|
Back to Index
This article participates on the following special index pages:
Inclusive government - Index of articles
State-controlled
media stoking confusion through falsehoods around establishment
of independent commissions
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR)
August 17, 2009
Zimbabwe Lawyers
for Human Rights (ZLHR) wishes to voice its deepest concerns around
recent developments in relation to the establishment of various
national commissions as provided for in terms of the Constitution
of Zimbabwe and the Interparty
Political Agreement (IPA), and the manner in which the process
has been reported in the public media.
ZLHR notes the
continued biased, inaccurate and sometimes very misleading reporting
in the state-controlled print or electronic media respectively.
Their continued and unchanged monopoly and unrepentant propensity
to publish biased and false "news" has the potential
to be conveyed to a large section of the general public, and this
"news" can have severe and negative intended or unintended
consequences. It is therefore necessary that the issues raised be
clarified and put in the correct perspective.
On a number
of occasions in the past 3 weeks, "news" reports focusing
on the appointment procedure for members of the Zimbabwe Media Commission
(ZMC) have stated, through the unethical and unprofessional use
of unnamed and unidentifiable sources, that the selection process
has purportedly been suspended, and that a system of "proportional
representation" of the three political parties which are signatories
of the IPA will be used to establish this commission, as well as
the three other commissions (namely the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission,
the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission, and the Anti-Corruption Commission).
The reason advanced by various government sources, named and unnamed,
is that there must be acceptance that all appointments now will
be "partisan" as it is "not yet time" for
such bodies to be "professional".
Such a position
would not only defy logic, but it would also clearly violate the
provisions of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, as amended by Constitution
of Zimbabwe (Amendment No.19) Act.
The Constitution
stipulates a clear process for the establishing, independence and
effectiveness of these commissions. Media practitioners from the
Herald, Sunday Mail and the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation cannot
wish away clear provisions of the Constitution, as much as they
- or those on whose behalf they continue to churn out false
and misleading stories - would like to believe that they can.
It would be
unfortunate if the Standing Rules and Order Committee or any other
authority reasonably and impartially applying his/her/its mind to
this issue were to be misled into unlawful action on the basis of
the false stories emanating from the partisan state-controlled media.
All parties
to the IPA, including those in the executive and the legislature
have bound themselves to the provisions therein, particularly Article
11.1(a) which states that: "it is the duty of all political
parties and individuals to respect and uphold the Constitution and
other laws of the land". This provision is consistent with
principles and tenets expected of any democratic society which abide
by the doctrine of Rule of Law. Attempts to vary the Constitution
through varying the provisions of the IPA, or by agreement of the
principals, are illegal.
Independent
commissions are not there to serve the narrow and partisan interests
of politicians from select political parties, but all the people
of a country who rely on such institutions for protection of their
fundamental rights and freedoms. If Zimbabwe is to move towards
a new era of democratic and transparent governance where all politicians
and state institutions are accountable to, and serve, the people
such commissions must be properly and timeously established, and
their independence guaranteed and respected.
The unfortunate
developments in relation to this statutory commission also highlight
why self-regulation of the media would have been the better option,
consistent with regional and international best practices.
ZLHR therefore
calls for:
- An immediate
cessation of the publication of falsehoods and claims by unnamed
sources by the state-controlled print and electronic media.
- A public
retraction of the false information which has been published through
these communication channels.
- An immediate
public inquiry into the editorial policy and actions of the state-controlled
media in relation to the reportage around the Zimbabwe Media Commission
by the Portfolio Committee on Media, Information and Technology.
- An immediate
public clarification by the Chairperson of the Committee on Standing
Rules and Orders of developments in relation to the establishment
of the Zimbabwe Media Commission.
- An immediate
public commitment by the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders
to abide by the provisions of the Constitution of Zimbabwe in
relation to the establishment of the Zimbabwe Media Commission,
and the establishment of the other independent commissions as
prescribed in terms of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, more specifically
the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission,
and the Anti-Corruption Commission.
Any attempts
to subvert the provisions of the Constitution will be strongly resisted
by ZLHR in the public interest and corrective legal action will
inevitably be taken. Any violations of the Constitution of Zimbabwe
will also be brought to the attention of the SADC Chairperson in
his representative capacity as SADC guarantor of the IPA.
Politicians
must not be allowed to unlawfully vary the provisions of the Constitution
to suit their own political agendas with continued impunity, and
attempts to use the public media to corruptly manipulate the systems
of governance should be condemned in the strongest manner possible.
Such conduct will not be allowed to go unchallenged.
Visit the ZLHR
fact
sheet
Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.
TOP
|
