Back to Index

Economic issues
Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ)
Extracted from Weekly Media Update 2006-7
Monday February 13^th – Sunday February 19^th 2006

ZIMBABWE’S final settlement of its overdue debt under the IMF’s General Resource Account (GRA) and the country’s worsening economic conditions shared the headlines during the week. The government media carried 95 reports on these issues (official papers [30] and ZBH [65]), while the private media featured 41 (private Press [31] and the private stations [10]).

Notably, all 28 stories that the government media carried on the repayment of the GRA arrears myopically projected the development as the sole remedy to the country’s ailing economy by glossing over the real causes of the decline while inflating the economic benefits expected to accrue from the debt settlement.

For example, ZTV (15/2,8pm) celebrated the development claiming that it "gives the country sufficient ground to reclaim its voting rights within the Bretton Woods institutions". Unnamed "analysts" and "experts" were reported as having welcomed the development too, saying it would "result in positive ratings by other international institutions" and would make Zimbabwe "eligible for technical assistance and other initiatives".

This celebratory mood remained unbroken the next day with ZBH claiming that the "clearance of the debt should boost investor confidence and improve the image of the country worldwide". Pro-government analysts were then accessed to reinforce this notion. Such optimism also found space in the official Press. The Herald (17/2), for example, claimed that the GRA debt settlement would "send a powerful signal to the investor community … that Zimbabwe respects the norms of international trade and that it is willing and has the capacity to honour its obligations whatever the obstacles placed in its path."

However, the paper did not seek comment from alternative expert sources or other lending institutions to validate this claim. Neither did it provide its audiences with Zimbabwe’s total external debt. The Herald (16/2) only noted that the country still owed the IMF’s Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility-Exogenous Shocks Facility (PRGF-ESF) account around US$119 million, an issue ZTV (15/2, 8pm) buried in its business section.

Instead of honestly discussing the root causes of Harare’s frosty relations with the IMF, the Chronicle (16/2) and The Herald (16,17/2) blamed international "detractors," particularly "disgraced" businessman Mutumwa Mawere, Britain and the United States for having repeatedly called for Zimbabwe’s expulsion from the Fund and misleading the world on the country’s capacity to settle its obligations. The Herald (16/2) and The Sunday Mail (19/2) even accused the IMF of selectively applying its own rules, contending that while the war-torn states of Liberia, Somalia and Sudan were in greater debt than Zimbabwe, they had not faced the threat of expulsion.

However, in this unfortunate comparison with three of the world’s most outstandingly failed states, the papers still did not clarify whether these three countries’ arrears were owed in the critical GRA, the only IMF account that carries the threat of compulsory withdrawal of defaulters. Instead, The Herald (17/2) merely expanded on this unsubstantiated conspiracy, saying: "Zimbabweans would be wrong to believe that this (repayment) marks the end of the country’s challenges as Western powers are set to intensify their political interference".

While the official media narrowly celebrated the perceived benefits to the economy of repaying the IMF loan, they failed to reconcile this with government’s continuing poor economic practices. This was exemplified by the way they censored the disclosure by Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono that government had printed Z$21 trillion to buy the foreign currency used to pay off the IMF debt. This was only contained in a statement by the governor, which The Herald (17/2) reproduced.

ZBH completely ignored the issue. ZTV (16/2, 8pm) merely quoted Economic Development Minister Rugare Gumbo saying "We managed to pay the IMF using our own resources", without elaboration.

The government media’s reluctance to examine the ills besetting the economy resulted in The Herald (14/2) attributing the increase in the January inflation rate, to 613%, to "illegal Western-imposed sanctions, among other factors". Exactly what sanctions and what "other factors" remained unmentioned.

Similarly, while ZBH quoted analysts attributing the rise in inflation to money supply growth, price increases and declining agricultural productivity, it would not interpret these as indicators of government’s economic mismanagement. In fact, all 48 stories the government media carried highlighting symptoms of economic distress, which included the continued rise in the cost of living and commodity shortages, avoided holistically linking the issues to government’s failed policies. The official media’s lopsided coverage of these issues was reflected in their sourcing patterns, which were dominated by official voices. See Figs 1 and 2.

Fig. 1 Voice pattern in the government Press

Fig. 2 Voice distribution on ZBH

Although ZBH carried more alternative voices, they were mostly used to reinforce the broadcaster’s pro-government stance, while business sources largely highlighted the problems facing the economy.

The private media did not share the official media’s optimism about the country’s economic fortunes in most of the 41 stories they carried on the topic (private Press [31] and the private stations [10]).

Except for The Sunday Mirror (19/2), which – like the official Press – viewed Zimbabwe’s clearing of the IMF debt as going "a long way in improving Zimbabwe’s credit rating", the rest differed. For instance, Studio 7 (16/2) and the Zimbabwe Independent (17/2) noted that although the payment would avert Zimbabwe’s expulsion, it would not automatically open doors to new financial assistance because the country first needed to address other fundamental economic issues. Besides, the Independent interpreted government’s decision to print the money to repay the IMF as a powder keg "set to stoke inflation and push the local currency against the wall".

Earlier, The Financial Gazette (16/2) questioned official optimism that the good rains would improve the economy, arguing that the late supply of key inputs would severely affect yields. As a result, the paper argued, inflation was even "set to rise towards four digits over the next quarter and that a new surge in black market, forex and fuel trade would lead to a sharper rise in prices".

In addition, the private papers and stations continued to highlight the on-going economic meltdown, characterised by the spiralling cost of living and commodity shortages. In fact, SW Radio Africa (17/2) tried to capture the gravity of commodity shortages when it reported that about "10 people" were injured when "food riots erupted" in Bulawayo following a delivery of maize meal, for which they had been queuing for more "than three days". However, the story appeared to be based on a stampede at one shop in the city and lacked independent confirmation.

The critical manner in which the private media tackled the country’s economic outlook was mirrored in their attempts to balance official comment with independent views. See Figs 3 and 4.

Fig 3 Voice distribution in the private Press

Fig 4 Voice distribution in on Studio 7

Visit the MMPZ 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