Opening of media space welcome

With talk of media liberalisation now being the in thing, the pen might regain its dominance which had been shaken by repressive laws rushed through Parliament in the past decade.
The opening up of media space in Zimbabwe could not have come at a better time than during the transitional period the country is currently going through.
The Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) and the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) are likely to be in place before the end of the month as part of the media reforms to be implemented in line with the Global Political Agreement (GPA) signed by the main political parties in September last year.
The Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Gorden Moyo, said the ZMC and ZHRC should be in place within the coming three weeks now that the Parliamentary Standing Rules and Orders Committee has been put in place.
Names of the commissioners to run ZMC and ZHRC are expected to be forwarded to President Robert Mugabe for appointment.
ZMC is expected to register media houses as provided for under Article 19 of the GPA signed between President Mugabe and the two Movement for Democratic Change formations led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and his deputy Arthur Mutambara.
President Mugabe’s government has been under a barrage of criticism for muzzling press freedom through repressive legislation such as the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), the Broadcasting Services Act and the Public Order and Security Act.
Analysts this week challenged the government to “walk the talk” and warned against cosmetic media reforms meant to hoodwink its critics.
Justice Minister, Patrick Chinamasa, said it was high time media space was expanded to allow for more players.
“There was also an agreement to review the media policy so as to create a political climate where divergent voices will be heard,” Chinamasa told journalists in Victoria Falls after the recent ministerial retreat. “We want to see a multiplicity of media houses.”
Iden Wetherell, the chairperson of the Zimbabwe Independent National Editor’s Forum said for democracy to work, there must be media freedom and that people can only make informed decisions after listening and reading contesting views.
“We now need practical steps in this direction,” Wetherell said. “Media reform has to be fair and balanced and we need the public media to accommodate divergent views. The private media needs to be granted a measure of freedom.”
Wetherell said journalists need to be involved in the process of media reform and the proposed media conference was a starting point of a consultative process.
An analyst who declined to be named said there have been significant political statements about media reform in Zimbabwe, but no action has taken place yet.
“The media environment has not yet changed,” the analyst said. “While it is commendable to make political statements that bring hope to the media industry, there needs to be corresponding action on the ground for those statements to hold water. There is still evidence that the media laws have not changed.
“The government needs to talk about changing the laws that restrict journalists from effectively executing their duties. We need media pluralism and diversity.”
John Gambanga, the director of the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe which stands for self-regulation welcomed the move by the inclusive government to open up media space, but said it should not be confined to the print media which mainly circulates in urban areas. He said the electronic media should be opened up as well to enable news and entertainmentto filter through to the rural folk.
“The inclusive government should make sure that Zimbabwe does not lag behind as far as self-regulation is concerned,” Gambanga said.” Opening up of media space is a welcome development and I hope the government lifts restrictive laws such as AIPPA. By opening up media space, the consumers will be spoilt for choice and there will be competition. Consumers will get better value for their money and journalists’ salaries will improve significantly”
The country currently has one broadcaster, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, while a number of newspapers have either been closed or sunk into oblivion owing to an assortment of reasons.
This has forced journalists to either switch professions or moonlight to make ends meet.
The two titles of the Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (Tthe Daily News and The Daily News on Sunday and The Tribune, owned by former MP Kindness Paradza, were shut in 2003 and 2004 respectively for violating provisions of the controversial AIPPA.
AIPPA was enacted in 2002 amid violent protests from journalists and human rights groups who contended that the law was aimed at gagging the small but influential press in the country.