Independence: a reality check

By Tabani Moyo

ON APRIL 18, 2011, Zimbabwe turned 31 -- marking three decades of ‘self-rule’ and independence from the white supremacist regime of Ian Smith.

It is imperative for the present generation to introspect on the trials and tribulations that we as a people have experienced and attempt to make a proclamation on the course of direction which we must pursue.

In his 1979 book, Unity and Struggle, Amilcar Cabral said: “We must avoid the obsession of some comrades that everything is spoiled, everything is over if they should leave the posting where they are. Nobody is indispensible in this struggle; we are all needed but nobody is indispensible.

“If someone has to go and goes away and then the struggle is paralysed, it is because the struggle was worthless … this is without mentioning cases of other comrades who think when they are transferred, they are going to die, because they have already established all conditions for working in one spot and are called upon to go to another. What blindness! As if our land were just a little corner! This shows a lack of awareness of the real reason, the aim and characteristics of our struggle.”

Our struggle for the liberation of Zimbabwe was not fought by Zanu PF alone. It was Zimbabwe’s struggle for self rule and independence, and all living in it fought and felt it. Its aspirations, hopes and dreams were aimed at ending all forms of discrimination, facilitate equitable access to the country’s resources and the greater enjoyment of a peace of mind which comes with such freedoms. It was never a personal struggle -- each and every man and woman played a part in ensuring that the settler regime was dismantled.

With the coming of independence in 1980, the nation lost its way in the euphoria of the black administration coming into power. We literally surrendered our rights into the hands of other men to define and chart the course of our destiny. In this, we allowed man and woman to build fiefdoms and empires of immortality aimed at self preservation as opposed to serving the nation

Personalities grew in stature and the national image dwindled. As Cabral clearly stated in his historical narratives, we need to deal with the ‘irreplaceables’ in our body polity.

The Southern African Development Community through its organ Troika on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation seems to have struck the correct code. What it did on March 31, 2011, was to remind the political leaders of Zimbabwe on the virtues of the liberation struggle which they were fast forgetting.

Impliedly, the resolutions seem to point to the fact that the concept of sovereignty comes with responsibilities for the state actors.

The main challenge which confronts Zimbabwe today is too much investment in personalities. We are fast moving towards creating cults in our political leaders. Our artists are now relegated to dedicating their creative prowess in praise singing. It’s like the country pulse at one moment is on pause as dance, song, poetry and other forms of art congest media prime time slots in a bid to immortalise the mortals. Truly, these are not the founding principles on which the liberation struggle was waged. What the country fought for was the freedom to choose and other freedoms including living in peace.

Zanu PF has lost its legitimacy and mandate to see through the aspirations of Zimbabweans. The MDC factions, on the other hand, seem to be trapped in the political methodologies and facing challenges in interpreting the stage at which we have reached in the journey of the liberation struggle. This is a stage of understanding the realities of the nation, managing to lead the nation from the realities and providing practical solutions to these realities.

There is need for an overhaul of our politics, drifting away from the personification process towards a configuration of Zimbabwe where every man and woman is equal.

Tabani Moyo can be contacted at rebeljournalist@yahoo.com

Zanu PF listening to its own voices

 TABANI MOYO | HARARE - Jan 26 2011 17:13
The political dust of 2010 is refusing to settle down. It won’t settle any time soon if 2011 is to proceed the way the President of the Republic, Robert Mugabe, has started.

He returned home from his annual sabbatical, this time he had taken a break in the Republic of Singapore. He returned on January 23, 2011 and was quick to announce that the general election would take place this year with or without a new constitutional order.

Having spent a good month away from the political temperatures of the troubled south of Sahara republic, I think the President was missing a good slogan. 

That he has the powers to dissolve Parliament, even the powers to cause war or peace is nigh.

Elections in this country will not come that easily given the cascading regional and continental effects attached to them.

