AudiencScapes

by Tawanda Karombo

11 May 2010

(Harare, Zimbabwe)--The nine commissioners of Zimbabwe's new media regulatory agency held their first official meeting in March with a mandate to clear the way for more independent media in the country. Whether the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) fulfils this task remains to be seen; many local journalists are pessimistic about the outcome, though some are willing to give the new body a chance despite the highly repressive media laws still on the books.

The ZMC, which succeeds the feared Media and Information Commission (MIC), is taking shape amid a still-volatile political climate. The coalition administration of President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai appears fragile and partly fractured –illustrated by disputes over important issues, notably, the constitution and appointments to key posts such as attorney general and central bank governor.

Nevertheless, the ZMC, created in 2009, has finally been allowed to get to work on opening up the print sector. “The ZMC is an independent commission, not under the control of any individual, and has the responsibility to ensure that the media environment in Zimbabwe reflects multiple voices and views,” Prime Minister Tsvangirai said in March. By contrast, the MIC was best known for closing down media outlets that ran stories critical of government activities.

In early May, the ZMC said it began accepting applications for the renewal of registration certificates from mass media service providers and accreditations from journalists. Local journalists will pay a US$10 application fee and a US$20 accreditation fee, while staff of foreign media will pay US$20 and US$100, respectively. Mass media houses will pay an application fee of US$500 and US$1,500 for registration.

The application deadline is June 4, and the ZMC has said they will take 30 days to process, implying that it will become clearer in July whether the commission intends to carry out its mission. Minister of Media and Information Webster Shamu said, "We have to ensure that citizens have a right to be informed, have a right to seek information, have a right to express their opinion and have a right to associate on the basis of that freedom".

Repressive Laws Breed Scepticism

The Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe (VMCZ), an independent media freedom group, is sceptical about the new regulator's intentions. The VMCZ pointed out in a statement that the ZMC is “also mandated [like its predecessor] to administer repressive media legislations” that were used by the MIC to shut down privately run newspapers.

Andrew Moyse, project coordinator of the Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe (MMPZ), described the latest changes to the constitution which gave birth to the ZMC as "cosmetic," given that the existing framework of media regulations is unaltered. For example, Moyse drew attention to a clause in the 2002 Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) that warns journalists not to "abuse" their "privileges" in relation to "publication of falsehoods and injurious statements".

The Media Institute of South Africa warned in January that the AIPPA will allow the government to continue to impose "stringent requirements on the accreditation and registration of journalists and media houses, which pose serious threats to free journalistic enterprise and is unjustifiable in a democracy."

Four private newspapers--The Daily News, its sister publication The Daily News on Sunday, The Weekly Times and The Tribune--had to close up shop under crackdowns on dissent by Mugabe and his Zanu PF administration. Journalists at a wide variety of publications and broadcast outlets have suffered harassment, intimidation, abduction, arrest and torture as the former Mugabe-dominated government sought to tighten its grip on power.

Still, many media stakeholders now believe that the first order of business is to make sure that independent newspapers receive licenses. Assuming that happens, the media community is then likely to focus on the battle to liberalize the regulatory environment.

By the time of the publication of this article, it appeared that five or so news organizations had expressed interest in setting up independent newspaper operations in Zimbabwe. ZMC Chairman Godfrey Majonga declined to name the companies, but media industry sources say that the previously banned Daily News, as well as News Day, are likely to be the first two independent titles to make it to market.

Investors More Upbeat

Some media executives in Zimbabwe believe that the outlook for the media industry in the country is brightening. Iden Wetherell, an executive with the Zimbabwe National Editors’ Forum and also Senior Associate Editor for the Zimbabwe Independent group – which is set to add News Day to its stable – is "optimistic" about the new licensing authority and feels it should be given "a chance to prove itself."

Zimbabwe currently has two private weekly newspapers (The Financial Gazette and the Zimbabwe Independent) and two state run dailies (The Herald, and The Chronicle, which covers the southern parts of the country). There are three Sunday papers (state-run Sunday Mai and Sunday News, plus the privately-run Sunday Standard). The Zimbabwean and South Africa’s biggest newspaper, The Sunday Times, which now has a Zimbabwean edition, complete the list of newspapers that have operations in the country.

No Movement on Broadcast Sector

Meanwhile, the government has not yet taken steps to add independent voices to the broadcasting market. The country just added a second state-controlled television station and there are four state-run radio stations.

NGOs and advocacy groups are waiting for licenses to set up community radio stations. For example, Bulawayo-based Radio Dialogue, a community broadcaster, said that it has already procured the necessary equipment and has staff at the ready, but so far no license. Radio Dialogue has in fact been in existence since 2001 but its "broadcasting" is restricted to shows distributed on cassettes and CDs, and via road shows and other live events.

The Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe, which will regulate and oversee electronic media in Zimbabwe, has yet to call for applications, nor has the government published any fees for prospective broadcast operators in the official gazette.

Tawanda Karombo is a journalist living in Zimbabwe

 Photo Courtesy of BBC World Service and Flickr

Sources

1. Media Institute of Southern Africa dossier on the Media in Zimbabwe

2. Human Rights Watch

3. Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment No. 19

4. Zimbabwe Media Commission statement