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Bornwell
Chakaodza memorial lecture held
Voluntary
Media Council of Zimbabwe
May 03, 2012
The inaugural
Bornwell Chakaodza Memorial lecture was held in Harare on Wednesday,
02 May 2012, with the main presenter, William Bango, accusing Zimbabwe's
leaders of reneging on their promise for media freedom at independence.
The memorial
lecture held at a local hotel was attended by over a hundred people
who included Bornwell Chakaodza's widow, Emmah Chakaodza,
members of the Chakaodza family, the Australian ambassador to Zimbabwe,
Matthew Nehaus, members of the Zimbabwe Media Commission namely
Matthew Takaona and Chris Mhike, media practitioners and partner
organisations.
Bango who is
the former editor of the Daily News told the gathering that 32 years
after independence the media in Zimbabwe remained under siege.
"At Independence,
our revolutionaries promised a nation that guaranteed personal growth,
the right to all citizens, black and white, young and old, to fashion
and raise our arguments, a nation that pledged to help us to grow
our skills and equal opportunities," Bango said.
"The promise
was to be premised on free speech, before and after delivery, as
a way to build and to be happy to shun narrow-mindedness and injustice
in fighting corruption."
Bango also called
for the disbanding of ministries of information worldwide and said
they should be turned instead into repositories of public records.
"I sincerely
believe and subscribe to the contemporary and universal view that
government ministries of information should be disbanded and turned
into repositories of public records," he said.
Bango also highlighted
the polarisation in the media and said the reportage in Zimbabwe
depicted a situation of two contesting parties with two different
leaders within separate governments.
He said Chakaodza
fought tirelessly for the principle of media self regulation and
added that it is a fight journalists have to continue until the
media is allowed to operate freely without state intervention.
Bango said a
robust voluntary media council, keen to strengthen democracy through
open debates and discussion, would help its members to meet their
challenges.
VMCZ
chairperson, Aleck Muchadehama said Bornwell Chakaodza played an
important role in the fight for Press Freedom.
"The Bornwell
Chakaodza memorial lecture is a celebration of his life and as we
celebrate it we should reflect on the values and ethos he stood
for", said Muchadehama.
" I stand
firm in the belief that what Bornwell stood for will forever remain
the guiding principles that we will all use in our fight for press
freedom in this country" he added.
To the friends
and family of the Chakaodza family, Aleck Muchadehama said they
should seek comfort for their loss of their beloved by celebrating
the qualities that they most loved and cherished about him.
Mr Muchadehama
went on to highlight, Chakaodza's fight for press freedom
and media self regulation saying,
"Bornwell
was an ardent believer in the principle of self regulation and served
the Media Complaints Committee that deals with complaints received
by the VMCZ with distinction, alongside Justice George Smith and
Advocate Choice Damiso"
In his closing
remarks Mr Muchadehama said he hopes that VMCZ will continue advancing
media self- regulation, as Bornwell ardently believed in.
Visit
the VMCZ fact
sheet
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