The main problem which seems to be a default impediment in Zanu PF is that it is listening to its own voices and celebrating the “melodies” of the same.

The danger associated with such an approach is that it usually leads to sad endings. It has the ability to negate the voice of reason and proceed on the dangerous grounds of a false preparedness for an election as announced by the party leader upon his return from holiday at the airport.

It always rattles my thinking why a party with a huge pool of academics continues to operate on the margins of the same mistakes at the turn of every electoral season.

This is a sad notion. Electoral readiness in Zanu PF’s language means it has activated its functionaries of violence against the supporters of its opponents. 

I have not heard or seen any attempt at winning the hearts of the electorate except from Vice- President Joice Mujuru.

The rest of the party functionaries are busy issuing threats against the electorate. Times are changing. Violent campaigns are a liability in present-day politics.

This explains why we have every reason to be worried when the media reports outline that a terror campaign has been triggered in Budiriro, Mbare and other suburbs by the soldiers.

We are concerned why a party which has recited with vehemence its readiness for an election will unleash the uniformed forces on a people.

The army’s role is to defend the country from foreign invasion and neutralising forces of aggression, not descending on the citizens it is supposed to protect.

If the country is not at war and the force feels underutilised, it has a role to maintain the country’s roads, and social service through assisting in the development of the nation by providing manpower in the construction of dams, schools and hospitals among other things.

Unfortunately the party has been stuck with the old order politics of congesting civilian activities with the uniformed forces as a power retention mechanism. It’s stuck in the old politics that high military and uniformed forces visibility in communities is synonymous with party invincibility.

This is why the soldiers are reported in the media to be terrorising citizens and the self-styled war veterans reported to be doing the same to the electorate.
In this matrix of Zanu PF confusion on what the election will bring to its doorstep given the developments in other nations, the facts of the matter will remain as follows:

The comical constitution- making process will only end if ever it does come to an end around November – December 2011 or spill into 2012;

The afore-stated prevailing, 2012 will be a year of political contests as parties will be reacting to the outcome of the constitution-making and strategising for the election; and

The probable date for the next election can only be early 2013 or late 2012.

There is no merit of thought in Zanu PF calling for an election this year given the fact that it has many options to test its popularity before an election.

These options rest in the referendum and by-elections. If Zanu PF cares to listen to other voices outside its own in the likes of the Mbare “Chimurenga” Choir self-praise songs, then you will be rest assured that there is no election this year contrary to the President’s pronouncements on the 23rd upon his arrival at the airport.

However, like other suicidal beings you cannot rule out a nosedive from that side of the earth. The “academics” will read what they want to hear and proceed tracking the corpse like that defiant fly only to be buried with the very same corpse.

Whether Zanu PF is going to come up with sound policies in its manifesto or not, the country is tired of a political hegemony.

This has been expressed at every election with the last one calling for regional and continental intervention through the establishment of the GNU.

It is therefore one thing to call for an election and another to sustain the pressure which comes with such a call. It is no longer the President’s prerogative alone to call for an election.

The region has a huge stake in it. There must be sufficient evidence of compliance with its guidelines on elections.

It must also be noted that the MDCs should not be equally comfortable with the protest votes they have been receiving over time given the fact that they are now part of government.

The way the issue of the civil service has been handled leaves a lot to be desired among other things. It only takes a relay of mistakes on their part for the urban centres to be apathetic.

We remain guided by the dictates of time, the best way of divining the fortunes of the future.

Tabani Moyo can be contacted at rebeljournalist@yahoo.com 

Charamba — what misleading statements

TABANI MOYO - Nov 21 2010 16:50 

Permanent secretaries of media and information across the globe generally mislead. Zimbabwe’s Information and Publicity permanent secretary George Charamba is no exception.

It’s a virtue which he has perfected over time.

