Transitional Barometer Monthly Report: May 2011

DURING the month, the official (state) media devoted 60 percent (289 stories) of the 485 reports it carried on the activities of the coalition to the ZANU PF arm of government.
The two formations of the MDC shared the remaining 40 percent: Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC got 29 percent (142 stories) while that led by Industry Minister Welshman Ncube received attention in 54 reports (11 percent).
ZANU PF voices also dominated the public media’s sourcing patterns. Of the 491 voices these media recorded, 338 (69%) belonged to ZANU PF and 107 (22%) were of the MDC-T. The MDC-N was heard 46 times. See figs 1-4.
In these reports, ZANU PF was generally portrayed as “a people’s party” while the two MDC groups were mostly presented as violent, disorganised, faction-riddled, and ideologically bankrupt.
The public media’s conduct, which openly demonstrated bias towards ZANU PF, not only violated professional journalistic practice – but violated Article 19(d) of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) that calls for equity in the coverage of the coalition parties’ ‘legitimate political activities’.

Fig 1: Stories on the coalition parties in the official papers
Publication ZANU PF MDC-T MDC-M
The Herald 55 34 8
Chronicle 25 16 9
The Manica Post 5 3 2
The Sunday Mail 12 14 5
Sunday News 5 6 3
Total 102 73 27

Fig 2: Stories on the political parties on ZBC
Station ZANU PF MDC-T MDC-M
ZTV 70 31 10
SFM 55 21 8
Radio Zimbabwe 62 17 9
Total 187 69 27

Fig 3: Voice distribution in the official papers
Publication ZANU PF MDC-T MDC-M
The Herald 61 22 7
Chronicle 29 14 5
The Manica Post 6 2 2
The Sunday Mail 9 3 2
Sunday News 7 3 2
Total 112 44 18

Fig 4: Voice distribution on ZBC
Station ZANU PF MDC-T MDC-M
ZTV 81 25 12
Spot FM 70 18 9
Radio Zimbabwe 75 20 7
Total 226 63 28

POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS
ZANU PF defies SADC
election roadmap
A RESOLUTION by the ZANU PF Politburo that Zimbabwe should hold national elections this year in defiance of SADC’s advice that the country should only do so after the completion of its election roadmap, grabbed the media headlines during the month.
While the private media viewed this as yet another indication of ZANU PF’s lack of commitment to democratic elections, the official media passively endorsed the ZANU PF decision.
The government media refused to interpret the inescapable perception that ZANU PF’s early election calls contradicted advice of the party’s chief negotiator, Patrick Chinamasa, that it was unlikely for Zimbabwe to hold elections this year, as the coalition parties had agreed on a “bundle of activities” that need to be implemented first, and ignored the advice of Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono, who warned that early elections would be detrimental to economic recovery (The Herald, 29/4 and The Sunday Mail, 15/5).
ZANU PF’s push for early polls was contained in 106 (36%) of the official media’s 294 reports on Zimbabwe’s political developments. Sixty-eight were on ZANU PF’s campaign activities, particularly its anti-sanctions crusade. Thirteen were on debate on security sector reform, while the remaining 107 were on the activities of the two MDC formations.
ZANU PF and the state media advocated for early elections on the grounds that the Global Political Agreement (GPA) allegedly expired last February; that the coalition was no longer functional; and that the MDC-T was sabotaging it by refusing to campaign against Western sanctions, sponsoring violence and working with the West to remove ZANU PF illegally from government.
Instead of assessing the prudence of Chinamasa’s advice, the official media only promoted views of ZANU PF officials opposed to it. These included the party’s national chairman Simon Khaya Moyo, spokesman Rugare Gumbo and Politburo member Jonathan Moyo.
Speaking after his party’s Politburo meeting, ZTV, 10/5, 6pm and 8pm quoted Gumbo: “The party position is very clear, I don’t know how many times I should repeat this. Elections are on this year and reforms are not fundamental if people want elections.”
The official media unquestioningly allowed Gumbo to downplay Chinamasa’s reservations, saying they were “now water under the bridge”, as the party and the party’s chief negotiator had since “realigned” their positions. He emphasized that “powers on such issues are only vested in the head of state … who has already indicated that polls are going to be held this year” (ZTV, 10 & 11/5, 8pm and The Herald & Chronicle, 12/5).
Chinamasa’s comments were not sought for confirmation.
These media also failed to analyse the practicability of ZANU PF’s wish, considering the financial, political and logistical problems facing the inclusive government. Nor did they assess its implications on SADC’s efforts to assist Zimbabwe to come up with a roadmap for democratic elections.
The Sunday Mail (8/5) and ZTV (10/5, 8pm) reported Jonathan Moyo brushing off Chinamasa’s views as merely his “personal opinion”, while ‘political analyst’ George Rwodzi claimed: “This government as we speak today is living on borrowed time…”
The government media also quoted President Mugabe and some senior members of his party angrily dismissing calls for security sector reforms, reported in the private media, which the MDC-T, civil society and political commentators consider essential in guaranteeing democratic elections in Zimbabwe.
In one such story, The Herald (19 & 20/5) reported Mugabe as having described such calls as “nonsensical” in an interview with the Namibian-based Southern Times newspaper, arguing that Zimbabwe’s security forces were “an exemplary force that has received worldwide acclaim …”
In other reports, the state media gave widespread publicity to ZANU PF’s campaign activities. They approvingly reported senior ZANU PF officials such as Khaya Moyo, Information Minister Webster Shamu, Mashonaland West provincial chairman Dickson Mafios and his Harare provincial counterpart, Amos Midzi, promoting their party’s polices, while attacking their opponents for lacking direction and being Western puppets.
These media’s 107 reports on the activities of the two MDC groups [MDC-T (87) and MDC-N (13)] were mostly negative. These included portraying Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai as “shallow-minded and reckless” for complaining against alleged bias in the public media’s coverage of political activities in the country (ZBC 16 & 17/5, 8pm & 7am).
The private media viewed ZANU PF’s demands for early national elections as evidence of its intransigence and intention to undermine SADC’s efforts to get the partners to the GNU to agree on a roadmap of reforms before the holding of elections.
They quoted political commentators arguing that if ZANU PF insisted on early elections, it would likely plunge Zimbabwe into a political and electoral crisis reminiscent of the June 2008 situation (SW Radio Africa, The Zimbabwean and NewsDay, 10, 12 & 16/5).
These commentators also viewed ZANU PF’s demands as being motivated by selfish interests – Mugabe’s advanced age and ill-health, and ZANU PF’s succession politics (Daily News, Zimbabwe Independent and The Financial Gazette 13, 19 & 20/5).
One of these, Charles Mangongera, doubted prospects of President Mugabe agreeing to security sector reforms, arguing that such action was likely to loosen his grip on power (The Standard, 1/5).
The private media’s coverage of the activities of Zimbabwe’s coalition parties was generally balanced.
Not only did they criticize ZANU PF for intimidating and coercing Zimbabweans to support it, but they also accused the MDC-T of failing to stem intraparty violence. In addition, they accused the MDC-T of “recycling leadership” and being insensitive to gender and tribal balancing when the party renewed its leadership last month (Zimbabwe Independent and The Financial Gazette, 5 & 6/5).

