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The New Age Voices - Issue 4
Youth Agenda Trust
September 13, 2010

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ZBH bows down to pressure

Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings Chief Executive Officer Happison Muchechetere last week bowed down to pressure from civic groups and the Constitutional and Parliamentary Select Committee (COPAC) to allow the State broadcaster to air advertisements aimed at increasing awareness on the ongoing constitution making exercise.

Two weeks ago, The New Age Voices revealed that ZBH was refusing to flight constitution related advertisements due to reasons better known to officials at Pockets Hill. Some of the flimsy excuses for their refusal to flight COPAC advertisements were that they were not comfortable in taking up the US$4 million that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was offering them for the adverts because COPAC had not settled a US$130 000 debt.

Muchechetere had also refused to allow Youth Agenda Trust (YAT) to submit advertising material that is meant to increase awareness on youth participation in the constitution making process saying that they should approach COPAC for approval. COPAC distanced itself from ZBH's cat and mouse games saying that it was not the duty of COPAC to authorise what may or may not be advertised on ZTV.

However, due to incessant pressure and the shallowness of his arguments, Muchechetere last week finally allowed COPAC to have their advertisements flighted by the broadcaster.

On Wednesday, Muchechetere met with YAT officials at his Pocket's Hill office where he eventually bowed down to pressure and allowed YAT's adverts to be screened on national television.

However, ZBH has come under immense criticism from both the public and private sectors who have accused the state broadcaster of deliberately stifling information dissemination on the constitution making process to the public because they have only allowed the advertisements to go through when the exercise is past the 90 percent mark.

It is quite clear that ZBH is still controlled by a clique of authoritarian hardliners who are not yet ready to liberate the airwaves. Had it not been for the timeous intervention of lawyers from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), "Muchechetere was not willing to budge on our demands to have the adverts flighted. We however believe that we have been victorious and we would like to warn the cabal at ZBH that as young people we will continuously aim and hit at the remaining outposts of tyranny in this country," said YAT Coordinator Arnold Chamunogwa.

Meanwhile, COPAC co-chairperson Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana fired a broadside at ZBH Thursday saying that it has failed the nation because it has denied everyone the opportunity of getting adequate education on the constitution making exercise.

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