Zimbabwe deal remains silent on banned newspapers

By Lance Guma
16 September 2008

Even before the ink is dry on the deal signed on Monday by the MDC and ZANU PF, questions are being asked about why the accord says nothing about banned newspapers like the Daily News and The Tribune. Parts of the agreement call on countries said to be ‘hosting and funding’ external radio stations to stop doing so, and urges journalists at the stations to apply for licences to operate in Zimbabwe.

But as former Daily News reporter Sandra Nyaira observed, although it was good to encourage more players in the broadcast sector, ‘the leaders totally ignore the newspaper sector in their agreement.’ She argued that several journalists who had set up successful websites in the diaspora were ready and willing to go back home and contribute to a new vibrant media. “For this new deal to work…we need a media that is independent, that seeks to unite Zimbabweans more than divide and polarise them,” Nyaira wrote.

Another interesting scenario is the UK based The Zimbabwean newspaper run by veteran editor Wilf Mbanga. The paper is printed outside the country and sold within Zimbabwe but the Mugabe regime has been using a combination of bombing his delivery trucks, high import duties and sometimes confiscation of the paper to derail its distribution. Whether his paper will be invited to publish freely in Zimbabwe still remains to be seen.

Speaking to Newsreel Mbanga said they are not sure whether they will be required to register under the new deal, or they were now free to publish. “Do we have any guarantees that our reporters can work freely? I don’t think anything has changed,” Mbanga said. The paper is still paying a punitive 70 percent duty in foreign currency, and has been forced to cut its print from 200 000 copies to 50 000. The paper says it will continue to publish from outside.

Several of those in the media fraternity are eagerly awaiting the repealing of repressive legislation that hampered their work. Chief among the offending bills are the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) and the Broadcasting Services Act. All these laws were used successfully by ZANU PF to stifle an independent media, but now that a new government is on the cards their removal remains urgent.

Some commentators have predicted the road to a new Zimbabwe could turn out to be treacherous with no guarantees of immediate change. The first move by the new parliament will be the much talked about Constitutional Amendment Number 19 that will legalize the new positions of Prime Minister and his two deputies, among other positions created by the agreement. The same Parliament dominated by the MDC could then set about repealing individual pieces of repressive legislation before a completely new constitution is drawn up within 18 months.

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