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MISA-Zimbabwe statement on allegations of MP Settlement Chikwinya's involvement in community radio
MISA-Zimbabwe
May 21, 2012

MISA-Zimbabwe dismisses as baseless and cheap propaganda allegations that Media Information and Communication Technology Portfolio Committee Chairperson MP Settlement Chikwinya heads the board of a community radio station run by the Media Institute of Southern Africa.

An article published by The Sunday Mail's May 20 edition claimed that the portfolio committee last week failed to convene a meeting to receive oral evidence on the liberalisation of the airwaves from the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe and the Media, Information and Publicity Minister, Webster Shamu, because Chikwinya's attendance would have been in conflict of interest. The article did not identify the community radio in question nor did it seek comment from MISA-Zimbabwe.

MISA-Zimbabwe categorically states that the organisation does not run any of the community radio initiatives in the country. The organisation works with the initiatives as a technical partner in fulfilment of its mandate to promote freedom of expression and access to information through diverse and independent platforms of communication that include a three tier broadcasting system.

The community radio initiatives, which are currently dotted across the country, are owned and governed by the communities through their own community structures as per global standard practice. One of the basic qualifying criteria for any community radio initiative the world over is that it be apolitical and this is usually emphasised by the fact that none of the members on the governing board holds a position in a political party or public office.

That itself disqualifies MP Chikwinya from sitting in any structure of existing community radio initiatives. In fact, Chikwinya's name does not appear in any governance structure of the more than 10 community radio initiatives that MISA-Zimbabwe has partnered with in the campaign for the opening up of the airwaves.

MISA-Zimbabwe has interacted with MP Chikwinya, and indeed other Members of Parliament on the present and past portfolio committees, during media related capacity building workshops and never on community radio programming.

That being the case, MISA-Zimbabwe views the allegations as not only part of ongoing campaigns to smear and scandalise the organisation through the state media, but also a crude attempt to block relevant authorities from being held to account with regards delays in the democratisation of the broadcasting sector.

As a firm believer in self regulation, MISA-Zimbabwe will lodge a complaint with the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe over this brazen violation of basic tenets of journalism, which can only be helpful to those who are seeking excuses for prolonging the status quo in broadcasting but poisonous to the majority of Zimbabweans.

Visit the MISA-Zimbabwe fact sheet

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