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Weekly Media Update 2009-10
Monday March 9th - Sunday March 15th 2009
Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ)
March 20, 2009

1. General comment

MMPZ welcomes the planned launch of two new privately owned daily newspapers that will end the government dailies' six-year-old monopoly of the market caused by the authorities' banning of Zimbabwe's most popular daily newspaper, The Daily News, in September 2003.

Media reports say one of the dailies would "soon" be launched by media entrepreneur Trevor Ncube, publisher of the Zimbabwe Independent and The Standard and the South African-based Mail and Guardian, while Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono, believed to be the owner of The Financial Gazette, is reported to be planning to start the other.

This news comes barely a month after Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai promised to facilitate the establishment of more media institutions in the country during his inaugural speech in Parliament on March 4th 2009 although he did not explain how.

MMPZ however, remains sceptical of the legal practicability of the "immediate" launch of these dailies, given the absence of a legitimate regulatory authority to register the newspapers and accredit journalists as still required under the amended Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, which itself has been grafted into the Constitution following its inclusion in the Global Political Agreement.

While The Zimbabwe Times (12/3), for example, cited Ncube saying he had been encouraged to start the paper by the "improved . . . legislative environment" in the country and that he had "briefed both the inclusive government and the regulatory authorities" about his project and could "foresee" no "obstacles", there has been no attempt to publicly explain how these obstacles to a free media have evaporated.

For example, presently there is no constitutional regulatory authority to process applications for newspaper operating licences since the old Media and Information Commission (MIC), which used to have that mandate, has yet to be reconstituted as the Media Council of Zimbabwe, according to the amended AIPPA. As such, the new MCZ does not yet legally exist and hence its regulatory actions cannot have any force at law.

Besides, while some journalistic practice has apparently been decriminalised under AIPPA's new provisions, this appears only to apply to freelance journalists as domestic media institutions cannot employ journalists who are not accredited and therefore still theoretically risk heavy penalties, including closure if they do so, under AIPPA's restrictive provisions.

While Zimbabwe's media barons might have an "inside track" on how the coalition government intends to overcome these legal obstacles, it would be a service to democracy if they shared this information with their audiences. Better still, it would be most constructive if the government itself is transparent about how it intends to liberate Zimbabweans' shackled rights to free expression.

2. ZBC and private radio stations

The deaths of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's wife, Susan, in a car accident and that of former defence forces chief Vitalis Zvinavashe, overshadowed the week's other contemporary issues, such as the inclusive government's pressing task of rescuing Zimbabwe from its severe economic and humanitarian crises. Fig 1 illustrates this.

Fig 1: Topical stories on ZBC and private radio stations

ZBC's coverage of the subject largely dwelt on depicting the extent to which the two deaths had apparently united President Mugabe and Tsvangirai, and by extension, Zimbabwe's new coalition government. The national broadcaster cited, among others, Mugabe's unprecedented move to join Tsvangirai in mourning his wife, and the Prime Minister's equally uncharacteristic presence at the burial of Zvinavashe at Heroes' Acre a few days later, as proof of this.

It was in this context that ZBC narrowed its interpretation of Tsvangirai's presence and other MDC government officials at Zvinavashe's burial as an expression of unity with ZANU PF outside the ambit of their obligation as government officials.

But while Mugabe and Tsvangirai's actions certainly seemed to signal a dramatic softening of animosity between the two former long-standing rivals, ZBC did not test the genuineness of this perception against other political realties. For example, it did not query the absence of the leadership of the country's security forces at Susan's funeral service in Harare, given their previous declarations that they would not salute Tsvangirai if he came to power, and how they seemed to have stuck to their word by studiously avoiding saluting him at Zvinavashe's burial.

Neither did ZBC reconcile calls for an end to politically motivated violence made by Mugabe and Constantine Chiwenga, the Defence Forces Commander, at Zvinavashe's funeral, with continued reports of widespread clashes between MDC and ZANU PF supporters, including fresh waves of farm invasions of white owned farms allegedly led by ZANU PF supporters, so-called war veterans and state security agencies.

In addition, there was no attempt to rationalise this new-found unity with ongoing power struggles in the coalition government that have resulted in the delayed appointment of governors, among other issues.

Similarly, ZBC failed to give a holistic view of the immense teething troubles facing the inclusive government in resolving the country's socio-economic problems. This was aptly illustrated by its censoring of the warning from Finance Minister Tendai Biti - reported in private and international media - that the power sharing government would fail, with potentially disastrous consequences, unless international donors urgently injected cash into the country's treasury.

Moreover, there was no attempt by ZBC to investigate the extent of politically motivated violence or its causes. The national broadcaster only reported one incident in which MDC supporters allegedly assaulted ZANU PF supporters and burnt their livestock in Buhera.

Private radio stations' reports on the topic were more critical.

They remained sceptical of the rare moment of unity between Mugabe and Tsvangirai, noting that even as Mugabe called for an end to hostilities between the MDC and ZANU PF, some political prisoners - including allies of Tsvangirai - remained detained over banditry and terrorism charges.

As a result, they questioned whether Mugabe was really committed to genuine power sharing with Tsvangirai and the promotion of democracy, especially in view of the intensified invasions of the few remaining white-owned farms.
The private radio stations highlighted how health, power and water services remained paralysed despite the formation of the inclusive government.

