Claim
On 30th December 2021, Ask Muvi TV Facebook page published an article claiming the Government of the Republic of Zambia had banned all New Year’s Eve events such as overnight prayers and other public celebrations due to the recorded increase in Covid-19 cases. The article was also trending on various social media platforms because from the beginning of the 2nd quarter of 2021, the country has recorded the highest number of Covid-19 cases and here has not been any official statement to lock down the country.
Rating Justification
The Fact-Checking Process by iVerify Zambia has established as false the claim in the news article published by Ask Muvi TV Facebook page that the Government of the Republic of Zambia has banned all the New Year’s Events. The news article stemmed from the statement issued by the Provincial Local Government Officer for Southern Province, Mr. Amusa Zaza on 30th December 2021, directing all Town Clerks and Council Secretaries in Southern Province to immediately stop issuing gathering permits to churches and other institutions such as bars, night clubs, markets, and bus stations in their districts until further notice. The statement stated that the directive was due to the high number of Covid-19 cases recorded by the Ministry of Health, and the anticipated public gatherings to celebrate the beginning of the new year would act as super spreaders of the virus. However, the fact checking process has established that Mr. Zaza’s directive only applied to Southern province and not the entire country as the released statement was addressed to Town Clerks and Council Secretaries in the Province.
The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Permanent Secretary-Technical Services Mr. Wisdom Bwalya, issued a Press Statement on the same day withdrawing the circular that was issued by Mr. Amusa Zaza. Mr. Bwalya stated that the withdrawal of the circular was intended to allow further consultation with all the line Ministries and Stakeholders before a government position on gathering to celebrate the beginning of the new year could be announced to the public.
It is therefore not true that the Government of Zambia through the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development has banned all the New Year’s Eve events by churches, bars, night clubs, markets, and bus stations on 31st December 2021. Instead, the statement that was issued in the Circular and later withdrawn, was only directed to all Town Clerks in Southern province until further consultations were done.