CONSTITUTIONAL NEWS
Political squabbles threaten
constitutional reforms
FRESH disagreements between the coalition parties over the methodology to be used to compile views gathered during the Constitutional Parliamentary Committee’s outreach consultation programme revived debate over the credibility of the controversial constitutional reforms.
Both the government and private media reported the on-off process, which should have started last April, as having finally kicked off on May 3rd only to be briefly abandoned again on May 11th due to this dispute (The Herald, Chronicle, Radio VoP, SW Radio Africa and Talk Zimbabwe.com, 11, 12 & 13/5).
The official media supported ZANU PF’s demands for the use of the quantitative method against the qualitative approach sought by the MDC formations. Reportedly, the MDC groups argued that the quantitative method would culminate in the dominance of ZANU PF views, while ZANU PF defended the approach on the grounds that it was a true reflection of the wishes of the majority and that the two MDCs had initially agreed to it.
For example, The Herald (12/5) gave prominence to ZANU PF Copac co-chair Paul Mangwana accusing the MDCs of “reneging” on the agreement “yet they are the ones who demanded that the views of the people be solicited”.
The views of Mangwana’s counterpart, Douglas Mwonzora (MDC-T), that the Copac management committee had “recommended the use of qualitative methods”, as the quantitative method had “some shortcomings” were subordinated. Chief among Mzonzora’s reservations on the matter was the fact that Copac held more meetings in rural areas compared to urban centres. If the quantitative method was used then “it would exaggerate the rural voice and emasculates the urban voice”, Mwonzora argued.
ZBC simply rubbished the MDC’s concerns as an attempt to “scuttle the process as much as they can after discovering that the majority of views aired during the outreach programme are in favour of ZANU PF” (ZTV, 13/5, 8pm). The station also discredited the concerns as a ploy to delay the holding of national elections, as the MDC groups were “afraid of electoral defeat”.
These reports formed part of the 34 reports the state media carried on the subject.
The private media’s coverage was more balanced.
They gave both Mangwana and Mwonzora equal opportunity to articulate their views, while assessing the advantages and disadvantages of using the quantitative and qualitative methods.
These media also criticised the integrity of some of ZANU PF’s nominees in these thematic committees, especially the controversial Brigadier-General Douglas Nyikayaramba, who recently declared his allegiance to President Mugabe, and Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) chairman Tafataona Mahoso, a self-confessed advocate for heavy state control over media activity (The Financial Gazette and Zimbabwe Independent, 12 & 20/5).
These concerns were reflected in some of the 25 reports the private media carried on the subject.

MEDIA NEWS
ZANU PF rhetoric poisons
Press Freedom Day
AS Zimbabwe joined the rest of world in commemorating the United Nations’ World Press Freedom Day, the event revived fresh debate on the authorities’ commitment to genuine media reform as promised in the Global Political Agreement (GPA).
This was particularly so in light of statements made by some officials from the ZANU PF arm of government clearly exposing their reluctance to democratize the media by advocating for even more state control over journalistic activity.
Among these was Information Minister Webster Shamu who tried to unilaterally outlaw media reforms proposed in Zimbabwe’s election roadmap document at an event celebrating the arrival of transmitters for eight “pilot” community radio stations.
The Herald (30/4) quoted him saying “Let negotiators please read the law so that they do not make suggestions that are lawless, or which require my ministry to behave unlawfully.”
Apart from professing ignorance about the definition of “state media” or “public media”, claiming he was “still to be educated” on what these expressions meant, the minister was reported downplaying the prominent role these media play in the dissemination of hate messages against ZANU PF’s perceived opponents and criticising the “selective” plans to transform them into genuine public media as envisaged under the GPA.
Media reform proposals call for independent boards and management of public media institutions and licensing of independent broadcasters, among others. But Shamu insisted the state media institutions were “regulated by statutes” with “constituted boards” that looked after “their affairs”.
Debate over Shamu’s comments formed part of the 28 reports the media carried on the topic. Of these, 11 appeared in the state media, while the remaining 17 featured in the private media.
The private media interpreted Shamu’s stance as a negation of Press freedom and media law and policy reform and “hardly believable coming from a whole minister” (NewsDay, 2/5). They quoted media reform activists and commentators viewing this as evidence of lack of “political will” by “sections in the inclusive government” to free the media. They cited the continued existence of hostile media laws such as the Access to Information and Privacy Act and the illegal monopoly of the national broadcaster, ZBC, as further proof of this (The Financial Gazette 2/5; Studio 7 3/5; NewsDay 2, 3, 4/5 and Daily News 4/5).
The Daily News (12/5) also reported recent claims by ZANU PF’s former acting Information Minister, Bright Matonga, that government was not yet prepared to issue new broadcasting licences because it had no capacity to monitor them – an echo of anti-reformist comments made last year by the Permanent Secretary for Information, George Charamba.
It reported Zimbabwe Association of Community Radio Stations (ZACRAS) contesting Matonga’s claims saying it was being used as “an excuse not to free the country’s airwaves”.
The Daily News (12/5) quoted ZACRAS chair Kudzai Kwangwari: “Right now they are commissioning ZBC community radio stations, but they are saying no licences should be issued to private players. This is just self contradictory.”
The official media ignored civil society’s calls for extensive media reforms, limiting themselves to lobbying for the removal of targeted Western travel embargoes imposed on some of their journalists for alleged dissemination of hate speech (ZTV 3/5, 8pm & The Herald 3/5).
But they gave widespread publicity to Charamba’s threats to ban Western and European journalists from covering events in Zimbabwe in retaliation after ZBC chief correspondent Reuben Barwe was denied a visa by the Italian Embassy in Harare to travel to the Vatican with President Mugabe to witness the beatification of the late Pope John Paul II.

