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MISA-Zimbabwe statement on threats to close the Weekly Times
MISA-Zimbabwe
January 12, 2005

MISA-Zimbabwe notes with grave concern that the government-controlled Media and Information Commission is threatening to suspend or cancel the registration certificate of the recently launched Weekly Times, barely a week after it hit the streets.

The MIC’s notice to suspend or cancel the licence issued by its chairman Dr Tafataona Mahoso, speaks volumes about the government’s commitment to media freedom and freedom of expression.

Dr Mahoso accuses Mthwakazi Publishing House, publishers of the Weekly Times, of having misled the Commission by not stating its "true intention" in setting up the paper.

The MIC says the paper had not made any attempt at impartial reporting in what it describes as its "running political commentary through and through". Dr Mahoso cites the publication’s lead story as "a clear sectarian view of the President of Zimbabwe".

These assertions on the part of the Commission smack of interference with the independence of the paper’s editorial policy.

The fact that Dr Mahoso intends to suspend or cancel the publishing company’s licence in terms of the widely condemned AIPPA under which the MIC has wide discretionary powers to regulate the media industry, gives weight to calls for the establishment of an independent self-regulatory media council which is not subject to manipulation by the State or any other interest groups.

It would appear from Dr Mahoso’s notice of intention to close the Weekly Times coming on the backdrop of the closure of the highly critical Daily News and its sister publication, The Daily News on Sunday, followed by that of The Tribune, that the MIC is there to serve the interests of the State by protecting government officials from public scrutiny.

While MISA-Zimbabwe acknowledges the need to regulate the media industry, this should only be done by an independent media council for purposes of ensuring the impartial adjudication of issues pertaining to the ethical conduct of journalists.

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