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Weekly Media Update 2009-14
Monday April 6th - Sunday April 12th 2009
Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ)
April 17, 2009

1. General Comment

MMPZ cautiously welcomes the coalition government's fresh promises to institute media reforms according to the terms of the Global Political Agreement in the hope that official rhetoric will finally translate into a practical overhaul of the country's repressive media landscape.

These promises, mainly made by MDC government officials in recent weeks, appeared to get Cabinet consensus following their reaffirmation by a strategic Ministerial Retreat in Victoria Falls during the week. For example, The Herald (6/4) and online news agencies (7 & 8/4) reported ZANU PF's Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa saying government had agreed "to review the media policy" in order to encourage the development of a "multiplicity of media houses" and a "political climate where divergent views are heard".

While such statements revive memories of the old government's promises to unshackle the media, it is to be hoped that the spirit of tolerance embodied in the GPA will prevail and that concrete reforms will quickly result in the scrapping of repressive legal instruments used to silence alternative media voices. An essential element of these reforms however, will be the establishment of a non-partisan media regulatory authority that will ensure all Zimbabweans have access to diverse sources of information.

This is particularly so given persisting confusion over media regulation in the country exacerbated by delays in appointing the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) to replace the old Media and Information Commission (MIC), whose mandate was invalidated through amendments to AIPPA in January 2008.

For instance, while the Zimbabwe Independent (3/4) reported Minister of State Gorden Moyo announcing that government would establish the ZMC before the end of this month, there was no clarity about which legal document he was referring to considering that both Constitutional Amendment No. 19 and the amended AIPPA provides for the creation of media commissions.

In fact, none of the media have sought an explanation about how these two bodies will operate together. Indeed, it is MMPZ's belief that the so-called regulating authority provided for under AIPPA is an entirely unnecessary entity in a democratic society and will remain open to abuse given the controlling clauses that still remain in the Act.

At the same time, the privately run radio station Voice of the People (14/4) provided a sinister insight into what appears to be attempts by the authorities to maintain their stranglehold on the country's broadcasting sector with news that the government-controlled ZBC intends to launch two so-called "community" radio stations and another television channel "soon". It quoted unnamed ZBC sources saying that one station, Sunshine Radio, would be based in Harare, while the other, Skies Radio, would broadcast from Bulawayo.

Attempting to describe such stations under the management of the discredited national broadcaster as "community" radio stations suggests that instead of opening the airwaves to genuine community-based broadcasters, Zimbabweans must prepare to be subjected to more propaganda outlets disguised as independent community broadcasters. To achieve any real transformation in Zimbabwe's broadcasting sector, ZBC must first be stripped of its monopoly and undergo its own radical surgery that will genuinely free it from the grip of partisan political interests.

2. The public and private Press

Growing anxiety over the inclusive government's ability to fully reform and successfully spearhead the restoration of Zimbabwe's battered economy and poor human rights record continued to excite debate in the Press as shown in Fig. 1.

Fig 1: Topical news distribution in the Press

The government papers downplayed the enormity of this task given the discord within the coalition and continued violations of the Global Political Agreement, which have not only crippled the effectiveness of the new administration but hardened attitudes of foreign donors who continue to view it with suspicion.

For example, they did not link government's calls for Western financial support - including the lifting of alleged sanctions against the country - to ZANU PF's reluctance to restore democratic rule, a precondition for the West's support. Instead, the official papers deliberately masked evidence of problems in the administration, such as ongoing power struggles, policy contradictions and failure to abide by the GPA.

It was in this light that The Herald (10/4) approvingly presented President Mugabe as having "put to rest" the battle for control of the telecommunications sector between ZANU PF and the MDC-T by seizing the portfolio from the MDC-T-led Information, Communication and Technology Ministry and handing it over to the Transport Ministry, headed by ZANU PF. The report, based on a Press release from the President's office, neither investigated whether Mugabe had first consulted his MDC counterparts as required under the GPA, nor examined the implications of his action. The uproar caused by this action only appeared in the private Press.

The official Press also censored how government's disregard for human and property rights continued to hurt its image and ability to court foreign budgetary support. Instead, they passively allowed government officials, especially from ZANU PF, to dismiss genuine concerns about the inclusive government's disastrous policies. The Herald (9/4), for example, submissively quoted Mugabe "warning" former white commercial farmers against peddling "malicious and wicked lies" that there were fresh farm invasions in Zimbabwe without relating it to the situation on the ground.

Ironically, the paper (8/4) earlier reported on the arrest of six white farmers in Chiredzi for allegedly refusing to vacate State-acquired land and the trial of two others in Chegutu on similar charges. These incidents were not interpreted as human rights violations.

The government papers also inadequately covered the furore over the planned government-led constitutional review process, which has sparked resistance from the National Constitutional Assembly and other civic groups. There was no informed debate on government and the NCA positions and whether there were areas of consensus between the two.

Only the private Press provided this service by presenting both the GPA and civil society standpoints on the matter. They also continued to expose how breaches of the GPA and fresh public eruptions over policy differences in the new government provided an unstable environment in which the political rivals were unable to adopt common goals and responsibilities.

They cited, among others, ongoing farm invasions and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's dismissal as "null and void" President Mugabe's unilateral transfer of the telecommunications portfolio from the MDC to ZANU PF. They reported that such political instability did not only scare potential investors, but also made it difficult for the West to lift its targeted restrictions against Mugabe, ZANU PF officials and their associates as they continued to demand clear evidence of genuine government reforms.