In his submissions to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Media, Information and Communication Technology, he presented his opinion as fact that the current broadcasting infrastructure does not allow for new broadcasting entries in an industry which is characterised by state monopoly through the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC). http://www.newsday.co.zw/article/2010-11-21-charamba-what-misleading-statements

The need for a political rebirth

TABANI MOYO | HARARE - Nov 10 2010 20:22

There is a chilling debate which is going in circles in Zimbabwe on whether the country will be subjected to the next general election next year or not.

President Robert Mugabe fired the first salvos when he made a public decree that the elections will be held early next year so that his party can kick the MDC out of government.

He was responding to the MDC moves calling upon the United Nations, European Union and South Africa not to recognise the appointments of ambassadors by President Mugabe.

The cold war’s merits and/or demerits will constitute another debate for another forum.

The new frenzy on the need to hold elections next year raises more questions than answers. The two political parties are in agreement that Zimbabwe is ripe for an election next year.

President Mugabe impresses that he wants to stop MDC “nonsense” in government whilst the MDC posits that an election will see them gaining state power as Premier Morgan Tsvangirai was once quoted in the press arguing that he had agreed with Mugabe that the loser should accept the results forthwith.

I hold a position that if an election is to be held next year, it will be a symbolic election aimed at attaining a ritual process which entails the sacrifice of innocent blood without a befitting reflection of the voting patterns.

In such a case one will ask if it is necessary for the nation to be subjected to such a symbolic process which does not lead to any meaningful change in the people’s lives.

Within this realm, the political order would have taken the people of Zimbabwe for granted that they are going for an election when the result, on the other hand, of that same sham will be maintaining the status quo.

Is going for an election after the expiry of the GPA wrong?

The most pressing question under such a scenario will be whether the political parties are wrong to argue for an election after the expiry of the GPA or not.

The answer is never simple but the most ideal situation is that of dragging the political parties in the government of the day kicking and screaming to work together and ensure meaningful reforms to our body politic rather than subjecting the populace to another political nightmare of an election which will lead to another negotiated settlement.

Why then go through the terror of an election when all the signs and intents show that there will be a negotiated settlement after the elections if the institutions that run the election are not transformed?

The political parties should negotiate before this looming election to extend the life of the GPA to 2013 and attempt as much as is possible to sanitise the national institutions running the elections before the next plebiscite.

If one were to land from space today, s/he will be forgiven to think that the political parties have since realised that they can’t work together yesterday.

They will insist that the solution to this incompatible set-up is the holding of an election next year, deliberately forgetting that the reason for the set-up of the present- day government was due to an inconclusive election.

The political order holds that the people of Zimbabwe are already on the touch line anticipating for the next orgy of political contestations. In this country contestations are not founded on a battle for ideas — but they also sublimate into organised physical “socio-politic-militant” orientation.

There is no priced answer for anyone who attempts to answer whether an average person in Zimbabwe is ready for an election or not. The rhetoric of ending the span of the GNU next year is non-attainable though it is the most ideal one under normal circumstances.

It is a virtue of insanity to believe that the country is ready to hold a national election when it is theatrically failing to hold a genuine constitution-making process.

The pretence to hold an election by the political actors as a solution to the Zimbabwean crisis is tantamount to sanctioned state barbarism targeted at killing its people.

It’s an attempt to expose the people of Zimbabwe to the June 27 2008 organised state killings.

As a people of Zimbabwe the state has the role to protect its own. In this case an election at this moment is not one of them.

The political nonsense that is stealing national debate of enriching people’s lives should be stopped forthwith from both sides of the political divide.

