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Symptoms of economic meltdown
Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ)
Extracted from Weekly Media Update 2003-43
Monday October 27th - Sunday November 2nd 2003

Strikes by doctors and nurses working for government received considerable media attention during the week. However, it was only the private media, which viewed the industrial action as symptomatic of the country's economic crisis. They generally pointed out that addressing the current economic recession could only solve the doctors' perennial salary problems.

The government-controlled media's coverage of the strikes however, focused mainly on dismissing the doctors' salary demands as unrealistic without clearly stating what figures were justifiable. They also reported the strikes in isolation to other related labour unrest and therefore failed to give a holistic picture of the discontent elsewhere in the country's labour force. As a result, industrial action at Tel-One and National Breweries, were largely ignored.

In fact, it became clear that these media were merely reflecting the disregard with which government was handling the doctors' concerns. For instance, The Herald (28/10) quoted Public Service Commission (PSC) Secretary Ray Ndlukula claiming that he was not aware of the strike adding that he did "not see any reason for them [doctors and nurses] to do so as we announced their new salaries in July".

Taking a leaf from Ndlukula's comments, The Herald (29/10) then castigated doctors saying they should not expect more than they are getting adding that government should only consider their grievances when they have returned to work.

ZBC also adopted a similar trend. ZTV (27/10, 8pm) allowed Health Minister David Parirenyatwa to skirt the issues the doctors were raising by implying that their professional ethics were more important than their livelihoods. He was quoted as saying, "...patients are already suffering...because of an unethical industrial action". Without questioning the minister the reporter then tried to give the impression that the medical workers' actions were unjustified because they had gone on strike when government was already looking into their concerns. Said the reporter: "The PSC last year awarded all civil servants, doctors and nurses included, a salary increase. The PSC says it was still making an effort to address the anomalies [of the job evaluation exercise] when doctors embarked on the industrial action now joined in by the nurses".

Comments by the Hospital Doctors' Association leader, Phibion Manyanga, that "It ($30million a month) might sound like a very big figure but you have to take into consideration deductions that will be effected..." were let to pass without any analysis. Instead, the Chronicle (27/10) said the doctors' demand for a $30 million monthly salary was "outrageous and ridiculous to say the least", adding that they "have a political agenda" and "should not be allowed to hold the government at ransom".

But The Zimbabwe Independent (31/10) disputed this. It pointed out that the industrial action in the health sector was a result of "failure by government to adopt workable economic policies". The Financial Gazette (30/10) agreed. It quoted a social analyst, Alois Masepe as saying "unless the government can move in to find holistic solutions to the problems bedeviling the whole economy, it would be very difficult for it to find solutions to recurrent strikes by the country's medical staff".

However, there was no unity within the private media. Like the government media, The Business Tribune accused the doctors of engaging in unethical blackmail. The Sunday Mirror (2/11) also quoted a University of Zimbabwe social scientist as having said, "Everybody is suffering, which means they [doctors] should make a compromise for the good of their patients".

The government-controlled media's stance on the strikes fitted their attempts to present government's efforts at rescuing the economy as paying dividends. According to the government media, Zimbabwe's economic malaise was mainly a result of unscrupulous business activities. For example, The Herald (29/10) announced that government had "formed a special taskforce to urgently address the management of foreign currency after realizing that the root cause of the obtaining economic problems was the unaccountability of foreign currency by exporters and other players". An unnamed "analyst" was quoted as saying only 10 out of about 8,000 exporting companies in Zimbabwe were remitting their foreign currency on time. Other "analysts" reportedly said the tourism sector, for example, " was grossing less than US$2 million per month even though tourist arrivals and bookings were increasing". No evidence was given to support these claims. Rather, an unnamed government spokesperson was allowed to claim: "All available evidence indicates that this economy is generating more foreign currency today than it did three years ago" adding "this foreign currency is being externalized and abused in the black market for reasons which are either political mischief or economic sabotage".

ZTV (29/10, 8pm) carried a similar report that evening. But unlike its stable mate, which deliberately avoided questioning government policy on the issue, ZTV quoted National Economic Consultative Forum spokesman Nhlanhla Masuku as saying, "...(government) need(s) to do away with policies that spawn corruption, do away with policies that don't address the situation on the ground..." to address the foreign currency shortage. Economist Andy Hodges agreed, saying government should come up with a realistic exchange rate.

However, ZTV (30/10,8pm) quoted Information Minister Jonathan Moyo unyielding. "It is not because our economy is not generating foreign currency.We received a report .that tourism has picked up to levels now approximating 60 percent and growing, but there is no commensurate receipt in terms of the inflows of foreign currency.it means there are leakages..." Moyo said.

The private media however, criticized government for formulating policies based on "self-deception". The Zimbabwe Independent, for example, dismissed the claim that Zimbabwe is generating more foreign currency, saying exports had actually "declined from US$3,1 billion in 1996 to an estimated US$1,2 billion in 2002". The paper also pointed out that, contrary to government claims, private companies were not the root cause of Zimbabwe's economic problems but "the unaccountability of a government intent upon imposing its discredited and unworkable economic mantras upon the nation". It further observed exporters were turning to the black market because of the unrealistic exchange rate, an issue which was notably corroborated by the central bank deputy governor, Sam Malaba, in the Chronicle (28/10).

Studio 7 (29/10) revealed that despite government's pretence that it was solving the foreign currency shortage, the worst was still to come. It reported that the monthly production of gold was "expected to shrink by another 5% because of low international prices and the depreciating economy..." It quoted the Chamber of Mines monthly report stating that "some mines have closed down." and added that "some mines were invaded and (this) scared off investors..."

But the government-controlled media persisted with their efforts to convince their audiences that government was in control and doing everything possible to resuscitate the economy. ZTV (30/10, 8pm) for example, praised the Zimbabwe-Iran Joint Commission saying- without full explanation that, "It will go a long way in improving the country's economy which has been under siege from Western countries..."

Similarly, The Herald and the Chronicle (1/11), The Sunday News and The Sunday Mail (2/11) uncritically reported President Mugabe's announcement that the Reserve Bank would be restructured as another solution to the country's economic woes.

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