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Political developments
Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ)
Extracted from Weekly Media Update 2007-23
Monday June 11th 2007 - Sunday June 17th 2007
June 21, 2007

THE government media poorly covered the SADC-sponsored efforts by South African President Thabo Mbeki to resolve the Zimbabwe problem; the gazetting of the Constitutional Amendment (Number. 18) Bill and the alleged foiled coup against President Mugabe. The 36 stories the papers carried on the matter were simply designed to portray government positively. It was not surprising therefore that they suffocated the ruling party's attempts to scupper Mbeki's efforts to bring it and the MDC to the negotiating table by presenting the opposition as the ones responsible for frustrating the initiative.

The Chronicle (14/6), for example, deliberately misconstrued MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai's criticism of the proposed Constitutional Amendment as "pre-emptive and contemptuous of dialogue" to mean he had "put spanners in the works" and thrown the "first direct talks" between ZANU PF and the MDC "in doubt."

How this was so remained unexplained. Rather, it passively reported ZANU PF secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa dismissing the opposition's concerns on the grounds that Zimbabwe was a "sovereign country" that could "do what (it) want(s) to when (it) feel(s) like . . . "

The Herald (15/6) echoed similar views.

In contrast, the government Press depicted government, especially President Mugabe, as a magnanimous statesman who has repeatedly "reached out" to the opposition to address the country's problems. It was in this context that The Herald and Chronicle (12/6) simplistically interpreted government's inclusion of some "leading MDC officials" in the allocation of the Chinese-sourced agricultural equipment and Mugabe's acknowledgement of the MDC's presence at the commissioning of the implements as reflective of his commitment to working with the opposition on "matters of national interest". Without discussing the criteria used to select the beneficiaries of the equipment, the papers simply quoted central bank governor Gideon Gono saying the "programme cuts across the political and social divide".

The next day, The Herald (13/6) columnist Caesar Zvayi merely amplified Mugabe's alleged credentials as a great statesman as compared to the MDC leaders' "notorious" disregard for "what defines Zimbabwe". Notably, the paper turned a blind eye to government's continued violent clampdown on all perceived opposition.

Such piecemeal approach was also apparent in the government papers' coverage of the alleged foiled coup. They initially ignored the story when it broke out and only latched onto it after the alleged coup plotters appeared in court (The Herald and Chronicle 16/6).

The government Press' uncritical coverage of the country's political developments was mirrored by their reliance on official voices as shown in Fig 4. Although they sought comment from those outside government, their views were mainly used to reinforce the official perspective.

Fig. 4 Voice distribution in the government Press

A critical examination of the country's political developments appeared in the 52 stories the private papers carried on the subject. For example, they categorically viewed government's allocation of farming equipment to some MDC officials as an attempt to hoodwink observers into believing that it was committed to working with the opposition in resolving the country's problems. The Financial Gazette (14/6) reported the MDC "distancing themselves from the scheme", arguing that it was "part of a ploy by the ruling Zanu- PF party to ingratiate itself with the electorate, as well as with . . . Mbeki." The Zimbabwe Independent (15/6) concurred, adding that the distribution of the farming equipment was "clearly an attempt to legitimize the land expropriation programme and to implicate the MDC". The Zimbabwean (14/6) and The Standard (17/6) made similar observations.

However, the private media simply reported the MDC's side of the story without independently verifying their claims.

In another report, the Gazette reported analysts condemning government's proposed constitutional amendments saying the plans could "torpedo" Mbeki's arbitration.

The Zimbabwean reported South African Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad as having denounced the amendments saying the move "smacked of arrogance" and urged "robust action" to "rein (Mugabe) in and force reform". In fact, the private papers carried several stories that reflected concerns on Mugabe's misrule. These included the Save Zimbabwe Campaign's tour of African and European countries to brief them on the country's crisis; the condemnation of the country's human rights record by the International Commission of Jurists and reports that the African Commission on Human and People's Rights had found Zimbabwe guilty of rights violations. The government Press ignored these developments.

The private papers' open coverage of the topic was demonstrated by their diverse sourcing pattern as captured in Fig 5.

Fig. 5 Voice distribution in the private media

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