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Press freedom finally coming to Zimbabwe
By William Bango
(A paper presented at a panel discussion on the state of the media in zimbabwe at a commemoration of Press Freedom Day, May 3.)
THE issue of Press freedom in Zimbabwe has generated a lot of debate, in particular during the past eight years. Zimbabwe is the only country occupying an abnormally large presence in cyber-space, such a presence having grown significantly again during the past eight years.
The reason is simple. If democracy is a conversation, as they say, expected personal interactions in a democracy are usually mirrored through the Press. An absence of these interactions, a state of abnormality often creates a vacuum: a vacuum that breeds a cacophony of disjointed voices; a vacuum that distorts normal behaviour and discourse and, at worst, a vacuum with a potential to divide a nation.
At Independence in 1980, there was consensus on the direction the media had to take. There was a national feeling that the way forward required a transformation of the Press and the broadcast media to reflect the new thinking. Other African countries understood the situation and even assisted us in our attempts to realise that dream.
Today, 28 years later, we find ourselves stuck in an emotional web that makes our conversations, through the Press and the media, impossible. There are accusations and counter-accusations on the definition and understanding of our national vision. The language in the Zimbabwean media is unique.
Words like patriotism, revolution, puppet, regime change, sell-out and many others dominate our columns and airwaves, making conversations difficult and alienating a large part of our nation away from debate and discussion. But the nation has continued to talk to itself. The nation has accepted the unhealthy state of our media and resorted to other communication channels to remain abreast with local and world developments. The result of such a move became more visible during the just-ended elections.
For the first time, the national sentiment registered, in a practical way, the need for a regime change. I am one of the millions of people who share that national sentiment, and the national view that Zimbabwe is now firmly in the middle of a regime change process. Against all odds, on March 29, 2008, we struck a covenant with the people. We signed a contract with the people for regime change. And we are on the roll, determined to make it possible for the people to change their political life and live under a different political platform from 28 years of Zanu-PF dominance. Our perseverance has paid off. We are ready to govern, encouraged by the fact that the entire nation is fully behind us in this regard.
For the avoidance of doubt, it is beyond dispute and debate that Morgan Tsvangirai was the overall winner in the recent election. Some may still argue that he was not the outright victor. But the fact remains that Robert Mugabe lost. Mugabe is now the leader of the opposition. The term opposition, the generic meaning of the word opposition, refers to a political party’s standing in Parliament. In this Parliament, the MDC shall have to appoint a leader of the House to co-ordinate legislation and drive the legislative agenda, the MDC shall appoint a Speaker, the third most powerful politician in the land, and his or her deputy, plus the chairperson of communities. In the history of this country, this is a major victory. It signals the sincere beginning and placement of a regime change agenda on the table.
Mr Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, one cannot separate Press freedom from other freedoms in our different facets of life. The people made the point clear in March and decided that only through regime change can they reclaim their voices; their political space.
With an undisputed majority in Parliament, Zimbabweans only need to be patient. We can’t move into a house on the day an agreement of sale is concluded and signed. We must respect the process. But we are definitely moving in. An agreement of sale has already been concluded and signed.
What remains in this irreversible transition towards a new society is the conclusion of the paper work. Once we move into the house, there are definite plans to examine the state of the gutters, the electrical fittings, the life and behaviour of the occupants of this house and the kind conversations that take place inside and outside that house.
As a matter of policy, the leadership of the incoming dispensation believe any future government, if it is to be deemed relevant to the extension of freedom, should have no business in newspapers. Newspapers and the media generally should assist the people check a regime’s excesses. Newspapers and other media should provide an early warning system to society on any looming dangers, while, at the same time, creating a platform for unfettered debate and discussion on national challenges and national solutions.
What happened in March, in particular the rejection of the status quo in Parliament opens superb opportunities for the rebuilding of a media industry that is responsive to national needs and, one that constantly checks the sector’s relevance to national development as a whole. A responsible media should by now be reminding Robert Mugabe and his ministers that the person qualified to run this country at the moment is the Chief Justice. That is what our Constitution says. Mugabe has appointed himself a caretaker president, against the law. In the absence of a President and a Speaker, the Chief Justice must take over the ship of state.
Media freedom flourishes in a society where all other freedoms are respected. As a priority, the forces about to assume power in this country shall target the restoration of the rule of law as a major turning point in the reconstruction and rehabilitation of our battered nation.
Once the rule of law has been restored, and the police and the judiciary are accorded their rightful place in a genuine democracy, 90 percent of our nagging problems shall disappear at the instant. We should be able to enjoy our sovereignty without the numerous distortions and policy flip-flops in our midst.
Remnants of the old thinking and those wishing to perpetuate an unsustainable status quo shall naturally give way to a progressive national sentiment.
The minority status of those losing power today shall be further whittled down by the conclusion of pending cases, many of which are of a criminal nature, committed but never pursued, during the past eight years. A number of by-elections are inevitable and within a short space of a year, a lot can happen.
We view this aspect very seriously because Zimbabwe has historically nursed a culture of impunity, allowing those in power to abuse it without restraint.
The events, which led to our dominance in Parliament this year, shall continue to mutate a pace, which could take the media industry by surprise.
