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Information - the fabric of societal development
Movement for Democratic Change
May 10, 2011
31 years after
our struggle for independence which was guided by a national desire
for freedom of expression, Zimbabweans remain the only country with
a state restricted broadcast and electronic media space.
Parliament,
however, has long acknowledged the nation's capacity to manage at
least 56 new broadcasting stations. It is against this background
that we find it strange that a failed politician like Bright Matonga
could claim government has no capacity to monitor and control the
electronic media - mere rhetoric given that Matonga is parroting
the lines of his failed and unpopular Zanu PF party which is ranked
among the top seven press freedom predators in Africa.
Broadcasting
does not need any monitoring or controlling. The people know what
they want to see and hear, and can provide their own checks and
balances. With the inception of the GNU,
the initial agenda was to allow for a plural media of which a Zimbabwe
Media Commission was to be appointed and a Broadcasting Authority
of Zimbabwe board (BAZ) was to be constituted.
The BAZ was
created to allow for the opening up of airwaves. Two years down
the line, there is yet to be licensing of a single private broadcaster.
Apparently, Matonga claims a research he had conducted together
with the help of his incapable Zanu PF ally Tafataona Mahoso, the
Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) chief executive officer, found that
'government had no capacity to monitor and control the airwaves'.
The people's
Party of Excellence, the MDC stands for an informed nation as a
first step towards the development and growth of individual and
societal capacity. There is need to allocate radio licences to communities
and private players to ensure that the nation gets access to information
and operates in a free and unfettered environment.
The MDC believes
in the adage information is power, and abhors anybody who limits
its accessibility to the people. The people of Zimbabwe have a right
to know and a right to be heard. Any functioning democracy and any
economic development depend on the premise of a people with access
to information, education and entertainment - the able functions
played by the media.
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