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Weekly Media Update 2009-8
Monday February 23rd 2009 - Sunday February 1st 2009
Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ)
March 06, 2009

1. General comment

MMPZ welcomes Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's inaugural statement in Parliament (4/03/09) promising that his government will facilitate the establishment of more media institutions in the country. Zimbabweans however, await news of exactly how the government intends to achieve this in view of the fact that hostile media laws, such as the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) and the Broadcasting Services Act, which have been responsible for decimating Zimbabwe's media landscape and controlling all media activity in the country still exist. While Tsvangirai noted that "no society can be free or hope to prosper without freedom of expression and communication," MMPZ doubts that such an environment can be achieved while these repressive laws remain - and while the overwhelmingly dominant public media continue to serve as the propaganda tools of ZANU PF.

ZBC's coverage of President Mugabe's birthday held under the auspices of the 21st February Movement clearly demonstrated ZANU PF's continued stranglehold on these media despite Article 19.1 (d) of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) on power sharing. In the Article ZANU PF and the two MDCs agreed that "steps be taken to ensure that the public media provides balanced and fair coverage to all political parties for their legitimate political activities".

While the broadcaster (22/2, 8pm) only allocated about two minutes to Tsvangirai's Gweru rally commemorating his party's 10th anniversary, it bombarded its audiences with torrents of Mugabe's 85th birthday anniversary, masquerading as a national event. For example, in the two weeks leading to Mugabe's February 21 birthday, Spot FM allocated daily 30-minute slots between 6.30pm and 7pm commemorating the birthday. The programme either featured ZANU PF loyalists hero-worshipping Mugabe as a champion of democracy, or excerpts of his old speeches. The broadcast was punctuated with songs glorifying Mugabe.

This abuse of the public broadcaster continued during the week under review.

ZTV and Spot FM (26/2, 9.30pm) devoted about one hour 40 minutes each to an interview with Mugabe commemorating his birthday. This was repeated the following day. Then on February 28th ZTV and ZBC radios disrupted their afternoon programming to accommodate live broadcast of the birthday celebrations in Chinhoyi, which ran for at least three hours.

Such excessive coverage did not translate into a meaningful analysis of the event or Mugabe's statements. For example, the broadcaster failed to question Mugabe on various critical national issues, rendering the interview a monologue meant to assert his authority as head of state, especially after shedding some of his executive powers under the power sharing agreement.

For instance, ZBC's Tazzen Mandizvidza allowed Mugabe to dismiss concerns about the country's restrictive media environment as unfounded "nonsense" propagated by the West.

Similarly, the broadcaster (28/2, 8pm) passively quoted Mugabe telling birthday guests that government would not comply with the SADC Tribunal ruling on the country's land reforms because it was "nonsensical".

He stated: "Hapana zvekuti mabhunu akaenda kutribunal yeku Namibia (Its immaterial that mabhunu [a derogatory term for whites] sought recourse from the (SADC) tribunal in Namibia). That's nonsense, absolute nonsense", adding, "We have courts here that can determine the rights of the people".

Without analysing the negative implications of such statements that underlined his government's blatant disregard for the rule of law and the racial bigotry that have defined the country's land reforms, the station then supinely recorded him ordering farmers served with eviction notices to "wind up" and "vacate those farms".

The government Press also carried similarly passive reports on the two events.

But while the government media feted Mugabe there has been no corresponding attention given to his government counterparts from the MDC. The most outstanding omission was ZBC's failure to cover live Tsvangirai's inaugural parliamentary speech.

2. ZBC and Private Radio Stations

The electronic media continued to focus on the operations of the inclusive government, especially its capacity to set the tone for socio-economic recovery and the restoration of the rule of law and civil liberties (Fig. 1).

Fig 1: Topical stories distribution on ZBC and private stations

However, ZBC gave a generally confused picture of these issues through its censorship, suppression and selective coverage of important political developments that exposed tensions and a lack of unity in the operations of the new administration.

