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Government media uninformative on the talks
Extracted from Media Update 2008/22
Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ)
August 10, 2008

The government media failed to adequately inform the public about the progress of the SADC-brokered dialogue between ZANU PF and the two MDC formations reported to be in its final stages.

This was aptly demonstrated by their passive coverage of the weekend visit to Zimbabwe by South African President and mediator in the talks Thabo Mbeki ostensibly to seal a power sharing deal with the principals of the three parties.

The government media exclusively relied on official statements presenting the talks as progressing smoothly without providing concrete evidence of this. This was reflected in all their 50 stories on the topic.

Spot FM (9/8, 8am), for instance, simply announced Mbeki's visit saying he was "expected . . . to brief party leaders on the talks" and that his visit would "take the talks to a higher level and map the way forward for Zimbabwe" without any elaboration. Further, the station did not make any attempt to provide insight into the issues under discussion except claiming, "hopes are high that critical matters will be settled soon" while The Sunday Mail and Sunday News (10/8) simply identified the possible scope and structure of the new government.

The weeklies also listed the economy, sanctions, the land question and a new constitution as among the items on the agenda without detailing the issues the parties would be dealing with under those topics.

Similarly, The Herald (9/8) reported Mbeki's visit from government's perspective, recording Information secretary George Charamba saying the visit was an "important milestone that has been registered in the inter party dialogue" without demonstrating how. The following day, Spot FM (10/8, 8pm) observed that the discussions "might see Zimbabwe's political impasse being resolved". It did not provide any time frame. Earlier, ZTV (8/8, 8pm), glossed over Mbeki's mediation efforts by simply commending the SA leader for having "managed to bring the parties to the negotiating table in spite of the criticism" he faced from various quarters.

On the same day, Spot FM (1pm) passively quoted Charamba weaving conspiracies against the West, portraying them as bent on sabotaging the dialogue by "leaking a purported agreement between the parties in a bid to establish what is going on in the talks" without providing proof. Charamba's reaction followed speculation that the parties had reached an agreement that will see President Mugabe becoming a ceremonial Head of State while MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai assumes the post of executive Prime Minister.

However, the same story reported the South African government denying that the negotiators had reached an agreement while The Herald (8/8) quoted President Mugabe reiterating the same.

In contrast, the private media strived to critically inform their audiences about the progress of the dialogue and highlighted the talks' contentious issues. These included the form and lifespan of the new government, the powers and functions of Tsvangirai and Mugabe and the proposed amnesty for perpetrators of political violence.

However, owing to the imposition of a media blackout by the negotiators, most of their 68 reports on the matter were speculative.

An example of this was the speculation that the negotiators had reached an agreement in which Mugabe would be a ceremonial president with Tsvangirai as an executive Prime Minister. However, ZimOnline (8/8) quoted unnamed sources dismissing this information as false.

Despite reporting the parties as close to clinching a deal, the private media recorded some analysts expressing doubt over this. Studio 7 (8 /8) quoted journalist Peta Thornycroft observing that although the negotiations had ended in Pretoria, the key issue of who held executive powers had not yet been resolved while earlier UZ lecturer Eldred Masunungure told The Financial Gazette (7/8) that the differences between the three parties were "too wide and too deep".

Studio 7 (10/8) reported unnamed sources saying Mugabe was "unwilling to cede significant power" to Tsvangirai while the Independent attributed Mugabe's reluctance to do that to pressure from the Joint Operations Command (a grouping of service chiefs), who were allegedly worried that ZANU PF was "conceding too much" to the MDC. Citing unnamed sources, the paper added that the security chiefs did not want Tsvangirai to assume executive powers because they did not know how they would relate with him following their previous statements that they will never salute him. They reportedly also feared arrest for human rights abuses they allegedly committed during the run-off campaign period.

In other reports, the private media recorded growing international pressure on Mugabe to expeditiously conclude an acceptable power sharing agreement with the opposition. For example, SW Radio Africa (4/8), The Zimbabwean (7/8) and The Standard (10/8) reported Botswana reiterating its threats to boycott the upcoming SADC summit in South Africa if Mugabe was invited as the Zimbabwean head of state including its calls for Zimbabwe to be suspended from the regional bloc until democracy was restored in the country.

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