THE PF, according to its strategic plan 2018 to 2021, aims to establish a media intelligence unit for covert operations.
It says such a unit shall manage a fully-equipped party media centre supported with permanent bloggers, hackers, reporters and others.
The governing party strategises to: “determine our own narrative” by, inter alia, procuring of Centre working tools like radio sets, TV sets, smart phones, computers, cameras, recorders, office furniture, among other necessities.
“[We shall] constitute a team of talented reporters, videographers, writers and editors,” the anomalous PF strategic plan states, adding that there shall be registration and operationalisation of covert radio, TV and newspaper outlets, all for the party.
“[We shall] manage a fully-equipped PF media centre supported with permanent bloggers, hackers, reporters etc.”
The Plan also notes that there shall be an identification of trainers in covert operations and training of intelligence unit members in covert operations.
The other strategy highlighted in the document is effective communication of what the PF government is doing well and better for Zambians.
The activities for showing the goodness of the PF government include compiling and documenting the identified success stories, and identifying media partners and platforms to share the success stories (public and private media, social media).
Others are procuring of media recording and editing equipment for producing content, developing a booklet for success stories and availing it to all party members, and identifying and utilising influential people to speak during fora, campaigns, TV, radio and newspaper interviews on success stories.
These strategic objectives are highlighted under the aspect of solidifying media engagement and improving communication effectiveness and impact.
Meanwhile, the same strategic plan points out that the PF will enhance community outreach and stakeholder engagement.
It notes that there shall be sponsored pro-PF community musical concerts and comedy shows.
“[We’ll also] conduct road shows to spread the party message. [We’ll also] register shadow NGOs and/or support and partner with already existing pro-party independent ones,” stated the PF.
The strategic plan, with outrageous contents, is titled ‘towards an industrial, prosperous, peaceful, stable, united, democratic and inclusive Zambia under One Zambia, One Nation.’
The foreword is written by PF president Lungu while the next page has remarks by party secretary general Davies Mwila.
To finalise party re-structuring and strengthen overall administration/management, the PF aims to have party members who understand and abide by its ideology, to establish the Michael Chilufya Sata School of Politics, to operationalise its research bureau and to harmonise central committee sub-committee functions with that of government ministries’ functions.
The strategies for achieving those objectives include engagement of the party’s central committee members to debate and approve the reforms, identification and engagement of experts and development of school programmes, operationalisation of the research bureau by the central committee and the secretariat, and engagement, adherence, mobilisation, selection and training of election monitors and agents and harmonisation between the party and Cabinet ministries on policy-related matter.
The activities, the strategic plan highlights, are compelling all Cabinet ministries and State agencies to engage relevant party sub-committees before developing and pronouncing government policy, mobilising resources to fund the operations of the aforementioned school of politics, recruit staff for the school, developing the courses and finalise accreditation, developing PF ideology short courses, producing the PF ideology documentary, launching the school and starting to enroll party members for trainings, recruiting of research bureau director and other supporting staff, allocating resources and funds for research undertakings at the bureau, among others activities.
On one page, the party highlights its strategic objective on media usage and explains its goals, objectives, strategies and activities, in that respect.
The PF, as a goal, shall: “solidify media engagement and improve communication efficiency and impact.”
The strategies include team work within the media unit and partnership among party structures, consolidation of party counter response team against fake news, propaganda and misleading stories, establishment of structured and coordinated collaboration with the media, among others.
The objectives are to streamline the party’s media committees/groupings, to build capacity among media officers at provincial and district levels, to invest in cyber warfare (techniques to counter negative and malicious coverage), to hold the PF interactive forum at provincial and district levels, and to develop cordial working relationships with both the private and public media at all levels.
The ruling party’s activities, regarding the goal of solidifying media engagement and improving communication efficiency and impact, are setting up media teams in all the districts and at provincial centres, mobilisation of information and publicity secretaries (IPSs) at provincial and district levels, establishing PF virtual structures and support groups (WhatsApp blogs, Twitter and Facebook groups), identifying key blogs or online media which normally attack it, inviting media houses to different activities of the party, holding media workshops for media houses, and organising familiarisation tours and workshops with media houses.
Other activities are production of user manuals for media teams, identification and hiring of media trainers/experts, identifying key people to respond on different social media platforms in the provinces and districts, and conducting training for district and provincial publicity secretaries, inter alia.
The PF further seeks to foster and engage resource mobilisation and finance all the operations of the party.
It aims to develop a comprehensive investment strategy.
Some of the earmarked activities, according to the strategic plan, are the construction of party headquarters in Lusaka, construction of provincial party buildings, regularly invite ‘friends of the party’ to key functions, holding regular fundraising activities at lower levels and developing a recognition scheme for members who volunteer their skills and assets to the party, among other activities.