It therefore smacks of hypocrisy that the president of the republic calls for an election when the present-day

electoral groundwork is characterised by the following:

• ·         A chaotic voters’ roll, littered with ghost voters

• ·         The impartiality of the electoral body being questionable

• ·         The muted stagnancy in the security service sector reforms

• ·         Single party domineering on the state media

• ·         Unaccounted for funds flowing from our precious minerals, which have the capacity to fund insurgent activities

• ·         Limited information of the number of youth graduates from the Border Gezi training centres who can easily engage in acts of fanning violence at the click of a button

• ·         Unreformed national institutions

But are the political parties ready for an election, notwithstanding the fact that the people of Zimbabwe do not want them anyway? I for one strongly hold that the political parties are not ready on the following grounds:

• ·         There are better platforms for them to measure their respective political parties’ support such as the referendum and the long overdue by-elections which are likely going to take place next year

• ·         It threatens party cohesion. The respective party vultures will use the opportunity to partially address the succession politics through jostling for factional representation in Parliament.

• ·         The scary picture of the last abortive election of June 27 2008 is still haunting party supporters specifically MDC supporters in the rural constituencies such as Manicaland and Masvingo

• ·         The threats of cutting short the terms of office of the serving legislature remain a threat for Zanu PF specifically and double-barrel candidate fielding threat for the MDC.

• ·         The “constitution making process” provided a clear indication for the people of Zimbabwe that “anything” can happen and those who terrorised the people during the June 27 2008 inconclusive election took centre stage in organising chaos during the so-called constitution-making process.

If any political party insists on holding the election under the current electoral system, then it should go on a solo expedition reminiscent of the one-man presidential runoff.

The horror of state-orchestrated violence of June 27 2008 should never be allowed to recur again in our national politics.

This is what the average person holds that if these institutions which are supposed to guarantee their safety are not transformed they will watch helplessly again as terror devours their beloved ones.

We therefore need a constitutional surgical process that will usher in a political dispensation that is tolerant and responsive to the people’s needs.

This way we can safely migrate from the transition to a political set-up that is legitimate through an election that is under the supervision of Sadc, the African Union and the international community.

Above all, the political order of the day should start appreciating the type of messaging and conditioning they are preparing this country on, that we as a people will never know of peace but perpetual party line conflict.

The political parties, which are a mythical creation anyway, are going to subdue the country into perennial combat as long as the parties exist.

This nonsense must be stopped — we are tired of it. When these political parties “chose” to work together they knew very well what they were getting themselves into.

One can therefore only conclude by calling upon the political leaders of the day to stop exposing the nation to dangers of organised killings, abductions and torture under the guise of holding an election with predetermined results.

The country is tired of the political leaders pretending to be holding an election when they are not.

A proper election is run by strong institutions in an enabling environment. Zimbabwe deserves peace and stability.

Above all, we can’t be a barren country which keeps on bothering other nations on how to run our own affairs through our actions of poor leadership and non-adherence to the documents which we authored ourselves. Our system needs a rebirth.

Tabani Moyo can be contacted at rebeljournalist@yahoo.com

No more plastic balls

By Tabani Moyo

Nhamo Mhiripiri, in his short story entitled No More Plastic Balls creatively narrates the pains of transformation from childhood to adulthood. He captures the growing pains of young boy ‘caged’ by the strict rules of his household – one day the boy broke the chains, tasted freedom and died with it.

After what seems to be a land slide victory for President Mugabe at the 30th SADC summit in Windhoek, Namibia, one need to unveil the missing links in the MDC’s political approach, where it is coming from and where it is headed to avoid the same fate befalling it at the next regional grouping meeting in 2011.

This is on condition that the 30 days ultimatum issued for the resolution of the outstanding issues will lapse without consensus amongst the parties vis-à-vis the SADC Troika on Defence and Security failing to put closure to the ‘outstanding issues’.

As a matter of fact, the MDC is losing the momentum and goodwill it had gained after the 11 March 2007 calamity when the Save Zimbabwe Campaigners were bushed in Highfields forcing the African Union, through SADC to intervene and mediate in resolving the Zimbabwean crisis.

