By A Correspondent
Opposition leader Advocate Nelson Chamisa has fiercely criticised President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s newly launched media policy, dismissing it as ineffective and misleading. Speaking in a statement released on Thursday, Chamisa described the policy unveiled in Harare the previous day as “a damp squib.”
“The recently launched media policy by the Zanu PF administration is yet another hollow gesture,” Chamisa said. “Let’s be clear: the real crisis in Zimbabwe’s media sector is not a lack of policy, but the continued criminalisation of journalism. No amount of lipstick will beautify a frog.”
According to Chamisa, instead of creating space for innovation and media freedom, the policy serves to consolidate government control. “True reform would have meant breaking the monopoly, not entrenching it; promoting local investment, not stifling it,” he said.
He further argued that a genuine media policy would focus on empowering journalists and ensuring their protection. “A real media policy would empower journalists, not threaten them with deregistration under vague ‘rules and standards’ designed to muzzle dissent,” Chamisa stated. “It would promote self-regulation, as we see in other respected professions.”
Chamisa also took aim at the state-run broadcasters, ZBC and Zimpapers, saying they remain mouthpieces of propaganda rather than platforms for public service. “It would transform ZBC and Zimpapers into genuine public service platforms, not echo chambers of outdated propaganda.”
The opposition leader was equally critical of the proposed Media Fund, warning it could further strain an already struggling media industry. “The so-called proposed Media Fund will burden struggling media houses even further,” he said. “Our journalists, including those in public media, are earning peanuts, not because of poor work ethic, but because of collapsing revenues aided by a hostile environment.”
Chamisa accused the government of offering cosmetic changes that fail to address deeper issues. “This policy offers no meaningful support for retooling in the digital age. It’s not a new dispensation, it’s a new deception.”
Calling for sweeping reforms, Chamisa concluded: “We need a complete overhaul. It is time to decriminalise journalism, dismantle media capture, and enable Zimbabwe’s media to thrive as a job-creating, economy-boosting industry. For the people. For the country. For God. Forever and always.”