases in Zambia.

The announcements came during the National Media Conference in Lusaka on Wednesday.

In his statement, he said, “Now the security threat is serious globally and governments share intelligence. They share better ways of keeping the world stable. There is no Military Base here other than Zambian Military Bases. Our soldiers train in Russia, they train in China, India, Kenya, they train in Botswana. Botswana soldiers train here, and vise versa.”

He also encouraged the media to regulate themselves to produce professional and factual news. Additionally, he outlined that the government should ensure that private media are present on his trips with logistics surrounding this being organised by the government.

With regard to the media, he stated, “Regulate yourselves. We will not regulate you. But be professional and responsible. Report facts, and be balanced.”

The news comes after the New Dawn government held their quarterly press conference where he also discouraged the media in publishing falsehoods and encouraged their self-regulation in order to promote the freedom of press in Zambia.