October 5^th – 11^th 2009

1. General Comment

Recent threats by officials from the ZANU PF arm of government aimed at intimidating the country’s private media blatantly undermine the spirit of democratic reforms envisaged in the Global Political Agreement and illustrate that party’s determination to resist such reforms.

Barely a week after ZANU PF Information Minister Webster Shamu irregularly and unilaterally stuffed media boards with party sympathisers, his permanent secretary George Charamba, warned publishers planning to launch new daily papers that he would have them prosecuted if they published before obtaining proper registration from the yet-to-be-established Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC).

However, it remains unclear what law he would use to stop the newspapers from publishing, especially given Shamu’s recent sanctioning of a new state-controlled Zimpapers’ weekly, H-Metro, without first complying with this condition.

The Zimbabwe Independent (9/10) reported Charamba telling editors attending a recent UNESCO-sponsored meeting in Harare that although the High Court had confirmed that the ZMC’s predecessor, the Media and Information Commission (MIC), had ceased to exist, his ministry would still stop the publication of unlicensed newspapers.

Said Charamba: “What the judgment cannot do is to stop the ministry from visiting a publication that is on the street to ask it to produce its licence. That we will do without fear or favour – get it from me because you will be breaking the law.”

Specifically referring to Barnabas Thondhlana, editor of the Independent Group of Newspapers’ planned daily, NewsDay, Charamba said: “…Certainly he knows that if he goes on the street (without) registration, Charamba will be on him.”

Apart from exposing the anti-reformist attitude that persists within ZANU PF, Charamba resorted to distorting legal realities regarding media regulation to justify his ministry’s authoritarian determination to maintain its control of all media activity in direct defiance of official policy that commits government to encouraging the emergence of a free and diverse media.

While it is true that many of AIPPA’s repressive provisions remain, amendments to the Act, which became law on January 11 2008, rendered the MIC a legal nullity and replaced it with a Zimbabwe Media Commission – contrary to Charamba’s claim that “essentially” MIC still exists.

MMPZ considers Charamba’s distortions and misplaced belligerence, and Shamu’s unilateral appointments to important public media boards, such as the national public broadcaster, ZBC, and the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe, to be clear indications that ZANU PF has no intention of allowing the development of a free and diverse media community in Zimbabwe as envisaged under the GPA. Such arrogance represents just another nail in the coffin of the so-called Government of National Unity.

2. The Print Media

Summary

The print media continued to focus their attention on the activities of the inclusive government whose major highlight this week was the official opening of the Second Session of the Seventh Parliament (See Fig 1).

They allocated 218 stories to the topic, 94 of which appeared in the government papers and the remaining 124 in the private Press.

Thirty of the official papers’ reports on the inclusive government’s activities presented the coalition parties as succeeding in addressing the country’s problems while 64 [news stories (52); comment (three) and opinion pieces (nine)] reported it as facing numerous hurdles.

The private Press highlighted government’s political and economic achievements in 25 reports and underlined impediments to its reconstruction drive in 94 stories. The rest were general reports on the operations of the coalition.

Fig 1: Topical issues in the print media

Publication	Political developments in govt	Parliamentary activities	Economy & Agriculture	Human rights issues
The Herald	14	8	35	3
Chronicle	6	5	10	0
Manica Post	1	1	4	1
Sunday Mail	3	0	2	1
Financial Gazette	3	3	11	2
The Zimbabwean	11	2	17	10
Zimbabwe Independent	8	1	7	1
The Standard	2	0	14	5
The Zimbabwean On Sunday	11	3	7	6
Total	59	23	107	29

Inclusive Government

a) Progress in the GPA

The official papers presented the coalition as making significant headway in implementing the GPA in 30 stories.

They mostly cited as proof:

• Praise for the government’s activities by some sections of the international community;
• The decision by the MDC not to heckle President Mugabe when he opened Parliament;
• Composition of constitutional committees; and
• Alleged increase in investor confidence and the provision of agricultural inputs to farmers.

However, the papers gave no qualitative analysis of these achievements.

For example, The Herald (5/10) approvingly reported the visiting German business delegation as having expressed interest in investing in Zimbabwe, but censored the group’s reservations about the new government’s persistent reluctance to reform its hostile property rights laws.

Only the private papers provided context to these tentative improvements.

Although they acknowledged the coalition’s achievements, such as the alleged agreement on the members of the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC); pledges by the European Commission to fund a transparent land audit; the absence of heckling at the opening of Parliament; and the revival of the tourism sector, they reiterated the need for comprehensive reforms as a requisite for full recovery.

b) Threats to the GPA

The official papers faulted the West and their alleged allies, the MDC-T and civic groups, for stalling the effective execution of the power-sharing agreement. They carried 64 reports giving this impression although they did not provide any concrete evidence proving this.

The MDC-T, civic society and the West were variously accused of:

• Sabotaging the coalition’s economic recovery prospects through sanctions;
• Colluding with multi-national institutions to create a parallel government; and
• Implementing ineffective socio-economic interventions to destabilise government.

