This article was originally written by Njabulo Ncube for the Zimbabwean daily the Financial Gazette, 13 January. It has been edited for republication here.
In what government critics say is an unprecedented shift, the state broadcaster, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings, formerly Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC), interviewed Welshman Ncube, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) secretary general, last week to clarify his party’s position regarding the parliamentary election, set for March. During the same week, an official from ZANU Ndonga, the tribal-based opposition political party with a single seat in the 120-member Parliament, was also interviewed on the popular vernacular radio station Radio Zimbabwe. Media activists said this week they had also noted that opposition politicians, especially those from the main opposition MDC, were also being “positively” covered in the public print media. Remius Makuwaza, the MDC director of elections, was widely quoted in the state-controlled Herald of last Thursday, while another ZANU Ndonga official was also quoted, confirming his party’s participation.
ZANU PF under pressure to increase media freedom
Analysts who spoke to The Financial Gazette this week said the increasingly ostracised ZANU PF government, which for the past five years had effectively shut out the opposition from the public media, was under pressure to comply with the minimum standards set by Southern African Development Community (SADC) heads of state for the staging of democratic elections, which included granting unlimited access to opposition parties in the public media. Elections held since the emergence of the MDC as a major political force have severely dented President Robert Mugabe’s legitimacy.
No more benefit of the doubt to Mugabe
The main opposition party, which the government accuses of being a Western front for effecting regime change, claims that ZANU PF used bullying, intimidation and outright violence against MDC supporters in the last round of parliamentary and presidential elections. The analysts said with the country’s elections three months away, the government would like to be seen to be adhering to some of the guidelines and principles agreed by SADC in Mauritius last August, as ZANU PF was no longer guaranteed the support of African states and institutions, which had given the Zimbabwe government the benefit of the doubt and, with it, vestiges of legitimacy. Member states are not, however, legally obligated to adopt the SADC principles. While President Mugabe’s government has approved some of the changes agreed by SADC, such as conducting voting in one day and the use of translucent boxes, among other measures, the ruling party has maintained a grip on the public media to the exclusion of all dissenting voices. Public media institutions have frequently been used to carry virulent anti-opposition propaganda.
-Masters of the art of window-dressing
Brian Kagoro, the chairman of Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, a grouping encompassing 350 civil society organisations, doubted the government’s sincerity in granting access to the opposition and non-governmental organisations with an interest in the forthcoming polls. Kagoro said the cosmetic changes recently noted in the state media were meant to hoodwink people into believing that the opposition in Zimbabwe had access to ZBH and state newspapers. “This regime has mastered the art of window-dressing,” said Kagoro. “They want the world to believe that the opposition has access to the public media. The appearance of opposition politicians on national television is for window-dressing purposes, nothing else. The truth of the matter is that opposition political parties have no access to the public media, period,” he added.
-Freedom of expression to a loyal and patriotic opposition only
Takura Zhangazha, a media activist with the Media Institute of Southern Africa, said: “The government is not being honest by pretending to grant media access to the opposition. “The MDC is an important stakeholder in the political culture of Zimbabwe. It should be given consistent media coverage . . . not only when elections are around the corner. The opposition must be allowed to flight their campaign adverts as well as buy airtime to educate the electorate about their party policies.” Recently, ZBH reportedly declined to air MDC advertisements, in a clear sign that opposition parties were still far from getting access to the public media, which continue to show blatant bias towards the ruling ZANU PF party. Information minister Jonathan Moyo – who has presided over the entrenchment of a starkly pro-ZANU PF stance in the government-owned press – and Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa have recently stated that the public media would only be open to a “loyal and patriotic opposition”.
