By Tichaona Sibanda
18 May 2010
Scores of journalists have been accredited by the new Zimbabwe Media Commission, but the licensing authority has delayed the registration of new media outlets.
The ZMC, formed in February this year after a delay of many months, started operating a month ago and is supposed to drive media reforms. But so far there is little evidence that this will be the case. The delays in issuing new licenses are proving very costly to potential media investors’ and hundreds of journalists remain unemployed.
Simon Muchemwa, our Harare correspondent who was recently accredited by the ZMC, said the latest excuse for the delay is funding problems. The ZMC claim lack of funds has resulted in the postponement of a workshop, aimed at expediting the licensing of newspapers. It’s believed the commission intended to use the workshop as a springboard to look into applications by mass media houses wishing to start new papers.
‘Their excuse (ZMC) is that they don’t have money for the exercise. This is in total disagreement with many observers who believe newspapers can be allowed to operate as long as they get the green light from government. People are saying the government can verbally give them the go-ahead or simply issue them a written note to authorize new players to hit the streets,’ Muchemwa said.
The ZMC, led by Godfrey Majonga as chairman, started receiving applications for new licences on the 4th April. Already there is criticism that the ZMC is now just stalling on media reforms that would help break the government’s hold on the media.
The country’s last independent daily newspaper, The Daily News, was shut down in 2003. Earlier it had had it’s printing press bombed, by attackers using limpet mines, clearly indicating the involvement of the army. Mugabe’s ZANU PF party still controls all the main state newspapers and the sole broadcaster.
There were some reports on Tuesday suggesting that donors were refusing to financially back the ZMC, because of ZANU PF sympathiser Tafataona Mahoso - their recently appointed chief executive officer.
Dubbed the media hangman, Mahoso was responsible for the arrest of a number of journalists and the closure of several newspapers during his infamous tenure as the chairman of the now defunct Media Information Commission.
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