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Ministerial interference at state broadcaster
MISA-Zimbabwe
June 03, 2005

The Deputy Minister of Information and Publicity Bright Matonga has been accused of interfering with the editorial content of stories at the state-run Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings (ZBH).

According to the weekly Financial Gazette in its 2 June 2005 edition, Matonga has taken to personally editing stories for the main 8pm news bulletin.

Matonga reportedly visited the ZBH studios in Harare on Monday where he proceeded to edit and select "suitable" video clips following the police’s ongoing blitz on flea markets and illegal settlements in urban areas.

The police have been on a countrywide clean-up operation to rid urban areas of illegal structures and criminal elements which has left hundreds of millions of people homeless and jobless.

The Deputy Minister edited out footage of the police demolishing shacks saying the clips in question would tarnish the government’s image.

He is said to have spent more than three hours at ZBH writing the script for the main news on Monday.

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