Mugabe’s men to block media reform: Analysts

Harare – President Robert Mugabe’s decision to pack boards of state media companies with trusted loyalists ensures he has enough manpower to undercut whatever reforms his unity government with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai is looking to implement in the media sector, analysts told ZimOnline on Tuesday.

Mugabe, who has previously imposed tough controls on the media, agreed to media reforms under last year’s power-sharing agreement with Tsvangirai that gave birth to Zimbabwe’s seven-month old coalition government.

The veteran leader is soon expected to announce a new Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) to spearhead media reforms that are part of a raft of political and legal changes meant to re-shape and democratise the southern African country’s politics before the holding of fresh elections by end of 2010 or early 2011.

But University of Zimbabwe (UZ) political scientist Eldred Masungure said last week’s appointment of former military men and loyalists of Mugabe’s ZANU PF party to boards of state newspapers and the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) showed that the veteran President was “not yet ready to embrace far-reaching media reforms”.

“The appointments bring doubts on the commitment of the ZANU PF half of the government to genuine media reforms,” said Masunungure.

Tsvangirai’s MDC party is challenging the appointments that were announced last week by Information Minister and ZANU PF stalwart Webster Shamu and which sources say were approved by Mugabe.

The Prime Minister told reporters Tuesday that Shamu’s decision to appoint the BAZ was irregular because the minister did not have powers to appoint the authority.

“That issue is being revisited and appointments of board members of BAZ is the business of the President and the Prime Minister just like what we did on the appointment of the Zimbabwe media commissioners,” Tsvangirai said.

It remains to be seen whether Tsvangirai and his party will this time round be able to force Mugabe to backtrack on the crucial media appointments after having so far failed to force the 85-year old President to reverse his appointment of allies to head the central bank and the Attorney General’s office.

But analysts were unanimous that if left unchanged the new media boards announced by Shamu would seriously undermine the ZMC’s work and all effort to turn government-owned media into a truly public media.

They said this was because the ZMC that should spearhead such reforms has greater influence only at national media policy level while Shamu’s boards will have effective control on what gets to be printed in government-owned newspapers that dominate the newspaper industry in the country.

Previous boards manned by ZANU PF loyalists have been accused of turning government newspapers such as The Herald and The Sunday Mail into propaganda sheets for Mugabe’s party.

ZANU PF loyalists appointed to the new board of the Zimbabwe Broadacsting Holdings (ZBH, and formerly known as Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation) will also be able to ensure the country’s sole radio and television broadcaster remains loyal to Mugabe’s party, according to analysts.

And even more worrying is the move by Shamu to put former chairperson of the government’s defunct Media and Information Commission (MIC), Tafataona Mahoso, in charge of the BAZ.

The BAZ is expected to spearhead the opening up of airwaves by allowing establishment of new broadcasters to rival the ZBH.

Media groups and pro-democracy activists say Mahoso is the wrong man for the BAZ job after his role at the old MIC where he became known as the “media hangman” after ordering the closure of four independent newspapers, including the Daily News, that were critical of Mugabe and ZANU PF.

Masunugure said: “The appointment of Mahoso is a clear sign that ZANU PF will not in the near future want to see genuine democratisation of the media space in this country.”

Ernest Mudzengi, the national coordinator of the National Constitutional Assembly political pressure group, questioned the motives of Shamu to appoint at least one former senior military officer to each of the boards of government media companies.

“What is the point of having so many military people?” said Mudzengi, who said the appointment of former brigadiers and other senior ranking army officer to the media boards was akin to militarising the media.

Among former soldiers appointed by Shamu is retired Brigadier Benjamin Mabenge who will sit on the ZBH board. Mabenge is accused of shooting and killing an MDC activist two years ago. He has never been tried for the murder.

A Harare-based political analyst Michael Mhike said Shamu’s board appointments were a clear strategy to ensure Mugabe and ZANU PF retained control of government newspapers while Mahoso at the BAZ would block entry of new broadcasters to keep the airwaves solely at the disposal of Zimbabwe’ s long time ruler and his party.

“They want to continue to control the state media and at the same time using BAZ to block new entry of broadcasters they perceive as enemies of Mugabe and ZANU PF,” Mhike said.

Shamu was not immediately available to take questions on his appointments.

Zimbabwe’s unity government has done well to stabilise the economy but it has faired poorly on media and political reforms that have moved at a snail’s pace, amid quarreling by coalition partners over the extent and form of reform.

Rich Western nations have refused to give financial support to Harare or lift sanctions imposed on Mugabe and his inner circle seven years ago, saying they were not happy with the slow pace of media and political reforms. – ZimOnlinegovernment that has achieved commendable progress on economic reforms has struggled on the political and media front where reforms have moved at a snail’s pace, amid quarreling by coalition partners over the extent and form of reform.

- October 07, 2009 by Cuthbert Nzou

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Source: www.zimonline.co.za/Article.aspx (accessed on 08.10.2009)