The following key issues should be dealt with:

• It should start building political activity that is aimed at throwing surprises to ZANU PF so that it gains ground for bargaining

• Fill in the missing gaps in its politics through going back to its founding documents, The National Working People’s Convention of February 1999

• The need to maintain and repair bruised ties with its founding alliances

• Moving away from the myth that its ready for an election, its a reactionary statement to ZANU PF’s equal myth that it is also ready for an election

I read of the ‘verbal war’ amongst the MDCs and Zanu PF on who is slowing down the full implementation of the GPA soon after the SADC meeting with sadness. ZANU PF’s stance was clearly building on its political resolution of its congress held on the 11th of December 2009 that it will stall any progress if the MDC does not call for the removal of sanctions. This is coming after the same Zanu PF left the MDCs moving in circles after throwing ‘songs/jingle’ on the national broadcaster.

Its a pity the MDC doesn’t have any political activity in place to force ZANU PF to give in to its demands. So the MDC will be left whimpering back to SADC calling for its interventions. This is rather sad given the fact that ZANU PF left the summit having convinced the regional grouping that its one of the towering figures on the region with documented political history in the grouping’s liberation credentials. The new chairperson Pohamba and his SWAPO have a clear position on its support for ZANU PF.

The onus therefore lies in the MDC to strengthen its structures and formulating democratic and peaceful activities that will force ZANU PF to rule the country through negotiation, rather than the current unilateral governance style. This is given the fact that ZANU PF is working in a reverse chronological mode – its goal clear, to kick the MDC out of government through testing its capacity to stand its ground. The responses by the MDC on the other hand are showing that its only reacting but not managing to match the challenge.

This is irrespective of the fact that the people of Zimbabwe gave the movement the mandate to be in office, ZANU PF is showing its adversaries that it can do it with or without the mandate of the people. It therefore calls for strong leadership to embark on strategic political activities that neutralises such a hegemony. This is not done through issuing a gamut of statements to the press but the opposite is true, when the press pick up the stories from a systematic political campaign that seeks to move away from the rather intangible concepts of change to delivering real change to the people’s lives.

Revisiting the working people’s convention

If one is to measure the performance of the MDC in government, s/he has to benchmark it with the declaration of the Working People’s Convention of February 1999. This is the declaration which tasked the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) with the formation of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). It is therefore imperative for the movement to self introspect and reset its buttons in line with what it committed itself to, namely:

I. The writing of a people’s constitution be initiated with immediate effect through a constitutional commission not based on presidential/partisan appointment, but defined by and accountable to a conference of representatives of elected, civil and other social groups

II. A peoples’ constitution as a reflection of a national value system should be accompanied by a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to deal with the unresolved aspects of our past that hinders national integration.

III. The right to minimum standard of health inputs (food, water, shelter) and health care be defined and entrenched in the constitution, guaranteed and funded on an equitable basis by the state through its mobilisation of national resources.

IV. Mechanisms should be put in place to equitable and efficiently distribute public, private and household resources for education to enhance the quality of education and to review the education curriculum and support services provided to better prepare children with skills needed to tap the economic and employment opportunities in the next millennium

V. A housing policy should be developed that integrates housing development across the country, matches community efforts and resources with state, employer and institutional resources.

VI. Media freedom should be enshrined in the constitution, supported by an independent Media Commission and by laws providing for public rights to access to information and for curtailment of government control over interference in the media.

The six (6) randomly picked from the 15 resolutions of the convention glaringly shows that the document is gathering dust in the mind of its authors. The resolutions address issuesunder the armpits of the MDC controlled ministries except the Media.

Our health system is not working. Our beloved ones are dying daily, like flies due to the lack of expertise and the cost of accessing the system. The same is true with our education system. The students are half backed, to those still managing to access it whilst the educators are highly disgruntled. Housing remains a distant dream.

The constitution making process is a fallacy with the drivers of the process pretending to write the country’s supreme law. In essence, the political parties are campaigning to the people of Zimbabwe so that they reiterate their manifesto positions rather than facilitating for a platform for the people to air their view.

