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State
of the nation and the economy
Media
Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ)
Extracted from Weekly Media Update 2004-49
Monday December 6th – Sunday December 12th
2004
PRESIDENT Mugabe’s
State of the Nation address yet again exposed the government-controlled
media’s status as uncritical megaphones of government.
These media
simply latched onto Mugabe’s positive portrayal of an improved economy
without question, papering over the numerous economic problems still
facing the country.
For example,
none of the 28 stories they carried on the address or related economic
developments critically measured the alleged economic successes
against the problems that still bedevil Zimbabwe. Besides, none
of the stories reflected diversity of opinion on the matter since
they were all based on positive remarks by ruling ZANU PF sources
and their sympathizers.
As a result,
audiences of the government media were left with the impression
that the economy was on the mend despite evidence to the contrary.
The Mirror stable
was equally gullible. Both The Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror also
presented President Mugabe’s speech as signalling the advent of
better economic fortunes for the country in the four stories they
carried. Although the rest of the private media generally ignored
President Mugabe’s state of the nation address, they continued to
highlight symptoms of economic recession, which belied official
claims.
In their generalised
reports on Mugabe’s address, Power FM (8/12, 1pm and 8pm), ZTV (9/12,
8pm), Radio Zimbabwe (8/12, 8pm and 10/12, 6am), The Herald, Chronicle
and Daily Mirror (10/12) merely regurgitated Mugabe’s claims of
economic prosperity without scrutiny.
Consequently,
Mugabe’s assertion that the Zimbabwean exchange rate was "stabilising"
and that foreign currency inflows had dramatically risen from "a
paltry US$301 million in 2003 …to US$1,6 billion" in December
this year, "allowing… a predictable environment for business
decision-making" passed unquestioned.
For instance,
none of these media demanded to know why there was still a thriving
foreign currency black market (as revealed by The Daily Mirror,
8/12) if there was indeed stability in the exchange rate and foreign
currency inflows.
Rather, ZTV
(8/12, 8pm) claimed that Zimbabweans had reason to celebrate the
end of 2004, "as government took head-on some of the challenges
that had brought misery among the populace…"
This was despite
earlier ZTV (6/12, 6pm & 8pm) reports that commuter omnibus
operators in Harare were pushing for an increase in public transport
fares citing a rising cost of living and inflation. Similarly, ZTV
(9/12, 8pm) reported that serious public transport shortages in
Gweru had elicited calls for a review of fares in an effort to persuade
operators, who had withdrawn their vehicles citing viability problems,
to resume services.
These contradictions
were given more impetus by comments made by MDC MPs on Studio 7
and SW Radio Africa (9/12), which dismissed Mugabe’s optimistic
prediction of an economic turnaround next year. MDC spokesperson
Paul Themba Nyathi told SW Radio Africa that the address was "the
usual rhetoric of economic turnaround … which was… self-delusional
because it doesn’t exist", adding that it was a case of "economic
policies being subjected to propaganda instead of dealing with realities
on the ground…"
The opposition
party’s Foreign Affairs Secretary Priscilla Misihairabwi concurred
on Studio 7: "Inflation is killing investments and capital
projects…the health care service is not delivering…the basic standard
of living has not changed so there is no economic turnaround to
talk of."
This paradox
however, was lost on the government media and the Mirror stable.
The Herald and Chronicle (11/12), for example, continued to praise
Mugabe’s speech by simply stating as fact his claims that the drop
in inflation from above 600 percent in January to 209 percent in
November and the improved flow of tourists into the country showed
that the economy was set for growth.
Earlier, The
Herald Business (6/12) quoted Tourism Minister Francis Nhema saying
the country would reclaim its status as the region’s "premier
tourist destination" because "of the Approved Destination
Status by China which has already begun to make an impact".
To substantiate these claims, the paper cited a Zimbabwe Tourism
Authority (ZTA) report, which revealed that Chinese arrivals had
risen by 392 % from 4 960 in 2003 to 24 437 in 2004. However, it
ignored ZTA’s revelations that records of tourist arrivals showed
that a total of 1,271,904 visitors came to Zimbabwe between January
and September, representing a 29 percent decrease compared to the
same period last year. This only appeared in the Independent (10/12).
The private
weekly also dampened hopes that the recently launched Harare-Beijing
flight, which is meant to boost trade between Zimbabwe and China,
would bear fruit when it revealed that it was "already facing
serious viability problems due to low passenger bookings".
In fact, while
the government and its media celebrated a further decline in the
inflation rate and unquestioningly publicized claims that it was
set to drop to between 30 and 50 percent by end of 2005, the Independent
columnist, Eric Bloch, projected a different picture altogether.
He contended
that the rate was likely to jump in 2005 due to government’s failure
to contain the excesses of its parastatals and ensure their viability,
as well as its continued excessive borrowing from the domestic market.
Visit the MMPZ
fact sheet
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