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The
governance of Zimbabwe under scrutiny
Media Monitoring
Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ)
Extracted from Weekly Media Update 2004-29
Monday July 19th – Sunday July 25th 2004
IF the government
media glossed over the adverse implications of government’s proposed
laws on the public’s civic liberties, they also censored alternative
observer’s shrill criticism of such actions. And in the rare instances
they covered them, it was in the context of officials’ vitriolic
responses to the censure. For example, the government media as illustrated
by The Herald (23/7) drowned Roman Catholic Archbishop Pius
Ncube’s criticism of South Africa and Britain for not taking tough
action against Zimbabwe with the usual vitriolic comments from Information
Minister Jonathan Moyo.
Rather than
reconcile Ncube’s views to the crisis in the country, the paper
quoted Moyo trivially personalising the matter by describing Ncube
as a "disturbed archbishop, who lost his marbles a long
time ago and whose unbalanced condition recurs now and again"
and "needed medical help". In the same vein,
Moyo accused government’s favourite scapegoats, the British, of
working with "the recklessly tribal Pius Ncube"
to "prevent our economic independence" just
as they "sponsored" Bishop Abel Muzorewa
"to prevent our political independence".
And to demonstrate its complicity in the matter, The Herald
comment (24/7) echoed similar derogatory attacks against Ncube and
ominously warned him: "Repent and flee from the wrath
to come!"
However, the
Zimbabwe Independent and SW Radio Africa (23/7) revealed
that it was not only the archbishop that was critical of the government’s
policies. They reported that the World Bank’s vice president for
Africa, Callisto Madavo, and the outgoing US ambassador to South
Africa, Cameron Hume, had also voiced their concern about the situation
in Zimbabwe. They cited Madavo as having described Zimbabwe as a
"disaster" under Mugabe’s leadership adding
that there was no likelihood of progress in the country until Mugabe
leaves office.
Likewise, Hume
was quoted on SW Radio Africa attacking President Mugabe’s government
for damaging the region through failing economic policies, saying
SA which hosts between two to three million Zimbabweans, needed
"a realistic strategy and proper diplomacy to address
the issue". In addition, the Independent reported
the Southern Africa Regional Poverty Network (Sarpn) as slamming
the country’s land reform programme and noting that the exercise
"would bring permanent food shortages to Zimbabwe".
Further, the paper cited examples of gross rights abuses by government
in its article, Human rights abuses continue despite AU report.
The government
media turned a blind eye to these issues. Instead, The Herald
(19/7 & 21/7) was quick to the government defence when it attacked
the incoming US Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Christopher Dell, for his
critical views on Zimbabwe. The Herald (24/7) and Sunday
News (25/7) carried similar vitriolic attacks against the outgoing
British Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Sir Brian Donnelly, whom they mockingly
reported as having "slipped out of the country"
as he was afraid of meeting President Mugabe.
However, SW
Radio Africa (23/7) and The Zimbabwe Independent revealed
that contrary to the papers’ assertion, the British embassy had
formally informed Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in advance
about the ambassador’s departure and asked for the usual courtesies
but got no response.
Visit the MMPZ
fact sheet
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