The official Press’ “news analysis”, particularly those by pro-ZANU PF columnists such as Reason Wafawarova and Nyashadzashe Majoni, led in propagating these conspiracies.

In one article, The Herald’s Wafawarova (6/10) alleged a plot by the MDC-T and the US to turn Zimbabwe into a “US client state whose welfare and economic backing will be reminiscent to that of Israel”.

The 94 reports in the private papers widely blamed ZANU PF’s obstinacy for government’s instability. Examples included ZANU PF’s reluctance to stop:

• Human rights abuses against perceived opponents;
• Invasions of white-owned farmland;
• Delaying solutions to outstanding issues under the GPA; and
• Frustrating the coalition’s democratic reforms, such as its illegal and unilateral appointment, for example, of members to the boards of Zimpapers and the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ).

The private papers also attempted to give a balanced perspective on these issues. For instance, they gave the West and the MDC space to respond to ZANU PF’s allegations that they were responsible for the country’s problems. The Standard (11/10), for example, quoted MDC-T Finance Minister Tendai Biti refuting claims that he was blocking much-needed funds from various international financial institutions for personal political interests, arguing that the process for the release of the money had to go through Parliament first.

Human rights issues

The official papers carried four reports on rights issues, which included follow-up stories to the Supreme Court’s quashing of terrorism and banditry charges against human rights activist Jestina Mukoko, and reports of rights violations in Chiadzwa.

However, these were mostly in the context of denying the existence of the problem in Zimbabwe.

The private Press published 25 reports on human rights issues, nine of which were new incidents. These included:

• The arrest of Harare City Council employee Erasmus Jochore for purportedly leaking information exposing corruption in the council;
• The abduction of a schoolchild by soldiers in Gutu North for allegedly refusing to support ZANU PF;
• An arson attack on the Headlands home of a rape victim by suspected ZANU PF activists in retaliation to the conviction of the rapist, alleged to be a ZANU PF supporter.

Sourcing patterns in the print media

The sourcing pattern in the official media showed an over-reliance on official statements, resulting in mostly partisan and uninformative reports. This was reflected in both their stories on the inclusive government and other socio-economic issues.

For example, the government Press cited 16 official sources in their stories on the inclusive government and other related matters, with only three alternative sources (two church representatives and the Zimbabwe Youth Council). Even then, these were mostly quoted in the context of praising the activities of the alliance. The official papers also gave uneven coverage in their reports on the coalition’s political activities. They quoted ZANU PF sources 10 times, against two for the MDC-T and nothing for MDC-M.

The rest were comments from other government functionaries.

The private media generally balanced official and alternative perspectives on the government’s operations. They recorded nine official voices and 10 alternative opinions in their coverage of the inclusive government while their stories on the socio-economic issues quoted 25 official sources and 23 alternative ones.

However, the private Press appeared to discriminate against ZANU PF in their coverage of the inclusive government, quoting ZANU PF voices just once, MDC-T five times and none from MDC-M.

3. The Electronic Media

Summary

The inclusive government also remained most topical in the broadcast media, with more attention being given to its economic reconstruction efforts, political developments and the opening of Parliament. See Fig. 2.

Altogether, ZBC aired 189 stories on these issues. Of these, 106 projected the coalition as making progress in fulfilling the political deal, while 64 highlighted evidence of tension in government. The remaining 19 were general stories on government activities.

The private electronic media carried 63 stories on the coalition and related issues. Sixteen highlighted government’s modest achievements, 41 exposed evidence of discord, and six were general stories.

Unlike ZBC, the private electronic media remained watchful of continued human rights violations, which undermine democratic reforms envisaged in the GPA. They carried 10 stories on this.

Fig 2: Topical news distribution in the electronic media

Station	Political developments in govt	Parliamentary activities	Economy	Human rights issues
ZTV	50	9	100	0
Spot FM	27	3	14	0
Radio Zimbabwe	13	4	23	0
Studio 7	7	2	1	0
SW Radio Africa	9	0	4	4
ZimDaily	0	0	0	0
New Zimbabwe.com	4	1	3	0
ZimOnline	7	3	4	2
The Zimbabwe Times	6	1	1	4
Total	123	23	150	10

Inclusive government

a) Progress in the coalition

ZBC used the official opening of the Second Session of the Seventh Parliament (21 stories), ongoing constitutional reforms and national reconciliation activities (15), and official rhetoric glossing over disharmony in government (32) as evidence of progress in the implementation of the political agreement.

None of the reports reconciled this impression with evident tension in government, which all parties have acknowledged.

ZBC (6/10, 8pm), for instance, hailed the MDC’s decision not to heckle President Mugabe during the opening of Parliament, which has marred previous events, as symbolising harmony in government without properly analyzing the reasons for this.

ZBC also used tentative recovery in the tourism and mining sectors, isolated infrastructural repairs, and pledges of investment, as proof of progress. Ninety-two of its 137 stories on the economy propagated this thrust.

