THE first draft of the Freedom of Information (FoI) Bill will be launched tomorrow for public scrutiny and comments, Parliament heard yesterday.

Information, Broadcasting and Labour Deputy Minister, Mwansa Kapeya told Parliament, which resumed sitting yesterday, that the task force will launch the first draft document at Mulungushi International Conference Centre in Lusaka.

Mr Kapeya said the Government was committed to ensuring that the legislation was enacted.

"My Government is committed to ensuring that the FoI is enacted. I am happy to inform this House that a technical committee has been constituted and has been urged to speed up the process.

"This committee will launch the first draft FoI on Thursday this week so that members of the public can scrutinise it," he said.

Mr Kapeya was responding to Patriotic Front (PF) Kanchibiya Member of Parliament (MP), Davies Mwaango (PF) who wanted to know when the FoI Bill would be presented to Parliament.

In response, Mr Kapeya told the House that the Government would ensure the FoI document was presented to Parliament within the current sitting.

The task force comprises Government representatives from the Ministry of Information, Broadcasting and Labour and Ministry of Justice.

Others are representatives from civil society organisations, FoI coalition of the Jesuit Centreor Theological Reflection, Economics Association of Zambia, MISA-Zambia, and Transparency International Zambia.

Others are the Law Association of Zambia, independent legal experts, University of Zambia lecturer Kenny Makungu, media trainer Edem Djokotoe, and a World Bank technical team.