Top news items in major Zambian media outlets

The following are the highlights of Zambia's major media outlets on Thursday.

-- Civil society organization pushing for the enactment of an access to information law have petitioned the Zambian parliament to ensure that Access to Information (ATI) Bill is tabled before the House is dissolved next week.

The ATI Coalition expressed concern that the government has failed to enact the access to information law even after strongly using it as a campaign tool to ascend to power in 2011.

Jesuit Center for Theological Reflections, who led members of the coalition when they presented the petition to parliament, said it was shameful the current parliament has failed to enact the bill into law and that their term is now expiring. (THE POST)

-- Zambian President Edgar Lungu said the country will witness more defections of members of various political parties when parliament is dissolved next week.

Lungu, whose ruling Patriotic Front (PF), has seen some of its senior members defecting to the main opposition United Party for National Development (UPND), however expressed optimism that the ruling party will emerge victorious and stronger to continue fostering development after the August 11 general elections.

He said the election fever which the country will witness after parliament is dissolved on May 11, should be used to promote unity among ruling party supporters. (TIMES OF ZAMBIA)

-- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has urged African countries to address barriers to human mobility by eliminating visa restrictions so that they may benefit from the movement of human resources.

IOM Director-General William Swing said migration borders have been kept high and the issue has remained contentious among many African countries. (ZAMBIA DAILY MAIL)

-- The Zambian government said increased power cuts the country is facing is due to a technical fault at a power interconnector in neighboring Zimbabwe.

Some parts of Zambia have experienced increased power cuts from the usual eight hours announced when the country started rationing power last year following a power deficit.

Minister of Energy and Water Development Dora Siliya said there had been a fault with the interconnector of power in Zimbabwe which Zambia uses to import emergency power from either South Africa or Mozambique. (DAILY NATION) Endit