COPPERBELT Minister Mwenya Musenge has urged public media houses to articulate Government programmes and issues affecting society.

Mr Musenge said yesterday in Kitwe that the public media houses were cardinal partners in the national development process and that journalists should feel protected to factually report both negative and positive events.

The minister, who toured public media houses in Kitwe, said the Government was concerned with the poor information flow which affected the public in making informed decisions on national issues.

"For instance, residents in Kitwe are complaining about water shortages, it is the duty of the journalists to engage officials from the utility companies to explain what challenges they are facing and ensure that the people appreciate the problems and how they are being tackled," he said.

Mr Musenge toured Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation, Times of Zambia and Zambia Daily Mail offices to familiarise himself with operations of the institutions and also consolidate the Government/media relations on the national development agenda.

He said the late arrival of newspapers on the market impeded the free flow of information and that measures should be put in place to address the challenge.