Back to Index

Monthly Alerts Digest - February 2005
MISA-Zimbabwe
March 09, 2005

That is as it should be, but more still has to be done - by Nyasha Nyakunu
It is somehow refreshing to switch on one's television set and watch opposition candidates presenting their manifestos for the 2005 parliamentary elections to viewers and listeners.

The government-controlled Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings (ZBH) had virtually become a big yawn as it uncritically churned out programme after programme extolling the virtues of the ruling Zanu PF's ideologies to the exclusion of other political players.

But that has somewhat changed with the gazetting of the regulations pertaining to the parameters and regulations governing access to the public broadcaster by political parties during the campaign period for the 2005 parliamentary elections.

Of concern though are the fee structures, which are astronomical and prohibitive for accessing both television and radio during prime time viewing. For instance it costs $3,7 million and $1,4 million per minute for a prime time slot for television and radio respectively.

That as it maybe, television viewers and radio listeners are at least being given the chance to listen to different political views which will help them make informed choices when they cast their votes on 31 March 2005.
In the past, especially during the run-up to the 2000 parliamentary and 2002 presidential elections, the only publicity the opposition received was when they were being condemned as running dogs of imperialists.

There has also been a drop in the use of hate speech, vengeance and retribution by senior ruling Zanu PF and government officials compared to the period preceding the 2000 parliamentary elections.

Whether this is directly attributable to the absence of the vile-tongued former Minister of Information Professor Jonathan Moyo or repentance on the part of Zanu PF is a matter of conjecture.

Compared with ZBH, what is clear though is that his legacy seems to have taken hold at the government -controlled Zimpapers as evidenced by the scant coverage of the campaign activities of opposition parties.
It would, therefore, be premature to celebrate the demise of Moyo because the anti-media laws he presided over are still intact as evidenced by the lamentable closure of the privately-owned The Weekly Times on 25 February under AIPPA.
While the merits and demerits leading to the closure of the Weekly Times are now subjudice, this strengthens the argument for the establishment of a self-regulatory independent media council as opposed to leaving such decisions to the openly partisan Media and Information Commission.

As for access to the public broadcaster, suffice to say Zimbabweans should not allow this window of opportunity to be closed.

Campaigns and lobby activities for the repeal of all the identifiable legislations which repress media freedom, freedom of expression, association, movement and assembly, should be intensified.

While the Broadcasting Services (Access to Radio and Television during an election) Regulations 2005, is a welcome development, access to the public broadcaster should not be limited to election time alone.

This should become part of our daily interactivity culture where citizens from different political and economic interests are allowed to air their views on television and radio.

Freedom of expression should not be a periodic event which is foisted on the nation at the whim and benevolence of those in power but should be respected as a basic right enjoyed as a matter of course.

This will help manifest and foster a culture of tolerance and diversity of views which is a pre-requisite to nation-building and socio-economic and political stability.

A great newspaper is the caricature of a nation speaking to itself. In the same vein, a truly independent public broadcaster should be a nation viewing itself on national television.

That will only be realised through the repealing of the Broadcasting Services Act, AIPPA, and the Public Order and Security Act which impinge on media freedom and freedom of expression in blatant violation of the international conventions and charters ratified by Zimbabwe.

Nevertheless, the reduction in cases of harassment and arrests of journalists and party-sanctioned violence, hate speech, vengeance and retribution in the run-up to the March elections is the first step on a long journey that should culminate in Zimbabwe's full compliance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Windhoek Declaration on the promotion of a free and independent media.

That is as it should be.

Summary of media alerts: Month of February 2005

Visit the MISA-Zimbabwe fact sheet

Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.

TOP