Back to Index

Economic chaos
Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ)
Extracted from Weekly Media Update 2007-46
Monday November 19th - Sunday November 25th 2007
November 29, 2007

The government media papered over the chaotic economic situation and policy contradictions characterizing government's management of the economy. They merely repeated and amplified official rhetoric on government's plans to solve various economic crises without examination. Consequently, there was no attempt to interrogate the appropriateness of the programmes, let alone address the apparent discord within government on how best to tackle economic decline. ZBC's handling of plans to introduce a new currency to replace bearer cheques and news of cash shortages epitomised the official media's incompetence. It failed to examine the reasons why Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono suddenly announced that the central bank would launch a new currency soon, less than a month after saying he had shelved the currency switch.

For example, it did not view this as a policy U-turn, nor did it question the logic considering the country's hyperinflationary environment. ZTV and Spot FM (21/11, 8pm), for example, vaguely cited the governor saying the launch was "imminent" while attributing cash scarcity to "dealers who use it to buy foreign currency" without making it clear whether the decision was precipitated by the cash shortages or the plummeting value of the local currency. Instead, ZTV and Spot FM, (23/11, 8pm) drowned observations by analysts that while the introduction of a new currency would "curtail prevailing cash shortages and rampant illegal dealings" there was need to "effectively address underlying macro-economic challenges".

Earlier, The Herald and Chronicle (21/11) passively reported Gono also reversing an ultimatum previously issued to businesses by National Incomes and Pricing Commission chairman, Godwills Masimirembwa, to clear their stocks of imported goods by November 22 or be forced to sell them at prices pegged at the official exchange rate. The papers reported Gono saying government had no intention to ban imports of basic commodities as this would only create "empty shelves". He reportedly told a Press conference that Masimirembwa (who was also present at the meeting) was "merely deploring black market activities and had no intention to act in a manner that would reverse the gains that have been made in addressing the supply of goods on the market".

But rather than question Masimirembwa on the matter, the papers unquestioningly reported him disowning the fact that he had ever "contemplated the banning of imported goods in our shops", saying: "In an environment of mistrust, suspicions among stakeholders, it is very easy for negativities to be multiplied and spread like veld fires." Neither did they ask him why he waited for at least two weeks to reassure the business community if indeed he had been initially misunderstood, nor why Gono appeared to take the initiative in clarifying the matter.

In addition, ZTV and Radio Zimbabwe (21/11, 8pm) and The Herald (22/11) simply reported Industry Minister Obert Mpofu reiterating Gono's pronouncements and denouncing private media reports for misleading the public on plans by the authorities to launch a second price blitz, saying the document they cited outlining such a plan was "fake" and did not emanate from his office. These reports formed part of the 92 reports the official media carried on the topic (ZBC [40] and government papers [52]. The government media's poor handling of these issues was mirrored by their sparse use of alternative views to test the relevance of government's economic policies (Figs 5 and 6).

Fig 5: Voice distribution on ZBC

Fig 6: Voice distribution in the government Press

The private media questioned the effectiveness of government's economic turnaround efforts and the contradictions characterising them. This was reflected in the 50 reports they carried on the subject: private electronic media [21] and private papers [29]. The Zimbabwe Times (22/11), for example, described as a "major policy about turn" government's plans to introduce a new currency despite Gono's announcement in The Sunday Mail three weeks ago that there would be no currency change before the end of the year.

The Financial Gazette and Studio 7 (22/11) viewed government's denial of reports that they were planning a new price crackdown as another example of policy confusion. The Financial Gazette, for example, revealed how Masimirembwa's new stance contradicted what he told the paper "last week" that his commission had launched a blitz to establish the costing models of manufacturers and retailers: "They (enterprises) must not convert their foreign currency component using the parallel market rate. We are saying to the importer that is not allowed."

Studio 7 (21/11) revealed that government was amending the Mines and Minerals Act with the intention of acquiring a 25 percent stake in foreign-owned mining companies "at no cost".

While the station cited an analyst Nhlanhla Nyathi observing that the amendments would "damage the economy", SW Radio Africa (19/11) quoted businessman Mutumwa Mawere arguing that the move was "strange as 100 percent of all mineral exports are controlled by the state". The private media's attempts to balance official and alternative comment on the economic decline were mirrored in their sourcing pattern as shown in Fig 7 and 8.

Fig 7: Voice distribution of the private electronic economic media

Fig 8: Voice distribution in the private Press

Visit the MMPZ fact sheet

Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.

TOP