The private Press published nine fresh incidents on rights violations. These included what they reported to be fresh ZANU PF-sponsored attacks on white farmers, the arrest and suspension of nine university student leaders for protesting against high tuition fees and the alleged assault of revellers by soldiers at a growth point in Masvingo.

Fig 2: Voice distribution in the Press

3. ZBC and private radio stations

The electronic media's preoccupation with the inclusive government's efforts to revive Zimbabwe's failing economy resulted in them paying scant attention to other pertinent issues such as the country's dilapidated infrastructure and poor service delivery. See Fig. 3.

Fig 3: Topical stories on ZBC and private radio stations

ZBC's excessive coverage of the inclusive government's reconstruction plans did not reflect an analytical approach to the matter.

Instead, nearly all its 76 stories regurgitated official statements that reinforced the notion of a united government committed to addressing the country's myriad crises without reconciling this perception with signs of disunity caused by ZANU PF's violation of the Global Political Agreement (GPA).

For example, Spot FM (10/4, 1pm) merely announced President Mugabe's unilateral decision to strip the Information, Communication and Technology ministry, headed by the MDC-T, of its communications sector and move it to the ZANU PF-run Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Development as a requisite intervention that would "put to rest" the dispute between the two parties over the matter.

The station avoided interpreting the move as constituting yet another blatant violation of the GPA, which obliges Mugabe to consult and obtain agreement from the Premier's office before making such important decisions. Neither did it assess the implications of the decision on the stability of the government.

Its stance was in line with the national broadcaster's ongoing attempts to suffocate symptoms of tension within the new government while projecting the West's restrictions on the ZANU PF leadership and its close associates as the only hindrance to the success of the transitional authority.

It was in this light that ZBC (9/3, 8pm) passively reported Finance Minister Tendai Biti and central bank governor Gideon Gono dismissing their alleged differences as a "creation of the media", without giving coherent background to the matter.

Neither did it reconcile repeated calls for the lifting of sanctions mainly by ZANU PF and the MDC-M officials with demands for genuine democratic reforms by the West as preconditions for their removal and economic aid.

Instead, ZBC stations (6,7 & 8/4, 8pm) narrowly depicted pledges of investment by South African business leaders, India, Iran, Korea and Cuba as evidence of the international community's growing confidence in the new government that exposed the West's demands as unjustified.

However, they censored South African businessmen's reservations on Zimbabwe's disregard for property rights reported in the private media.

The stations also avoided exposing the tension between government and civic society over constitutional reform, preferring to restrict themselves to official pronouncements on the subject. As a result, the broadcaster's audiences had no idea about civic society's objections to the new government's proposed constitutional reform process under the GPA, which the broadcaster has yet to properly explain.

ZBC uncritically reported on issues affecting the country's socio-economic sectors. Almost all its stories were piecemeal reports that presented government's economic interventions as a success as demonstrated by a further decline in inflation without relating this to signs of persisting economic decay such as poor service delivery and labour discontent.

Similarly, ZBC largely ignored fresh cases of human rights violations, restricting itself to court appearances of MDC activists.

The private radio stations were better. They exposed continued policy conflicts, power struggles, ZANU PF's unilateralism and human rights violations, which they noted all militated against government's ability to be effective.

Studio 7 (8/4), for example, quoted US Ambassador James McGee saying that although the government had "made progress", particularly on the economic front, it was still "not enough" for Washington to fund its recovery programme.

Besides, they revealed that the new government's proposed constitutional reform was likely to be rejected as civic society led by the National Constitutional Assembly had denounced the process as defective.

Their six new incidents of rights violations were also presented as evidence of threats to the stability of the new government. These included the alleged clashes between ZANU PF and MDC youths at a meeting organised by the Youth Development Ministry and the continued harassment of white commercial farmers in Chegutu, Chiredzi and Rusape by suspected ZANU PF loyalists and state security agents.

Fig 4: Voice distribution on ZBC and private stations

4. Online Publications

The inclusive government and its economic reconstruction programmes also received significant space in the private online news agencies as shown in Fig. 5.

Fig 5: Topical stories on online news agencies

These agencies continued to highlight signs of instability in the new government as reflected by power struggles, delays in resolving outstanding issues under the GPA and human rights violations, which they viewed as indications of ZANU PF's continued intransigence and reluctance to reform that would hamper government's renewal plans.

They also warned of a fresh cholera outbreak unless government addressed the country's dilapidated water and sanitation systems.

Two new incidents of rights abuses in their 15 stories on the topic were on the farm violence similar to those reported in other private media.

Fig 6: Online agencies - Voice distribution

What they said . . .

"It is illegal under the existing laws of the US to pay salaries to civil servants - we call it budget assistance. I cannot pay a secretary for the Ministry of Health or an economist in the RBZ, I would go to jail for that." - US Ambassador to Zimbabwe James McGee responding to Harare's appeal for the West to expand humanitarian assistance to include paying civil servants salaries, (Zimbabwe Independent. 9/4).

"The critical thing we wanted was to get confidence that the current policy on investments will remain in place. The concern is that there should not be uncertainty and change of goal posts two years down the line." - Patrice Motsepe, leader of a visiting SA business delegation, (The Herald, 7/4).

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