Consequently, its audiences remained oblivious of the increasing rivalry in the inclusive government and breaches of the Global Political Agreement on power sharing, mostly by ZANU PF. For example, there was no attempt to investigate the policy contradictions between President Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's statements over the fate of Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono and Attorney-General Johannes Tomana, who are seen as major obstacles to an effective new government.

For instance, in its 'no-holds barred birthday interview', ZTV (26 and 27/2) passively allowed Mugabe to dismiss the MDC's calls for their dismissal, saying he did not "see any reason why those people (Gono and Tomana) should go and they will not go" without explaining why the MDC wanted them replaced in the first place.

The national broadcaster also failed to highlight the sharp differences between Mugabe and Tsvangirai over the fresh wave of farm invasions and the continued detention of MDC Deputy Agriculture Minister Roy Bennett on banditry and terrorism charges despite being granted bail by the High Court. And it avoided investigating the effect these tensions would have on the new administration's credibility.

In this light, ZBC censored news of Tsvangirai declaring "null and void" Mugabe's unilateral appointment of permanent secretaries, on the grounds that the appointments represented a violation of the GPA and the constitution.

Likewise, there was no holistic coverage of the inclusive government's programme of action. ZBC just provided piecemeal reports of remedial interventions in the service delivery sectors. For example, ZBC's only update on the cholera epidemic was reported in the context of Tsvangirai declaring that cholera was "under control except that it is now extending to the rural areas" without even addressing the apparent contradictions in the statement (ZTV 27/2, 8pm). Notably, the station censored the enthusiastic support given Tsvangirai by scores of health workers during his assessment tour of Harare Central Hospital where he made the remark.

The private radio stations reported more thoroughly on these issues.

They viewed Tsvangirai rescinding Mugabe's unilateral appointment of permanent secretaries and the battle for control of the telecommunications sector between Media, Information and Publicity Minister Webster Shamu and Information, Communication and Technology Minister Nelson Chamisa, as symptomatic of the power struggles threatening the stability of the inclusive government.

For example, SW Radio Africa 926/2) reported National Constitutional Assembly chairperson Lovemore Madhuku describing the power sharing government as a "circus", saying Mugabe was treating Tsvangirai as a junior partner.
The private radio stations portrayed the new administration's efforts to revive the economy as an uphill task. They noted how a recent SADC ministers meeting in South Africa to discuss funding of a US$2 billion humanitarian relief and economic stabilisation package for Zimbabwe had merely referred the matter to a full SADC summit for further discussion in the coming weeks. Studio 7 (27/2), for example, reported Africa Development Bank as saying that for Zimbabwe to qualify for aid from their institution, "it would have to straighten out arrears in payments on its US$5 billion international debt".

The private radio stations highlighted continued rights violations by government, which ZBC suppressed. They reported regional and international calls for the release of political detainees, arguing that it was a prerequisite for effective power sharing.

Fig 2: Voice distribution on ZBC and private radio stations

3. Online Publications

The inclusive government's operations also proved popular with private online news agencies (See Fig 3).

Fig 3: Topical stories in the online agencies

They also highlighted the problems plaguing the new administration, including serious policy differences and battles for control between the MDC and ZANU PF.

The Zimbabwe Times (1/3) also carried a Veritas report exposing how the "gazetted" Constitutional Amendment Number 19 Act "differs considerably" from the "original Bill that was gazetted on December 12th 2008 and presented to the House of Assembly on February 5", this year. Veritas noted that the last 18 pages of the Bill, containing the proposed new schedules 9, 10 and 11 of the Constitution were omitted, leaving only schedule 8 in the Act.

eportedly, the Bill's Schedule 10 incorporated article 6 of the Interparty Political Agreement, which lays down the procedure and time-frame for producing a proposed new constitution before 2010.

Fig 4: Voice distribution on online agencies

4. The Public and Private Press

Efforts by the inclusive government to revive Zimbabwe's socio-economic sectors and ZANU PF's violation of the spirit of the inclusive government dominated news of the week. See Fig. 5.

Fig 5: Topical news distribution in the Press

Rather than openly report problems threatening the stability of the inclusive government, among them President Mugabe's unilateral appointment of permanent secretaries; policy contradictions; conflicts over ministerial duties; fresh farm invasions; and ongoing human rights violations, the official papers glossed over them by presenting the government as working in unison to address the country's crises.

