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Zim's grim reaper: Press freedom is the first casualty, the economy next
Mail & Guardian (SA)
October 06, 2003

by Nqobile Nyathi

Much of the commentary sparked in the past three weeks by the closure of The Daily News has focused on the outrageous attack by the Zimbabwean government on a fundamental human right: the right to a free press. The closure of The Daily News and The Daily News on Sunday for not complying with a law that violates Zimbabwe's own Constitution and international norms has shown the Harare regime for what it is: a government that is ready to sacrifice everything to maintain its stranglehold on the people of Zimbabwe. Freedom of expression has become one of the casualties of the ruling Zanu PF's struggle to retain its hold on power, so too will Zimbabwe's future prospects for economic development and poverty alleviation if no effort is made to preserve the country's right to a free press.

Several researchers have argued that freedom of expression is more than a moral right and have explored the link between a free press and economic and social development. Some of these arguments are contained in a 2002 World Bank report entitled The Right to Tell: The Role of the Mass Media in Economic Development. The report contains research and analysis that attempts to demonstrate that the media can reduce poverty and boost economic development when they are allowed to maintain their independence and reach a wide audience. A free press, the report points out, can help financial markets work better and facilitate trade, both of which are important for development. It can also expose corruption, keep a watch on public policy and provide a forum for diverse opinions.

As World Bank president James Wolfenson said in a 1999 speech to the World Press Freedom Committee: "Freedom of the press is not a luxury. It is absolutely at the core of equitable development, because if you cannot enfranchise people, if they do not have the right to expression, if there is no searchlight on corruption and inequitable practices, you cannot bring about the public consensus to bring about change." The Zimbabwean government's attack on the press will have profound consequences for a population that has already been hard hit by unprecedented economic and social haemorrhaging in the past four years. Unchecked inflation as well as foreign currency and fuel shortages have left many Zimbabwean businesses on the verge of collapse. Most have been forced to cut back on production and lay off staff. The result has been rising unemployment, worsening poverty and falling living standards.An ill-considered government land reform programme has compounded the situation, displacing farmers, farm workers and their families and leaving more than five million Zimbabweans in need of emergency food aid.

To cap that off, the closure of the country's only independent daily mass-market newspaper has left many Zimbabweans at the mercy of the government's self-serving propaganda. On a daily basis the people of Zimbabwe are force-fed Zanu PF's view of the world, a world without corruption, human rights abuses, repression, and in which the political violence that has dogged the country in the past four years does not exist. Those who cannot afford the independent, niche-market weekly newspapers have no exposure to alternative voices and have no forum through which to express their views and concerns. In short, many Zimbabweans have been deprived of their right to make informed decisions about their futures. If the government is allowed to get away with silencing The Daily News and The Daily News on Sunday, what will stop it from moving on to the remaining inconvenient voices that are a thorn in its side? And if that is allowed to happen what hope will there be for a population that has largely been cowed into submission?

Without a watchdog overlooking policy and exposing corruption, there is little hope that the Zimbabwean government will abandon the half-baked policies that are primarily responsible for the country's economic mess. This will be disastrous for the people of Zimbabwe, for there can be no economic development or poverty alleviation in an environment where corruption, bad governance and mismanagement are allowed to thrive.

Nqobile Nyathi is editor of the banned Daily News

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