I urge all stakeholders to ready themselves for a period of rapid growth and rapid development. We are strongly against media regulation, especially regulations designed to stifle debate and discussion and to promote misguided social engineering.
We believe in community initiatives, empowerment and freedom. We fully support the development of a vibrant community media. We determined to see the introduction of commercial radio and televisions to increase the number of voices and access to information. We believe a public broadcaster should just be that: a public broadcaster.
Public broadcasting requires no specific definition. What we consider to be unacceptable is the deliberate promotion a partisan political line, using claims that such material is either news or is in the public interest.
Political parties, like all other interest groups, must never be allowed to abuse public and national institutions while pursuing a particular ideology.
If it were not for the uncomfortable delays arising from the delicacy of our transition, the Movement for Democratic Change, as the new forces that successfully effected regime change in Zimbabwe in March, should have placed the building blocks of a new media society on the ground today and laid out the groundwork for Zimbabweans to exercise their normal habits of citizenship.
Nothing is moving at the moment. Local government is at a dangerous standstill. What is happening in government offices is anybody’s guess as officials grope for political direction and the way forward. The delay the nation is experiencing stems from the anxiety and the personal insecurity dilemma of those still holding onto the keys to the main house, long after the agreement of sale has been sealed and delivered.
The insecurity dilemma is responsible for the intolerance and the vitriol exhibited in the Zimbabwean media today. When a man or a woman is suddenly rendered politically irrelevant, especially after an election, he or she needs to be managed with extremely caution and care. The reality of losing power is a terrible experience and often brings out the worst in human beings. In a way, we are no different from our cattle: many of our people have been injured at cattle dips when a cow or a steer realises that it has no choice other than to take a plunge, especially for the first time.
There is a massive retreat among those who have spent the last few days throwing ill-informed advice around and antagonising all and sundry by calling themselves super-patriots. You see it through their actions: there is nothing happening in commerce and industry; there is nothing happening on the farms; there is nothing-meaningful taking place anywhere. They have completely withdrawn, preferring to feather their nests and to use the time to sanitise what they looted over the years as they prepare for a new life in a New Zimbabwe. There is a hive of activity as yesterday’s strong men and women check all the corners for political insurance. From time to time, they even whisper words of advice on how Zimbabwe should vaccinate itself against negative past experiences.
The desperation becomes publicly pronounced when even a something-year-old stands on top of an anthill and shout: Will revolutionaries please stand up! Or else! One wonders as what this all about. The only consolation comes from the reality on the ground.
In times of stress and political uncertainty, nations often look to the public media for answers and guidance in conflict resolution and management. Rarely does the ordinary person buy a newspaper at a cost of $100 billion a copy only to be insulted by being told that you are puppet of some Westerner. For many years, Zimbabweans have had to endure that raw deal. In terms of the real money that those who were born and worked here before August 2006 when Gideon Gono decided to slash three zeroes from our currency, a newspaper in Zimbabwe costs $100 billion a copy, a box of matches costs $10 billion and a two litre bottle of cooking oil is selling for nearly $1 trillion.
Our public media editors, as observed by Mr. Elias Rusike, when he was chief executive of Zimbabwe Newspapers 20 years ago, “pander to government ministers in an attempt to gain favours”.
Mr Rusike, in his book The Politics of the Mass Media made the following observation: “Editors as opinion-leaders and pace setters in the country must have the intellectual depth and breadth to equip them to educate, inform and entertain readers. Unfortunately, editors of government-controlled newspapers in Zimbabwe do not possess such qualities. They are appointed not what they know, but who among the ministers they know. They do not even always speak on behalf of the government, but are voices of selected ministers.
What this means is that media crisis in Zimbabwe is essentially structural and deep. We know that attending to emotional preferences or adopting piecemeal measures cannot clear the crisis. The entire industry requires redefinition and a proper placement in our society for it to perform to expectations after years of confusion and abuse. We are aware that the insecurity syndrome on the political market today stems from a serious delay in dealing with our generational transition.
We must free our senior citizens from the daily chores of running a country. Organisations with a wealthy of experience in the care of the aged, like HelpAge International, can easily assist us in this regard.
Zimbabweans must create a cafeteria environment to enable our senior citizens, who played a sterling role in the making of our nation, to make choices and to continue to play critical roles normally associated with, and expected out of, age, experience and accumulated wisdom. As a nation, we must assure those in public service that there is an exciting life with their families at home, and in retirement.
The delay in sorting out our generational transition has caused a lot of pain and further delayed normal inter-party changes in the political life of a country. We should have long experienced a transition from one party with roots in the nationalistic struggle and in government to another. In our case, the new post-independence party is a product of social movements seeking the extension of freedom through post-colonial formations.
Press freedom, like all other freedoms, is certainly coming to Zimbabwe. Given our history, very soon we shall look back and wonder whether we were engulfed in huge dream. Our undisputed majority in Parliament is a significant step in that direction. Zimbabwe shall never be same again.
(T. William Bango was the news editor of The Daily News. He then became the spokesman for the MDC president, Morgan Tsvangirai. He was a candidate in the March 29 parliamentary election.)
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