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Economic decline
Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe (MMPZ)
Weekly Media Update 2006-44
Monday October 30^th 2006 – Sunday November 5^th 2006

THIS week the government media carried 73 stories on Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown, none of which addressed the root causes of the problem. The stories, 44 of which appeared on ZBH and 29 in government papers, basically presented the difficulties – characterised by yet another wave of price hikes in goods and services – as either a result of unjustified Western economic sanctions or profiteering by unscrupulous businesses.

However, only where the increases were government-sanctioned did these media present them as ‘welcome’. It was against this background that 17 of the 29 stories the official papers carried on the economic crisis mainly projected the authorities as taking measures to address it. For example, The Herald (1/11), ZTV (1/11, 8pm) and Spot FM (2/11, 8am) reported on the official hikes in the maize producer price from $31 350 a tonne to $52 450 and allowances for state university workers as a welcome development without explaining the adequacy of the increases or their impact on the inflationary pressures that government is battling to contain. The Herald just described the increase in the producer price as a "timely boost" to farmers ahead of the farming season.

Neither did the official media go beyond government promises to address public transport woes by empowering the state-owned public transport company, ZUPCO, and "end the problem of commuter omnibus owners who hike fares at will" (The Herald 1/11). Nor did they test how the Petroleum Bill, which seeks to "provide a legal framework for the regulation of the fuel sector", would resolve the country’s crippling fuel shortages (The Herald and Chronicle 3/11).

This passive endorsement of government’s ad hoc interventionist actions often led to distortions as illustrated by ZTV and Spot FM (3/11, 8pm). For instance, although ZTV reported the public as having expressed "mixed feelings" on ZESA’s tariff increases of between 95 and 270 percent tariffs, claiming that some had supported the move while others opposed it, none of those interviewed wholly endorsed the increases. Rather, Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries president Calisto Jokonya noted that although the hikes were inevitable, they were too steep and would push up the cost of manufacturing. The station’s other interviewee did not see how the hikes would translate into improved service without foreign currency, while others complained about power cuts.

ZESA was allowed to use the theft of cables from a Beatrice transmission tower to reinforce official claims that power shortages were due to vandalism and theft of the company’s infrastructure. The Herald (30/10) had earlier reported ZESA making similar claims. Consequently, no effort was made to view the increase in thefts as symptomatic of economic hardship, or relate the power shortages to the authorities’ failure to refurbish its obsolete power stations. The official media also failed to provide a clear picture of ZESA’s preparedness ahead of an anticipated power deficit in the region by next year.

The official media’s unquestioning attitude also resulted in them failing to give adequate attention to the rise in the consumer basket from $112 034 in September to $141 706 in October. The Herald and Chronicle (3/11) actually buried the hike in their inside pages without discussing its root causes.

Otherwise, these media presented Zimbabwe’s economic troubles as originating outside official circles. For example, ZTV (30/10, 8pm) passively reported Vice-President Joseph Msika who, while commissioning mining equipment at Hwange Colliery, blamed the difficulties on "illegal sanctions". In another report, the station quoted Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono echoing similar views, adding that inflation, corruption and "unjustified" price increases were the other causes of the economic mess.

The shallow manner in which ZBH reported on the economic problems was aptly illustrated by its daily Financial Highlights presentations. It merely reported on the incessant losses at the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange without explaining why this was so. Its exchange rate updates were also half-baked and only covered trends on the government-controlled foreign currency market, which remains generally frozen.

For example, it claimed (30/10, 8pm) that the British Pound had "eased" against the local dollar to Z$474.32 while another report (3/11, 8pm) said the Euro was the only major currency that "gained" to Z$319.34 in the week while all other major currencies remained "static" or "unchanged".

Only once (2/11) did the station mention that "it was a different story on the parallel market". But it never told the full story: steering clear of revealing that the local currency was trading at over $1 600 to the US dollar there.

The government media’s dependency on official voices is shown in Fig 1 and 2.

Fig. 1 Voice Distribution on ZBH

The voices of ordinary people quoted on ZBH mostly complained about the high cost of living and poor service delivery, although the broadcaster mostly misrepresented their sentiments by portraying them as endorsing government’s interventionist economic policies.

Fig. 2 Voice distribution in the government Press

In contrast, the private media were forthright about the country’s economic woes and their causes in the 28 reports they carried on the subject (private papers 24 and the private electronic media, four). The stories mostly highlighted symptoms of economic decline, which they attributed to government’s failed policies. For example, contrary to the government media’s portrayal of ZESA’s problems as stemming from vandalism and thefts, Studio 7 (3/11) reported critics attributing the tariff increases to mismanagement, government interference and shortage of foreign currency, among others.

The Daily Mirror (1/11) also noted that acute fuel shortages triggered by government’s decision to control prices had resulted in the price of petrol and diesel shooting up by more than 100% in the last two months. The paper cited oil industry players contending that this illustrated the deficiencies of government’s attempts to regulate the oil sector.

The private media also reported on looming commodity shortages, such as soft drinks due to the shortage of carbon dioxide gas.

In fact, Studio 7 and The Financial Gazette (2/11) carried a World Bank report singling out Zimbabwe as the "only country in Africa recording negative economic growth" of minus 2.4 percent in 2004 while "most African countries had lifted their citizens above the poverty line by significant percentages". The Zimbabwe Independent (3/11) also exposed this economic gloom by reporting Techfin Research projecting that the country’s "frail currency" would trade at a "fair value" of above $16 000 to the US dollar by the end of 2007 as the economic crisis worsens. The government media ignored such news.

Even though Spot FM & ZTV (2/11, 8pm) reported a 79 percent decline in trade between Angola and Zimbabwe from US$4m to around US$700,000 in the last five years, it did not explain why. Further, the revelation was buried deep in government calls to improve trade between the two countries. Previously, the stations (30/10, 8pm) passively celebrated official announcements on the increase in tourist arrivals by 40% without putting a monetary value to this "improvement". Similarly, ZTV (3/11, 8pm) passively announced that ZIMTRADE had won first prize for the Best International Exhibition at the Global Expo.

Instead of giving an informed analysis of the issue, its reporter just claimed: "The country’s image as both an investment destination and that of being productive was boosted…ahead of economic powerhouses South Africa, Great Britain and the USA."

The critical manner in which the private media handled the country’s economy was reflected by its attempts to balance official voices with alternative views as mirrored in the private Press’ voice sourcing pattern. See Fig 3.

Fig. 3 Voice distribution in the private Press

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