Professor Welshman Ncube This Week,
Friday 6 May 2016
“Media Freedom Is Not A Favour But Our Right”
This week has been a time when all democratic forces in Zimbabwe, and indeed the entire world, have seen the flag for media freedom fly full mast. For us Zimbabweans, we have had for thirty-six years, to contend with ZANU PF’s sinister and pervasive, if not bizarre manipulation of and entitlement to citizen’s rights to information. Listen to their ministers and cronies comment over the years on media freedom, portraying an ugly face of diabolic entitlement to institutions meant to guarantee media freedom. As an example, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, The Herald, Chronicle, Sunday Mail, Sunday News and the Manica Post ought to be ‘owned’ by the public, yet ZANU PF and its purveyors of darkness exercise a stranglehold of entitlement with news and information all about the ruling party, and specialising in haranguing the opposition. Even when the first lady, Grace Mugabe, is on a frolic of party business, Zimbabweans are fed with long hours of her puerile rants – turning the public broadcaster into a private affair.
Over the past few years, we have witnessed ZANU PF’s crooked hand manoeuvre its way into state institutions like the Media Commission and Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe. These are entities set up by the constitution to inculcate a sense of media multiplicity, but have ended up ‘captured’ by the ruling party to act as gatekeepers to its sinister motive of determining who broadcasts and who does not – the result has been devastating. We have been duped into thinking that stations like Star FM, ZiFm and the other so-called ‘community radio’ stations are ‘independent’, yet we know that when it comes to the crunch, these crony broadcasters tailor-make their entire content according to ‘His Master’s Voice’. And yet sections 61 and 62 of the Zimbabwe Constitution unequivocally guarantee all citizens with freedom of media and information. In fact, it is impossible to comprehend how ZANU PF cannot associate this constitutional right with civilised development. Some of the most developed countries in the world – USA, Britain, Japan, Germany, France – have extremely boisterous, vibrant and free media.
The Social Progressive Imperative has access to information and communication as an imperative. In Africa, our neighbours Botswana, South Africa and Zambia are highly ranked while we, curiously, are unranked. Reporters Without Borders have an annual index that ranks press freedom, and as expected, Zimbabwe this year ranks a lowly 124 out of 190. They say this of our miserable ranking: “President Robert Mugabe drives media restriction in Zimbabwe. The Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act requires all journalists register and get accreditation from the government annually. Radio is the main source of news for rural areas, which state-owned Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation controls along with the majority of broadcast media. The government also controls the two main newspapers. Foreign media outlets have historically been banned from Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe’s Internet usage is one of the highest levels in Africa, which gives residents access to foreign press.”
In more ways than one, Zimbabweans – or more accurately, ZANU PF politicians – have not learned from previous mistakes of media and information self-immolation. I say this because the ruling party and its perpetual beneficiaries spent most of the ‘COPAC era’ arguing vehemently against media freedom in order to, in their own words ‘protect the integrity of the president and first secretary from Western-sponsored insults’. Even after internet has unleashed a new Tsunami of information freedom, ZANU PF still insists on spreading its diabolic tentacles to social networks in order to ‘monitor’ citizen journalism. I am even surprised that on a day and age when ‘every villager’ has access to a phone application that can download audio visual messages, who actually now needs a broadcast ‘authority’ in Zimbabwe?
According to Internet World Stats, Zimbabwe’s internet users are almost seven million, with a 47% internet penetration. Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya and South Africa still rank high in internet use, and if you consider it, their media is already vibrant. What about their GDP – much higher than Zimbabwe’s! Why am I saying all this? 3 May 2016 was World Press Freedom Day and as president of a democratic party, I am convinced that without press and media freedom, our dream of a truly democratic and just society will never be realised. As UNESCO intimates: “World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993 following a Recommendation adopted at the twenty-sixth session of UNESCO’s General Conference in 1991. This in turn was a response to a call by African journalists who in 1991 produced the landmark Windhoek Declaration on media pluralism and independence. It serves as an occasion to inform citizens of violations of press freedom – a reminder that in dozens of countries around the world, publications are censored, fined, suspended and closed down, while journalists, editors and publishers are harassed, attacked, detained and even murdered.” It is therefore my responsibility, as a leader, to inspire all citizens to aspire for press freedom, not least that it is our constitutional right.
As a major pillar of governance, the media is not yet adequately structured to effectively promote, support and compel public institutions to demonstrate diversity, equality, fairness, public accountability, equity and transparency, which are the MDC’s fundamental values to drive the realisation of human rights.
And so as we inch closer to 2018, we cannot sit back and allow the perpetuation of ZANU PF’s hegemonic political tantrums and survivalist paranoia to contaminate our vision of a free society. It is not up to me, Simba Makoni, Dumiso Dabengwa, Tendai Biti, Elton Mangoma, Joyce Mujuru or Morgan Tsvangirai to lead you into press freedom space. It is also your own personal responsibility. What ZANU PF denies you of accessing ZBC, Chronicle or Herald, you can use your newly found weapon of freedom – new information and communication technologies. After all, media freedom is not some act of divine benevolence from the self-anointed ZANU PF ‘deity’. It is our right.