Guided by the founding principles rather than principals, the MDC can start building on a lasting political activities that bring real change to the people of Zimbabwe than reacting on daily basis to ZANU PF’s political drill.

Where are the founding alliances?

The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU), National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) and ZIMRIGHTS were the mass based organisations which were at the conception stages of the MDC.

The onus is on the MDC to appreciate that alliances work for its collective good and stop viewing the alliance members as enemies because they insist on the founding principles. ZANU PF taught the MDC a historical lesson at the just ended summit that it might differ with its alliances in the region but when push comes to shove, what brought them together takes precedence over differences.

This is the time for the MDC to mend its ties with the founding alliance members and forge genuine processes that are aimed at reviving the commitment to the national working people’s convention which is supposed to come up with lasting political activism both during and after the inclusive government

Ready for an election or politicking

There has been a lot of grand standing pertaining to the Zimbabwe’s election being held next year, 2011. Broadly the three political parties are not ready for polls in 2011. Specifically the MDC is not ready for an election next year basing on the following scenarios:

• It cuts again the tenure of the legislature before end of office

• It subjects the party to primary elections which in themselves are nerve threatening to the internal cohesion vis-a-vis the party’s congress/conference in the same year

• The institutions that are supposed to safeguard transparent and free elections are not yet transformed

• Its fast facing disgruntlement from the founding members such as the teachers, nurses, doctors, engineers and the broader civil service which to this date still earns allowances of less than USD200 when school fees in government institutions are ranging around USD 700 per semester.

Having noted a wide range of issues affecting which confronts the MDC today, one can only impress on the party that the era of plastic balls is gone. Survival in this highly contest state arena calls of deliberate efforts towards coming up with political activities to confront ZANU PF at every turn and stopping the attitude of running to mom SADC like cry babies without matching the opponent on home ground.

Tabani Moyo is a journalist based in Harare. He can be contacted on rebeljournalist@yahoo.com

Stop abusing ZBC

The week gone by was characterised by heated accusations and counter accusations between Zanu PF and the Movement for Democratic Change on the dominance of ‘jingles’ or ‘songs’ in gleeful praise of Zanu PF as the dominant political party in the inclusive government specifically and in our body polity at large.

The suffocating accusations however missed the point by shocking margins. The real issues at hand which the politicians are not telling the nation is that they are contesting for political space and have forgotten the audience which they are supposed to be serving.

The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) does not belong to the politicians of the day, it belongs to the taxpayer, who by virtue of being forced by the Broadcasting Services Act (BSA) to pay license fees or risk facing arrest, deserves first class programming and coverage irrespective of the political, religious, ethnic or class one belongs to.

The ‘jingles’ or ‘songs’ debates are aimed at misdirecting the people of Zimbabwe’s focus from the core problems affecting them ranging from health, education, media freedom, genuine constitution-making process, HIV and Aids, access to clean water, energy supply and the forgotten Beira Feruka pipeline among others.

The symptoms emanating in the form of ‘jingles’are; firstly an offshoot of politicians being reluctant to transform ZBC from a state broadcaster into a genuine public broadcaster. Secondly the politicians entrenching themselves into a statutory mechanism that celebrates ZBC maintaining the monopoly in the industry as seen by the acknowledgement by the three political parties that the transformation in the broadcasting sector will only be done through the BSA which is captured in the Global political Agreement through article 19, a tacit admission of the undemocratic nature of the media landscape.

My concern arises when the entire nation is reduced to a position of discussing ‘jingles’ from Cabinet to a kindergarten child. The solution does not lie in stopping the jingles.

It happened with Nathaniel Manheru in The Herald being temporarily suspended after the formation of the Government of National Unity (GNU) before bouncing back with ultra zealous venom spewing, what if ZBC starts flighting dead bodies or the clips of people being chopped off their hands in a manner reminiscent of the June 27 violence orchestra?

Will we start talking of dead bodies? It’s wiser to deal with the root cause of the problem specifically through transforming it from state to public broadcaster.

