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Economic fantasy
Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ)
Extracted from Weekly Media Update 2006-48
Monday November 27^th 2006 – Sunday December 3^rd 2006

THE official media’s blind endorsement of government policies manifested itself in 104 stories they carried on the 2007 national Budget. Of these, 24 appeared in the government Press while ZBC aired 80. Almost all the stories passively presented Finance Minister Herbert Murerwa’s pronouncements as reflective of the authorities’ commitment to revive the country’s ailing economy and thereby ease Zimbabweans’ economic hardships. None of the reports reconciled his positive forecasts for economic growth with previous unrealistically optimistic projections. Neither did they link his predictions with the continued economic decline characterised by crippling foreign currency shortages, shrinking industrial productivity, rising unemployment and the galloping cost of living. Nor did they query how government would finance the huge budget deficit or discuss how the widening of tax bands would affect government’s revenue base.

For example, all ZBC stations (30/11, 8pm) hailed the budget as "people-oriented" and "aimed at, among other things, stabilising prices, enhancing economic growth and job creation" without explaining how. Instead, ZTV reporter Douglas Rinomhota simply claimed: "Year 2007 is being seen as a turning point in the country’s fortunes." To promote the budget as generally popular, ZTV (30/11, 6pm) quoted four ZANU PF MPs unquestioningly endorsing it. Comments by MDC MP Innocent Gonese were then abruptly cut before he could sensibly express his views on Murerwa’s financial statement.

The government controlled papers adopted a similar slant. For example, The Herald and Chronicle (1/12) simplistically celebrated the increase in tax–free threshold from $20 000 to $100 000 saying "hard-pressed workers will now have reason to smile again" as "more money" had been injected "into their pockets". Without fully discussing the new threshold in view of the hyperinflationary environment, The Herald (2/12) passively reported "analysts" as having hailed the budget claiming it would "pull the economy from the current murky waters, leading to a recovery path".

The official media’s reluctance to question government policies resulted in them turning a blind eye to the negative effects of jailing business executives accused of increasing commodity prices without government approval (ZBC, 30/11, 8pm and The Herald and Chronicle 1/12). Neither did they link their 51 stories on symptoms of economic distress (ZBH [28] and official Press [23]) to government policies.

Although their sourcing patterns appeared diverse as shown in Figs 1 and 2, comments by those outside government were either drowned in these media’s celebratory tone or were used to blindly endorse Murerwa’s statement.

Fig. 1 Voice distribution in the government Press

Fig. 2 Voice distribution on ZBC

In contrast, the private media were unimpressed by the budget. Almost all their 40 stories on the subject (private papers [26] and private electronic media [14]) dismissed the minister’s positive projections as unrealistic, noting that he had not provided any solutions to the country’s myriad economic problems.

The Zimbabwe Independent (1/12), for example, viewed the budget as "a classic soap opera", whose "episodic work of fiction" left "stakeholders in shock and awe, and…frightened of a gloomy future". It noted that while Murerwa predicted some economic growth in 2007, the government had failed to meet almost all the targets he had set in last year’s Budget. The Sunday Mirror (3/12) agreed. It quoted economists describing the Budget as a "damp squib" saying the widening of tax bands would only provide temporary relief for workers because "the benefits will be eroded by inflation". The Standard (3/12) and all the 12 stories the private electronic media carried on the matter echoed similar views. New Zimbabwe.com (1/12), for instance, dismissed the Budget, arguing that while Murerwa pinned his hopes of economic growth on increased agricultural productivity, he had allocated relatively less resources to the agricultural ministry, preferring to give a significant amount to state security.

It was in this context that MDC official Tendai Biti, in a statement carried by the agency (2/12), viewed the Budget as indicative of "the mediocrity, dishonesty and bankruptcy of ideas of the Zanu PF regime", adding that the "economic crisis arresting Zimbabwe is structural and cannot be treated by cosmetic, populist (and) recycled measures".

The private media’s critical approach was reflected by the private papers’ attempts to balance official comment with alternative views as shown in Fig 3.

Fig. 3 Voice distribution in the private Press

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