PARLIAMENTARY NEWS
Parliament recalled to consider Chinese loan agreement
THERE was little activity in Parliament for the greater part of May as both Houses of Parliament adjourned early in the month to pave the way for the sitting of the Constitutional Parliamentary Select Committee’s thematic committees, whose task was to prepare reports on the results of the outreach exercise.
However, the media provided precious little information on the negative impact of such disruptions on Parliament’s core activities.
While ZTV (12/5,8pm) quoted Clerk of Parliament Austin Zvoma downplaying the effects of these adjournments, only The Financial Gazette (12/5) provided alternative views on the issue. It reported Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights co-ordinator Irene Petras arguing that constitutional reforms “should not be prioritised to a level affecting other legislative (activities)”.
The private weekly also noted that the current parliamentary session had so far only “passed a paltry five bills” against President Mugabe’s proposed 24, adding that the Public Order and Security Amendment Bill remained “trapped” in the Senate despite being introduced in the House in December last year.
Similarly, there was no investigation on the real reasons behind an early recall to both Houses to sit on Tuesday May 31st, interrupting the adjournments of the House of Assembly to June 14th and the Senate to July 5th [Veritas (Bill Watch, 22/2011, ZBC 25 & 27/5, 6pm & 8pm and NewsDay 27/5].
These media passively reported Clerk of Parliament Austin Zvoma citing the need to deal with multilateral agreements and protocols, and Bills currently before Parliament, as the reason for the recall.
Only the legal and parliamentary watchdog NGO, Veritas (Bill Watch 22/2011) challenged Zvoma’s pronouncements. It noted that the actual reason for the recall was to get both Houses to approve a Chinese loan of US$98 million for the construction of the National Defence College, whose sitting took place while a high-level Chinese military delegation was in the country.
The legal and parliamentary watchdog observed that although the Houses conducted some other business, no other agreements or protocols were presented and only one Bill was taken further – the Deposit Protection Corporation Bill, which was passed by the House of Assembly with amendments.
It expressed concern that the debate in Parliament did not fully reflect the outrage that people have been publicly expressing (in the private media) about this deal. Their concerns, Veritas claimed, centred on the diversion of diamond receipts (to finance the loan) from far more pressing needs; the fact that the defence college would benefit an elite few rather than the struggling general population; and on reports that the complex will include VIP recreational facilities and medical facilities – in contrast to the lack of health facilities for the general population – and a “techno-spy centre”.

HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES
ZANU PF major rights violator: Sokwanele
A REPORT released by human rights watchdog Sokwanele identified ZANU PF as the major perpetrator of political violence and other rights violations in Zimbabwe.
In its May edition of the Inclusive Government Watch, Sokwanele accused the party of “seemingly” being “determined to stall or prevent full implementation of the Global Political Agreement (GPA)” by sponsoring, condoning or failing to stop violence and hate speech against its opponents.
Of 100 cases it recorded, Sokwanele identified violence, intimidation and hate speech as being the major breaches, alongside economic destabilisation, constituting 23% apiece. Legal persecution was in third place at 20%, while attacks on freedom of speech and expression came fourth (11%).
Fig: 5 illustrate rights violations since the inception of Sokwanele’s Inclusive Government Watch.

The report reinforces this month’s findings showing that ZANU PF was again the major offender of rights violations in the country. It was responsible for 31 of the 59 incidents recorded in the media this month. The remainder were committed by state security agents (20) and the MDC-T (eight).

Ends/