Although the private electronic media acknowledged some of these achievements, they still emphasised the need for full compliance with the GPA as the prerequisite for sustainable economic growth.

b) Threats to the coalition

Nearly all the 64 stories ZBC carried on problems bedevilling the coalition exclusively attributed them to the MDC and alleged Western interference and sanctions.

These included 20 that blamed the country’s continued economic ills on sanctions; ineffective policy interventions by the MDC-run ministries and the alleged sabotage by MDC-T Finance Minister Tendai Biti, who was reported to be “sitting on US$800 million” from multilateral institutions (ZTV 5/10, 8pm).

The MDC and its alleged Western allies were not given the right of reply. In fact, the only time the MDC’s position was mentioned was in the context of dismissing the claim.

ZTV (6/10, 8pm), for instance, allowed pro-ZANU PF commentators to dismiss as unwarranted complaints by the MDC and civic groups over ZANU PF’s unilateral appointment of members to state media boards.

Goodson Nguni, for example, claimed the complaints, mainly over the militarisation of the boards, were “unpatriotic, illegal and hypocritical” since the MDC arm of government had “several former Selous Scouts who served in the Rhodesian army…” He claimed these included, Education Minister David Coltart, Home Affairs Co-Minister Giles Mutsekwa and Colonel Martin Rupiya.

In contrast, the private electronic media carried 41 stories that openly ascribed problems plaguing the coalition to ZANU PF’s reluctance to embrace democratic reform, which they noted was hindering government’s economic revival plans.

These included ZANU PF’s continued unilateralism and the party’s disdain for the courts as reflected by former Lands Minister Didymus Mutasa’s description of a Chinhoyi magistrate as being “very stupid” for summoning him to testify in a land dispute. Other stories included the short-listing of two private firms to mine the Chiadzwa diamond fields in defiance of a High Court ruling restoring African Consolidated Resources’ mining rights to the fields.

The private electronic media also carried 10 stories on human rights abuses, which they presented as another threat to government stability.

Three of them were fresh incidents;

• The alleged politicization of food aid by ZANU PF in Midlands;
• The alleged coercion of striking Shabani workers to return to work by soldiers;
• The alleged rape of an unidentified woman by soldiers at Charles Lock’s Headlands farm.

Sourcing patterns in the electronic media

ZBC’s sourcing patterns in the coverage of the topical issues of the week further exposed its continued violation of its public service mandate and the political agreement, which obliges it to give fair and balanced coverage to all parties and shades of opinion.

For example, out of the 52 political party voices the national broadcaster carried in its coverage of political developments and related matters, 31 were ZANU PF. The remaining 21 voices were shared between the two MDC formations with the MDC-T being cited 15 times.

Although ZBC appeared to fairly allocate space to alternative comment to balance the official perspective, those quoted [business (33); foreign diplomats (23) and analysts (nine)] hardly assessed government’s policy measures or the root cause of its ineffectiveness. Instead, they were mostly quoted in the context of highlighting persistent indicators of economic distress or commending government interventions. But this was to be expected as most of the foreign diplomats, for example, were from countries perceived as Zimbabwe’s allies such as China, Brazil, the DRC, Algeria and Namibia.

ZBC also tended to rely on single sources in their coverage of topical issues. For instance, out of the 189 stories on the inclusive government and related subjects the broadcaster carried, 101 contained single sources.

Although the private electronic media gave significant space to alternative views, they appeared to favour the MDC-T compared to its coalition partners. This, taken together with the 13 party officials quoted expressing the party’s position, meant that the MDC-T enjoyed more positive coverage than other coalition partners in the private electronic media.  ZANU PF was cited six times while the MDC-M was quoted once.

In addition, 42 of their 73 stories on the new government and related issues were single-sourced, while five relied on unnamed individuals. See Fig 3.

Fig 3: Voice distribution on ZBC and the private electronic media

Station	ZANU PF	MDC-T	MDC-M	Business	Alt	Foreign diplomats
ZTV	20	9	0	27	6	14
Spot FM	7	4	4	4	2	4
Radio Zimbabwe	4	2	2	2	1	5
SW Radio Africa	0	6	1	1	4	0
Studio 7	2	1	0	0	3	1
ZimOnline	2	2	0	0	2	2
Zimbabwe Times	1	2	0	0	1	1
New Zimbabwe.com	1	2	0	0	1	0

Special mention

MMPZ noted The Sunday Mail’s abuse (11/10) of its public mandate by carrying two lengthy pieces on former independent MP Jonathan Moyo’s grovelling defence of his decision to rejoin ZANU PF in an interview with the paper. One was actually the paper’s front-page lead, while the second was a rambling reproduction of the whole interview.

MMPZ finds no plausible excuse for such excessive coverage, especially since his readmission into ZANU PF – including his reasons for doing so – has been a running story in most local media in previous weeks. And Moyo’s betrayal of his constituents in Tsholotsho found little space.

Ends//

The MEDIA UPDATE was produced and circulated by the Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe, 9 Knight Bruce Road, Milton Park, Harare, Tel: 263 4 741816 / 778115, E-mail: monitors@mmpz.org.zw