For example, Studio 7 and SW Radio Africa (13/3) reported Biti's appeal for "urgent" international financial assistance warning that a "disaster" could ensue if Western governments failed to intervene. Earlier, Studio 7 (10/3) reported the International Monetary Fund (IMF) denying claims in The Herald (10/3) that it would immediately release aid money for Zimbabwe's reconstruction, saying the country should first settle its debt of nearly US$140 million before getting any new loans. The station also reported Economic Planning Minister Elton Mangoma saying The Herald had "misquoted" him as saying the IMF would help the country "immediately".

The private radio stations carried four incidents of political violence and other human rights abuses, mainly against white farmers and MDC supporters by ZANU PF supporters and state security agents.

Fig 2: Voice distribution on ZBC and private radio stations

3. Online Publications

The deaths of Susan Tsvangirai and Vitalis Zvinavashe also received widespread attention in the private online agencies.

They also gave critical updates on the problems faced by the inclusive government despite Mugabe's calls for peace, noting that relations between MDC and ZANU PF remained tense. The Zimbabwe Times (14/3), for example, reported how service chiefs had avoided saluting Prime Minister Tsvangirai at Zvinavashe's burial, a development it said "showed open disdain for the country's new Prime Minister".

The publications also gave critical coverage of the humanitarian crisis, which they said called for urgent international assistance, and largely blamed government negligence for the Tsvangirai accident.

Fig 4: Voice distribution on online agencies

4. The public and private Press

The activities of Zimbabwe's inclusive government and problems hampering its ability to tame the country's devastating crises continued to generate immense debate in the Press (See Fig. 5).

Fig 5: Topical news distribution in the Press

The government-controlled papers continued to attach a halo of political correctness to the month-old inclusive government, presenting it as united in its fight for economic restoration despite continued evidence of distrust.

They used the first-time attendance by the leaderships of ZANU PF and the MDC at the funerals of Susan Tsvangirai and former armed forces commander Vitalis Zvinavashe as testimony to strengthening relations between them. As a result, they downplayed or censored other political developments that would have upset this perception of the newly found spirit of unity between the party leaders.

For example, the government Press did not report on the security chiefs' failure to salute Prime Minister Tsvangirai at Zvinavashe's burial, an honour they only afforded Mugabe. Neither did they relate Mugabe's calls for an end to violence at Susan's funeral to a fresh campaign by Mugabe's allies to take over the few remaining white-owned farms.

Instead, the papers narrowly interpreted statements by MDC-T officials and Tsvangirai's son acknowledging Mugabe's uncharacteristic humane expression of grief at Susan's funeral as evidence that the political rivals had fully forgiven each other and that the MDC's previously negative perception of Mugabe had been wrong.

Despite there being no immediate evidence suggesting the car crash that killed Susan and injured Tsvangirai was anything but an accident, the government papers carried 18 stories fuelling speculation about possible US and British involvement. Three of these conspiracy theories, written by independent MP Jonathan Moyo and columnists Tafataona Mahoso and Caesar Zvayi, accused the West of masterminding the accident to derail the inclusive government. No credible evidence was provided to support these fatuous theories.

Otherwise, the government papers merely carried piecemeal reports that falsely gave the impression of a country on the mend. In one of these, The Herald (10/3) falsely reported the IMF as "ready" to "immediately assist" Zimbabwe rebuild its battered economy without making it clear that Zimbabwe only qualified for new assistance upon repaying its overdue debt to the fund.

The official Press reported seven incidents of politically motivated violence and human rights violations. Six of these blamed MDC for the violence while one blamed it on ZANU PF.

The privately owned papers presented a more accurate picture of Zimbabwe's socio-political and economic calamities.

They continued to highlight friction in the inclusive government such as the service chiefs' reluctance to officially acknowledge Tsvangirai. They also debated the causes and extent of the country's crises and reported the international community as being reluctant to provide aid unless ZANU PF demonstrated genuine commitment to reform.

The Zimbabwean and Zimbabwe Independent (12 & 13/3) for example, reported government as failing to attract much-needed aid due to the international community's distrust of President Mugabe and the current global credit crunch. They also reported some sections of the international community saying they would not provide fresh aid to Zimbabwe until it had cleared its debts.

The private Press blamed the government for Tsvangirai's accident, arguing that it could have been avoided had it provided him with an escort and professionally trained close security. However, none of their reports sought government's side of the story.

The private Press recorded nine new incidents of politically motivated violence and rights abuses, mainly against MDC activists and white farmers by ZANU PF supporters and state security agents.

Fig 6: Voice distribution in the Press

What they said . . .

"There is no need to fight over these results. We must accept the reality that we have lost the elections to the MDC. What is important for us is to live together in peace, both losers and winners. We do not want violence in this area. We are relatives. Most of us lost these elections not because we are not popular in our constituencies. We lost these harmonised elections because of one man. People rejected us because we were campaigning for Mugabe. People in Masvingo have rejected him and we became collateral damage. There is no reason to fight with the MDC over this election. The real problem is that man"
- Vitalis Zvinavashe, the late former Zimbabwe Defence Forces Chief, New Zimbabwe (1/12, 2008).

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