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Government boost propaganda project as 'rural Information Officers' are deployed
MISA-Zimbabwe
September 19, 2007

The government is set to deploy 60 'Information Officers' under the Zimbabwe Information Service (ZIS) by November 2007 to facilitate news dissemination from the rural areas. ZIS is a defunct Ministry of Information and Publicity news agency meant to convey government information in rural areas and vice versa. ZIS was active in the 1980s and has existed only in name since then.

In an address to Harare Polytechnic School of Journalism students on 14 September 2007, the acting Director for Rural Communication in the Ministry of Information and Publicity, Regis Chikowore, stated that currently there are 38 information officers operating in selected parts of the country, with the number expected to rise to 60 by November 2007. According to the Ministry this move will ensure that all the rural districts are manned by information officers.

The acting Director went on to state that besides news dissemination, the information officers would be liable for revitalizing the operation of the mobile video units to be used to breach the rural- urban digital divide.

He highlighted that presently, the government is mobilizing resources to set up rural information centers and mobile units which would be used to address the information and communication needs of rural people.

Speaking on the same issue during the official launch of the National Information Communication Technology (ICT) Policy Framework by President Robert Mugabe in Harare, the Minister of Information and Publicity, Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, said the information centers would be rural-based multimedia platforms which the government intends to avail to rural communities.

MISA-Zimbabwe expresses concern that the sudden realization of the need for information distribution in rural areas is a sinister ploy to flood rural communities with ruling party campaign materials disguised as information towards the 2008 elections. This fear is based on the current skewed and biased coverage of issues by the state controlled media. MISA-Zimbabwe further expresses surprise that at a time when national institutions including the state broadcaster, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation are struggling financially the Ministry has resources to pour into the defunct ZIS. This project therefore raises serious questions on its sincerity and anticipated benefits to rural communities long cut off from access to information.

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