There are bigger problems at ZBC which clearly show that its behaviour is that of a state broadcaster as opposed to a genuine public broadcaster which needs strong leadership to deal with as noted below:

•  Massive corruption as seen by the recent vehicle acquisition without going to tender;
•  Editorial interference from the government through the Information ministry;
• Limited access with an average reach countrywide of slightly above 60% mostly through radio;
• Acting as a party mouth- piece;
• Crisis of staff recruitment through appointment of the CEO and the board by the Information ministry which compromises impartiality of staff when discharging its duties;
•  Exclusion of minority languages and;
• Lack of credibility emanating from the afore-stated factors among others.

Against such a glaring crisis one will be left dazzled when the political order of the day concentrates on resolving the symptoms emerging as the root cause of the catastrophe.

If the country is to genuinely own ZBC, a comprehensive way of doing it is to deal with the ‘jingles’ debate as a total approach towards undoing the rot from top to bottom in compliance with international standards and norms.

The public service responsibility of a transformed ZBC should be clearly set out in law, and must strive for the following minimum requirements:

• To provide top quality, independent programming that contributes to a plurality of opinions and an informed public;
• To provide comprehensive news and current affairs programming, which is impartial, accurate and balanced;
• To provide a wide range of broadcast material that strikes a balance between programming of wide appeal and specialised programmes that serve the needs of minority audiences;
•  To be universally accessible and serve all the people and regions of the country;
• To provide educational programmes and programmes directed towards children; and,
• To promote local programme production, through minimum quotas for original productions and material produced by independent producers.

For this to happen, our current laws governing broadcasting such as the BSA should be repealed and give way to a democratic law that establishes an independent broadcasting regulatory framework that is answerable to the Parliament of Zimbabwe.

If we are serious as a country, these are simple matters which have been achieved across the region. We need to stop the culture of pretending to be reforming the institutions and set forth before dawn.

Tabani Moyo is a journalist who recently relocated to Harare from Gokwe. He can be contacted at rebeljournalist@yahoo.com

Free our airwaves

By Tabani Moyo

Events of the past few weeks have shadowed the media reform discourse in a significant way. The long shadow cast on the topic seems to have been deliberate. The government of Zimbabwe is on a field day that the people of Zimbabwe are caught in the euphoria of the few papers licensed so far living the opening of the airwaves a wild guess.

Aside from the licensing of the five (5) newspapers namely The Daily News, News Day, The Mail, The Daily Gazette, the Mail and Weekly Worker, there seems to be a deafening silence as to when the airwaves will be opened up.

The resistance in the opening up of the airwaves points to a culture of emulation on the part of Zanu PF and its co-governing parties to the Rhodesian governance style which was entrenched in a naive repressive system which believed native Zimbabweans were incapable of broadcasting or telling their own story without government interference.

This is a clear indication that the present day government is incapable of remaining the custodian of the mission and vision statement of the liberation struggle which was tirelessly fought by the gallant people of Zimbabwe for 16 years of blood spill. The cardinal goal underlying the tireless execution of the struggle had been the quest for a just and equitable society where the people make free choices and decision.

Electronic Broadcasting plays a critical role in a people’s lives. It is therefore a prerogative of the government of Zimbabwe to allocate the broadcasting electromagnetic spectrum which facilitates new players in the broadcasting sector to start proffering alternatives and facilitate the process of equipping the people to make informed decisions.

The attempts to maintain the Rhodesian broadcasting monolith is tantamount to effecting sanctions on a people since they are silenced and bombarded with the partisan messages in an attempt to maintain a political hegemony. It is therefore my clarion call for the government of Zimbabwe to remove the sanctions on its people so that they can start talking and listening to different views which defined the campus of the hard won independence.

The desperate and helpless picture of broadcasting being a security matter should be dismissed with the contempt it deserves. South Africa for example has more than a 1000 community radio and television stations, what is peculiar about Zimbabwe?

