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Public Information Rights and Access - June 2000 - January 2002
The Civic Alliance for Social and Economic Progress (CASEP)
March 04, 2002

Information from public media and human rights data bases from mid 2000 to January 2002 indicate that information rights infringements are increasing in both number and scope. There has been a trend towards suppression and manipulation of information flow, consolidated by laws that impede information rights.

For public information access,  there must be reasonable transparency and availability of information from public and private sources, information producers must be able to digest and distribute information and consumers of information must have unhindered access to the information they seek. Blockages are however occurring in all of these three areas. The public data gathered indicate the following trends:

• Assaults on media workers. In 2001, there was an increase in the number of beatings, illegal detentions, and other forms of harassment of media workers from public and private media, particularly the latter. There have further been reports of death threats against journalists and editors.  Delayed or absent police action is reported, undermining signals for prevention of such violence. Public statements by the Minister of Information and other senior state or party officials, that “anti-government” or “errant” journalists will be singled out for attack, in some cases publicly naming and labeling such journalists, have also made media workers vulnerable (reported in April 2001). 

• Physical attacks on and intimidation of media houses:  In early 2001 the printing presses of the only privately owned daily newspaper were destroyed by explosives. Media houses have also experienced firebombing and vandalising of offices and attacks on delivery vehicles.  Media houses have also been frequently threatened with law suits (eg: on the Daily News in March, August, September and December 2001).

• Restrictions on media workers: Five journalists were deported or denied the right to continue working in Zimbabwe in 2001, while in 2002 journalists from numerous countries, including South Africa were reported to be denied entry to cover the Presidential election.  Public report has been made of private sector media and journalists being barred entry to official functions, and of journalists being stripped of their film and notebooks containing records of public events  (eg in the July 2001 public meeting in Mutare on land; the July 2001 trial of 22 farmers in Chinoyi)

• Distribution channels closed: In 2001 there were increasing reports of areas being “off limits” to named publications, with an increased frequency of attacks on vendors selling private sector and civic publications (eg: reports from Chinoyi, Harare, Kwekwe, Bindura, Rusape). The same newspapers have been publicly destroyed in partisan activities and members of the public attacked when found in possession of  them (eg: Burning of the Financial Gazette in Harare Jan 2002; Reported death in Mount Darwin Feb 2002).

• Legal restrictions: The Broadcasting Services Act (2001), the Public Order and Security Act-POSA (2002) and the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act-AIPP (2002) have increased state control of  the production and dissemination of information.  The Broadcasting Act (2001) significantly increases government control of licensing and accreditation of new broadcasters, and up to now the broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe is still to invite applications for radio and television broadcasting licenses.  This follows private sector attempts to establish new radio stations in 2000, defeated by the state’s introduction of short term legal measures which saw the stations closed and their equipment seized.  The Public Order and Security Act has been used to stop numerous public gatherings covering electoral and political campaign information. The Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act places financial and bureaucratic barriers on public access to state information while increasing state controls on media producers, with the combined effect of  reducing public information access.

• Restrictions in state media: Reports of numerous reorganisations and actions within the state media have had the overall effect of  narrowing the scope of views and news reflected. In 2001 a series of dismissals involving senior management and editorial personnel took place at ZBC, Zimpapers and Ziana, with 12 senior staff losing positions at ZBC alone. The television and radio call-in shows “Talk to the Nation” and “Spotlight”, were abruptly cancelled. New guidelines saw further restrictions on permitted advertising content by civic organisations and political parties in state media.

• Disruption of civic information: Civic organisations have reported a range of disruptions to information flow, including disruption  of civic meetings (officially through POSA and unofficially through violence); declaration of ‘no-go areas’ for selected civic groups by militias, assault and harassment of civic educators,  interception and destruction of civic education materials, legal prohibitions for several months under the (now reversed) General Laws Amendment of civic activities in voter education and suspension by authorities of  regular civic educational and training activities.

• Distortion of civic information: Civic organisations have experienced misinformation and misreporting in the media on their activities. In the ZCTU stay away in 2000, for example, the ZCTU was quoted in less than 5% of stories on the issue in the state media, despite the fact that it was the primary organisation involved. Media monitoring has indicated that all media give little voice to membership based civics, and even less to their members, even on issues that directly affect them.

These abuses of public information rights breach the electoral standards adopted by SADC and by Zimbabwean civil society for

• The sanctity of the freedom of association and expression
• Encouragement of private media including through domestic information law
• Recognition of the role of civil society in civic education
• Equal and free access by all contesting political parties to the state owned media

The observed trends also indicate a movement away from the basic conditions that civic organisations believe should prevail at any time with respect to public information rights, viz:

• The upholding of the rights of all Zimbabweans to access to accurate and adequate information from a diversity of sources, as well as the right to produce and circulate information and opinions;
• A non partisan, national publicly owned media, particularly in the broadcasting media;
• Removal of unreasonable legal restrictions on media to bring Zimbabwe’s laws into conformity with regional and international standards;
• Protection of the rights and security of all media institutions and media workers.

The Civic Alliance for Social and Economic Progress (CASEP) is a network of membership based civic organisations operating in key areas of social and economic activity, including ZURA,  Zimrights, CWGH, ZCTU, PSA, ZIMTA, ZINASU and MMPZ. 

CASEP can be contacted at 708835/705108 email tarsc@mweb.co.zw

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