Twenty years after the Windhoek Declaration on press freedom
Twenty years after the Windhoek Declaration on press freedom
Twenty years after the Windhoek Declaration on press freedom
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print media to flourish, hoping<br />
that <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> ec<strong>on</strong>omic challenges and<br />
cost of producti<strong>on</strong> will take care<br />
of this sector. After all, not many<br />
of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>se newspapers reach rural<br />
communities which are under <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
tight grip of Zanu-PF.<br />
As a result <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> party cares little<br />
about billboards in Harare attacking<br />
President Mugabe – as l<strong>on</strong>g as <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>se<br />
are not displayed in Zimbabwe’s rural<br />
communities. Ano<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>r element<br />
in this scenario is Zanu-PF’s calculati<strong>on</strong><br />
that <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> broadcast media, especially<br />
FM radio, will remain <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> most<br />
popular media: with at least 80% of<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> Zimbabwe populati<strong>on</strong> accessing<br />
news via this medium. As a result,<br />
broadcasting has to be firmly kept<br />
under <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> grip of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> party.<br />
ZBC TV and its four FM radio stati<strong>on</strong>s<br />
remain directly under <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> c<strong>on</strong>trol<br />
of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> Ministry of Informati<strong>on</strong> and<br />
Publicity. Senior staff are appointed<br />
by <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> Minister in c<strong>on</strong>sultati<strong>on</strong> with<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> president. And ZBC has recently<br />
more than doubled its propaganda<br />
messages in support of President<br />
Mugabe, with jingles praising <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
president played across all <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> radio<br />
stati<strong>on</strong>s and TV at hourly intervals.<br />
While <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> print media has flourished<br />
since 2009, with four daily newspapers<br />
being added where <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>re was<br />
<strong>on</strong>e, threats are still made against<br />
journalists. The Secretary to <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
Cabinet is reported to have called<br />
<strong>on</strong>e such entrant, The Mail, in June<br />
2011, threatening unspecified acti<strong>on</strong><br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>after</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> paper made allegati<strong>on</strong>s of<br />
unprofessi<strong>on</strong>alism by <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> Attorney<br />
General.<br />
Journalists are still barred from<br />
visiting certain areas as security is<br />
not guaranteed. With regard to <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
“Mugabe is a liar” billboard, Zanu-<br />
PF senior member and former Informati<strong>on</strong><br />
Minister J<strong>on</strong>athan Moyo<br />
called for <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> journalist c<strong>on</strong>cerned<br />
to be arrested. Not <strong>on</strong>ly do newspapers<br />
still require a license to operate<br />
in Zimbabwe, but journalists in<br />
formal employment or those who<br />
80 | Media in Africa - 2011<br />
wish to access state functi<strong>on</strong>s are<br />
still required to register with <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
state-appointed Zimbabwe Media<br />
Commissi<strong>on</strong> (ZMC). The same ZMC<br />
has since announced that it is working<br />
<strong>on</strong> setting up a Statutory Media<br />
Council to regulate <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> work of<br />
journalists.<br />
“With regard to <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
‘Mugabe is a liar’<br />
billboard, Zanu-PF<br />
senior member and<br />
former Informati<strong>on</strong><br />
Minister J<strong>on</strong>athan<br />
Moyo called for <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
journalist c<strong>on</strong>cerned<br />
to be arrested.”<br />
Have things always been like this<br />
for <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> past 20 <str<strong>on</strong>g>years</str<strong>on</strong>g>? Certainly not.<br />
Zimbabwe previously seemed to<br />
be <strong>on</strong> track to meet <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>Windhoek</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>Declarati<strong>on</strong></str<strong>on</strong>g>’s call to develop a plural<br />
and diverse media. The 1990s saw<br />
a lot of investment in <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> print<br />
media that resulted in some of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
leading newspapers – <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> Zimbabwe<br />
Independent, <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> Daily News, and<br />
The Standard – coming <strong>on</strong> board. The<br />
government, through <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> Ministry<br />
of Post and Telecommunicati<strong>on</strong>s,<br />
was <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>n actively working <strong>on</strong> draft<br />
legislati<strong>on</strong> to open <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> broadcast<br />
media and ZBC was still <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> people’s<br />
choice for news and entertainment.<br />
The ruling party back <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>n, Zanu-PF,<br />
was c<strong>on</strong>fident and faced no threat<br />
from any quarter.<br />
The ec<strong>on</strong>omic liberalisati<strong>on</strong> policies<br />
initiated and supported by <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> IMF<br />
and <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> World Bank somewhat<br />
c<strong>on</strong>tributed to a softening of media<br />
policy and attitudes of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> ruling<br />
elite. But <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> collapse of Zimbabwe’s<br />
ec<strong>on</strong>omy in <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> mid to late 1990s,<br />
and <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> ensuing political struggles<br />
with <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> new entrant to <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> political<br />
scene, <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> MDC, hardened Zanu-PF<br />
attitudes to <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> media.<br />
The oppositi<strong>on</strong> parties and <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
media were <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>n labelled “enemies<br />
of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> state” and subjected to all<br />
sorts of harassment including <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
bombing of newspapers, arrests and<br />
exile of media workers. The state<br />
media was put under tighter c<strong>on</strong>trol<br />
and senior media workers dismissed.<br />
New laws were crafted to legislate<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> operati<strong>on</strong>s of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> media and <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
government <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>n made it clear that<br />
dissent would not be tolerated.<br />
The current political changes in<br />
Zimbabwe, however slow, indicate<br />
that change is coming – albeit<br />
at <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> whim of politicians. The<br />
Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe<br />
in June 2011 called for applicati<strong>on</strong>s<br />
for two commercial radio licenses.<br />
Despite this, <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> country remains<br />
in <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> woods politically and unless<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> political questi<strong>on</strong> is settled<br />
through <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> adopti<strong>on</strong> of a new and<br />
democratic c<strong>on</strong>stituti<strong>on</strong> as well as<br />
holding of free and fair electi<strong>on</strong>s,<br />
it is possible that <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> small gains<br />
made will be eroded.<br />
Change and growth of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> media in<br />
Zimbabwe is an unfortunate victim<br />
of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> politics of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> country. Unless<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> politics are sorted, Zimbabwe’s<br />
media path remains warped and<br />
dangerous. <str<strong>on</strong>g>Twenty</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>years</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>after</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>Windhoek</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>Declarati<strong>on</strong></str<strong>on</strong>g>, Zimbabwe’s<br />
media is still grappling in <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> dark<br />
<strong>on</strong> how to move forward.