One gets shocked when political parties are in agreement that there exist pirate radio stations which must be shut down and repatriated to Zimbabwe. During the liberation war, the Rhodesian government suffocated the broadcasting arena through both legal and extra legal measures. Zanu PF found new voice in the Voice of Zimbabwe in Mozambique, which was branded terrorist by the then ruling regime. By their own nature the ruling elites suffer short memories in just the same way this government holds that the broadcasting sector will be transformed using the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BSA). Paradoxically this same law has failed to see the registration of any broadcaster since its promulgation in 2001.

Why then hold the naive position that the emerging voices in the name of the Voice of America (VOA)’s studio 7, SW Radio Africa and the Voice of the People (VOP) are pirate when the political parties knows very well that the front door remains perennially closed? Freedom of expression and the media are no different from the right to speak – if anyone for any reason believes, that these are not pressing and urgent matters then they must brace themselves for a rude awakening. The people will always find alternative ways to speak since it’s a god given right.

With the current confusion over the BAZ board which was announced by the Minister of Information and Publicity Honourable Webster Shamhu which is chaired by known media hangman Tafataona Mahoso, it remains a daunting task to dream of the opening of the airwaves in the near future.

We are told the same hangman who is at the helm of administration as the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) will not be going anywhere anytime soon and that he will continue serving the two roles of being the policy head at BAZ and the administrative chief at ZMC. Cooperate governance at its most elementary level teaches us of separation of powers to enable effective checks and balances. In this case one person will serve as a gatekeeper of two media regulatory bodies with the seeming implied blessing of government.

We are also told by the staffers in the Ministry of Information and Publicity that the BAZ has the electromagnetic space for 60 community radio stations, three television stations and 10 frequency modulation stations for prospective broadcasters. Since 2001 this valuable space has been lying idle with the BAZ keeping the information firmly under wrap.

The people of Zimbabwe are tired of being subjugated to the diatribe and political venom spate by the state broadcaster Zimbabwe Broadcasting Cooperation. This institution belongs to the people of Zimbabwe its transformation will play a critical role in meeting the needs of the republic. The launch of TV2 is therefore another ploy to deceive the populace that the cooperation is on a transformation path. ZBC should be genuinely transformed from a state broadcaster into a public broadcaster which serves the nation’s differing tests.

It was a shocker this week when we had that the ZBC management had acquired a fleet for its management and a Mercedes Benz for its CEO, one Happison Muchechetere. The PR manager was quoted as saying it fits the CEO status. Such is the state of rot in our country. It is sickening to hear the broadcaster tell its audience with a straight face that the CEO has such a status when the company he is heading covers less that 70% on the country, with obsolete equipment that is more than four decades old and a legitimacy that has been lost due to political interference. This state of decay can mainly be attributed to the fact that the broadcaster is accountable to nobody.

Equally disturbing is the uncoordinated debate on convergence, where the Information and Communications Technology Bill is bouncing to and from cabinet like a Yoyo. For there to be convergence firstly the three ministries involved with ICTs that is to say ICT, Information and Publicity and the Transport and Communications should firstly understand and appreciate the need for convergence before going to cabinet. The stakeholders should be consulted to facilitate the people of Zimbabwe’s access to the ICT and broadcasting services.

In light of this, the government should start implementing the establishment of a three (3) tier broadcasting system in the form of public, community and commercial broadcasting.

However for this to happen, there is need for thorough housekeeping matters which include the repeal of BSA and replacing it with a democratic law that is representative and creates an independent broadcasting authority that is answerable to parliament as opposed to the ministry.

The myth of Zimbabwe’s broadcast media being a sensitive security matter has become irrelevant paranoia since other countries have moved on in the region. What is so important about Zimbabwe except the narrow parochial party political interests?



Tabani Moyo is a journalist based in Gokwe. He can be contacted on rebeljournalist@yahoo.com