The need for media reforms remains contested terrain in Zimbabwe more so in the context of the political contestations over the issue.
The crisis facing the media reforms agenda is found in the Global Political Agreement (GPA) signed by the three political forces which constitute Zimbabwe’s inclusive government. Article 19 of the GPA states that the registration and re-registration of new and closed media players respectively will be done under the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) and the Broadcasting Services Act (BSA).
It is paradoxical that these two pieces of legislation which led to the closure of the media space in Zimbabwe should be the foundation of reforms and/or transformation. This poses a serious contradiction in terms given how the acts are repressively structured to curtail the very same goal of securing media freedom.
This clearly explains why the political foes are now stuck when it comes to addressing this fundamental catastrophe. In negotiating and signing the GPA, the negotiators overlooked several issues pertaining to what defines media freedom and freeing the media environment. The GPA points to a desire to retain control of the media notwithstanding political pronouncements on commitment to the so- called reforms.
There is no need to go beyond statements of commitment. This can be demonstrated through the repealing of the nefarious acts and explicitly guarantee media freedom as opposed to hanging on to these discredited pieces of legislation. Assertions by the Permanent Secretary of Media, Information and Publicity George Charamba that AIPPA is necessary to secure the industry and the country from foreign aggression is sad and fact free.
Prior to the media reign of terror orchestrated by former minister of Information Professor Jonathan Moyo through AIPPA, the media industry existed without the restrictions of today. Any publisher who wanted to start his or her newspaper would simply notify and register with the General Post Office of Zimbabwe and proceed as planned with the publication. This should be the spirit which governs well intentioned media reforms.
One remains cognisant of the hopes raised by the signing of the GPA pertaining to the opening of the media space specifically that of registration and opening up of new and closed papers respectively. However, reforms are not symbolic. They require a surgical process of the entire system governing the media industry.
Adverts pertaining to the registration of the News Day, sister publication of the Zimbabwe Independent, the banned Daily News and other prospective papers are now awash in the public domain. Their return and entry into the market is long overdue. Viewed differently, their registration will not necessarily mean the sealing of the envisaged media reforms. The very same legislative acts which would have registered the publications can equally be used to close them.
Meaningful reforms should, therefore, be underpinned by the repealing of AIPPA and BSA to clear the confusion arising from the conundrum of Article 19 of the GPA and thus pave way towards guaranteeing media freedom in the constitution.
Likewise, the government should disinvest from Zimpapers as that gives government an unfair competitive advantage in what is supposed to be a free market environment. Newspapers should survive or fold on the basis of their strength to satisfy the target audience. In this transitional phase the way forward would be to bring back the Zimbabwe Mass Media Trust to act as a buffer and minimise interference by the state with editorial decisions at Zimpapers.
Newspaper companies should be registered in terms of the Companies Act while the General Post Office of Zimbabwe should retain its traditional role of receiving notification and registration of newspapers from prospective publishing companies.
In the broadcasting sector, the government has a role of distributing the magnetic spectrum. This cannot be done through the BSA due to its restrictions on issues pertaining to ownership, the responsible minister’s discretionary powers and lack of technical capacity on the part of the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ), among other issues. An independent regulatory board answerable to parliament is therefore necessary as the starting point for genuine media reforms.
These are the parameters that should frame negotiations or any form of discourse around the issue of media reforms. Opening of the media space should therefore not be measured on the return of The Daily News or the entry of new players alone but as the precursor to wholesale reforms that will allow Zimbabweans enjoy the right to freedom of expression with minimum state interference.
