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Inadequate news coverage
Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ)
Weekly Media Update 2007-5
Monday February 5th – Sunday February 11th 2007

THIS week the media generally failed to adequately report important developments affecting Zimbabweans. These comprised the Cabinet reshuffle, the clampdown on businesses, vendors and small-scale gold miners, growing labour unrest and the forthcoming parliamentary and local government by-elections. The media either ignored these developments, or as in the case of the government media, reported them erratically and from an official perspective.

However, despite their professional indifference to some of the developments in the week under review, the private media did report critically on President Mugabe’s Cabinet restructuring and the arrest of two executives from two of the country’s biggest milling companies over alleged increases in the price of flour.

a) Cabinet reshuffle
The government media restricted coverage on the Cabinet reshuffle to projecting the move as a demonstration of President Mugabe’s commitment to addressing the country’s myriad problems. Consequently, their 40 reports on the matter (ZBH [27] and government papers [13]) were scarcely informative. For example, these media did not evaluate the abilities of the new ministers, particularly against their previous performance in government, or investigate the circumstances surrounding the exclusion of former Finance Minister Herbert Murerwa, the reshuffle’s only casualty.

Neither did they acknowledge, let alone query, Mugabe’s creation of the Agricultural Engineering and Mechanisation Ministry – to accommodate former Agriculture Minister Joseph Made – against the backdrop of Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono’s Monetary Policy calls for a cut in state spending.

Rather, ZTV (7/2, 8pm), Spot FM (8/2, 8am), The Herald and Chronicle (8/2) passively quoted Mugabe defending the appointees as an "an infusion of the old and young" that would "strengthen and reinvigorate the ministerial team in view of the challenges the country is facing". How this was achievable considering that Mugabe had basically recycled old faces remained unexplained. Instead, the Chronicle simply called on its favourite pro-government analysts Lawton Hikwa and Godfrey Chikowore to amplify Mugabe’s explanation saying the reshuffle had "ushered in young individuals who have the ability to propel the country out of its challenges".

Such specious arguments also found space in The Sunday Mail (11/2).

The private media critically examined the development, which they dismissed as a non-event that would not address the country’s worsening economic crisis. This was reflected in the 17 reports they devoted to the matter, 11 of which were in the private papers and six in the private electronic media. The online news agency, Zimdaily (7/2), for example, cited John Makumbe dismissing the appointments as being based on "loyalty and not competency" while The Daily Mirror (8/2) quoted another commentator, Heneri Dzinotyiwei, saying the appointments would not solve the country’s crises because they "were beyond the solution of a Cabinet reshuffle".

In addition, Studio 7 (7/2), The Financial Gazette (8/2) and the Zimbabwe Independent (9/2) expressed scepticism about the calibre of some of the new appointments, especially Made and new Finance Minister Samuel Mumbengegwi. They also tried to unravel the circumstances surrounding the dropping of Murerwa from the Cabinet, which they speculated was a vindication of reports that the former Finance Minister had tendered his resignation last year following alleged differences with Gono over how to address the country’s economic crisis.

b) Clampdown on business, miners and vendors
The government media’s propagandist role was also evident in their passive coverage of the authorities’ crackdown on ‘greedy and profiteering’ businesses, vendors and small-scale gold miners. Their 33 stories on the topic – 16 of which were on ZBC and 17 in government papers –depended on official interpretation of the developments while subordinating alternative comment. It was in this context that The Herald (6/2) allowed the central bank to narrowly accuse companies of raising prices of "most goods and services" in "anticipation of a devaluation that did not materialize" while suffocating business explanations on the reasons behind the increases. To further dilute business voices the paper quoted unnamed analysts and the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe (CCZ) accusing industry of "being greedy and displaying an unfortunate propensity to profiteer at any cost".

Predictably, the official media carried no condemnation of the arrest of the two milling company executives on allegations of illegally hiking prices of flour. The Herald (9/2) simply buried the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC)’s condemnation of the development at the end of its story, which portrayed the arrests as part of government’s "intensified" efforts to combat "unsanctioned price hikes".

ZBC did not report the arrests at all.

It also did not investigate revelations about the alleged selective persecution of small-scale gold miners by the police under Operation Chikorokoza Chapapera that came to light during a parliamentary hearing on the matter (Radio Zimbabwe 9/2,6am, ZTV 9/2,7am, and Spot FM 9/2,8am). Neither did the broadcaster show any interest in unmasking the prominent people allegedly involved in illegal gold dealings, which the miners said they were prepared to name on condition their security was guaranteed.

Instead, Spot FM (9/2,8am) simply resorted to quoting Zimbabwe Miners Federation’s Wellington Takavarasha dismissing the small-scale miners’ comments as "uncalled for", arguing that "some associations are pursuing political agendas".

ZBC’s coverage of the arrests of about 2,000 vendors in Harare for public littering followed the same pattern. Rather than question the manner in which the authorities were conducting the exercise, ZTV (5/2,8pm) and Spot FM (6/2,8am) unquestioningly allowed Philip Manyaza from the Environment Management Agency to narrowly justify the clampdown on the vendors on the basis that vending promotes the spread of diseases like cholera.

Private media reports on the clampdown were erratic but not passive.

In fact, the Gazette claimed that the two milling company executives had been arrested for merely "writing" to Industry and Trade Minister Obert Mpofu "seeking permission to increase" the retail price of flour. Whether this was true, or that the executives had been arrested because the price of flour had already been increased (as The Herald story claimed) was never clearly established.

The private media also gave the business community more space to express their concerns. The Independent, for example, extensively reported ZNCC president Mara Hativagone condemning the arrests saying they had "serious implications for the success of the social contract" proposed by the Reserve Bank governor, which he hoped would help initiate Zimbabwe’s economic revival. Former ZNCC boss Luxon Zembe concurred and told the paper that while "strict controls were applied to the private sector", state enterprises were "increasing prices by wide margins".

The reports formed part of seven stories the private media carried on the subject. Of these, six appeared in the private Press and the remainder on SW Radio Africa. The rest of the private electronic media ignored the developments.

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