For example, they only referred to conflicts within the new government in the context of ZANU PF officials' reactions to the MDC's concerns reported in the private media. The Sunday Mail (1/7), for instance, quoted presidential spokesman George Charamba announcing a planned meeting between Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai to "discuss issues pertaining to the appointment of permanent secretaries" and "try to define the roles" of the Media, Information and Publicity and the Information Communication Technology ministries without giving coherent background information.

Earlier, The Herald (26/2) passively quoted Mugabe defiantly insisting that his unilateral appointments of the central bank governor and the Attorney-General, which the MDC has contested, would not be rescinded because they were legal.

No attempt was made to interpret this as yet another indicator of evident tension within government, let alone analyse its implications on its effectiveness. Similarly, the government weeklies (1/3) avoided viewing Mugabe ordering white farmers to "vacate" their properties as contradicting the MDC's calls for an end to farm invasions.
In attempting to maintain this façade of unity and progress within government the Chronicle (27/2) misrepresented the outcome of a regional meeting of finance and foreign ministers on Zimbabwe's appeal for financial aid. Its headline announced: "SADC gives Zim US$2 billion rescue package" although the ministers had only promised to help find the amount and referred the matter to their principals.

Such professional dishonesty was also manifest in their coverage of the country's socio-economic and humanitarian crises and continuing rights violations. For instance, none of their 63 stories on these issues, as illustrated by the spreading cholera epidemic and the chaos in schools, gave useful updates on the extent of these problems.
Neither did they relate their 15 stories on the court appearances of detained civic and MDC activists to state-sponsored efforts to frustrate the administration of justice. They also ignored the arrest of WOZA activists demonstrating against the collapsing education sector and ongoing farm invasions.

In contrast, the private Press subjected Zimbabwe's socio-political and economic problems to a more rational analysis.

For example, the papers continued to highlight policy conflicts; power struggles; duplication of roles; and ZANU PF's unilateral announcements as threats to the success of the inclusive government.

The Financial Gazette (26/2), for example, interpreted the alleged "clash" between Tsvangirai and AG Johannes Tomana after the Prime Minister offered himself as surety for the release of deputy agriculture minister Roy Bennett, who is facing banditry charges, as evidence of the "gravity of tensions that have rocked" the inclusive government.
The weekly and the Zimbabwe Independent (27/2) viewed the conflict over control of the telecommunications sector in similar light.

And while the official papers' portrayed socio-economic conditions as improving owing to the new government's interventions, the private Press presented a different picture.

The Standard (1/3), for example, revealed that Zimbabwe had returned from a regional meeting of foreign and finance ministers in South Africa without the rescue package it had asked for. It quoted South African Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma noting that the current global recession would affect regional efforts to assist Zimbabwe. It also provided some idea of the extent of the collapse of the health sector in a story on Tsvangirai's visit to Harare Central Hospital where he was told the hospital alone needed US$1,5 million to restore operations.
However, none of the print media reported on the disparities between the gazetted Constitutional Amendment No.19 Act and the draft the parties agreed to.

Unlike the official papers, the private Press' 24 stories on rights violations, comprising 20 follow-up reports on the detention of MDC and civic activists and four new incidents, were presented as evidence of continuing rights violations and a violation of the political agreement by ZANU PF. The incidents included the arrest of WOZA activists and the invasion of two Chegutu farms.

The papers' different coverage of these issues was reflected in their sourcing patterns.

Fig 6: Voice distribution in the Press

What they said . . .

"The Attorney-General's office is wilfully obstructing the release of all political detainees by abusing the appeal process, and that must stop forthwith" - PM Morgan Tsvangirai speaking at a Press conference in Harare. The Zimbabwean On Sunday, 1/3.

"These days we are boiling fresh tree leaves to survive. A month ago we used to boil unripe mangoes but they are no longer available. It's a catastrophe" - Mt Darwin villager Amon Gutukutu said. The Standard, 1/3.

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