Zimbabwe: Legal setbacks for Daily News publishers

Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe
Monday October 27th - Sunday November 2nd 2003
Media Weekly Update 2003-43

CONTENTS

1. GENERAL COMMENT
2. SYMPTOMS OF ECONOMIC MELTDOWN
3. MOUNTING PRESSURE ON ZIMBABWE

1. General comment

Since the Supreme Court refused to hear The Daily News' constitutional challenge to the Access to Information Act until it registers with the Act's Media and Information Commission, the paper's publishers, the Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe, have suffered a number of legal setbacks in its efforts to obtain justice from the country's courts.
Although the Administrative Court has ruled that the Commission was improperly constituted and had been biased in refusing to register the paper, government's appeal against this ruling has effectively prevented ANZ from getting its paper back onto the streets. And the arrest of its journalists and directors, together with the occupation of its offices by the police, stand testimony to the determination of government to ensure that the gag on the paper remains.
Despite the obviously urgent need to resolve the legal hiatus over this fundamental constitutional right to free expression, there is precious little evidence that the administrators of justice consider the matter of any great importance.

MMPZ deplores the evident lack of commitment from the judicial authorities, not just for the sake of the hundreds of ANZ employees whose jobs are now in danger, but also because it deprives the Zimbabwean nation of an important alternative source of information and unreasonably deprives those providing this service from practicing it.
Indeed, it could be argued that government is using the judicial process to frustrate the dispensation of justice. This is supported by the fact that the Supreme Court has yet to hear, or rule on at least three other constitutional challenges to AIPPA, one of which has been outstanding for nearly a year. Such delays to the administration of justice, especially over such an important constitutional matter, are intolerable.

More recently, other legal proceedings suggest that the authorities are seeking to dismantle the ANZ's capacity to publish newspapers. On October 1st High Court judge, Justice Tendai Uchena, dismissed an ANZ application for the return of property irregularly seized by the police in their initial crackdown on the publishing company following the Supreme Court's original decision in September. He gave no reasons for his ruling and The Herald (2/10) merely quoted him as having said he would do so on "another day in the near future".
According to ANZ lawyer, Gugulethu Moyo, the company has, as of October 31, written four times to the Registrar of the High Court seeking details of the judgment without any response. Thus, in effect the paper is being denied its constitutional right to lodge an appeal against the ruling, which was made more than four weeks ago.
None of the media have followed up the matter and exposed this apparent subversion of the judicial process.
Equally, none of the media has revealed that the ANZ recently had six of its vehicles attached by the Sheriff following a default judgment against the company's failure to service a $25 million dollar debt. This is despite the fact that the company was unable to access its chequebooks to pay the complainant due to the continued occupation of its offices by the police.
The failure by the media, particularly the private media, to expose such clear cases of injustice, gives the State latitude to perpetuate unchecked, violations of basic human rights as enshrined in the constitution.

2. Symptoms of economic meltdown

Strikes by doctors and nurses working for government received considerable media attention during the week. However, it was only the private media, which viewed the industrial action as symptomatic of the country's economic crisis. They generally pointed out that addressing the current economic recession could only solve the doctors' perennial salary problems.
The government-controlled media's coverage of the strikes however, focused mainly on dismissing the doctors' salary demands as unrealistic without clearly stating what figures were justifiable. They also reported the strikes in isolation to other related labour unrest and therefore failed to give a holistic picture of the discontent elsewhere in the country's labour force. As a result, industrial action at Tel-One and National Breweries, were largely ignored.

In fact, it became clear that these media were merely reflecting the disregard with which government was handling the doctors' concerns. For instance, The Herald (28/10) quoted Public Service Commission (PSC) Secretary Ray Ndlukula claiming that he was not aware of the strike adding that he did "not see any reason for them [doctors and nurses] to do so as we announced their new salaries in July".
Taking a leaf from Ndlukula's comments, The Herald (29/10) then castigated doctors saying they should not expect more than they are getting adding that government should only consider their grievances when they have returned to work.

ZBC also adopted a similar trend. ZTV (27/10, 8pm) allowed Health Minister David Parirenyatwa to skirt the issues the doctors were raising by implying that their professional ethics were more important than their livelihoods. He was quoted as saying, "...patients are already suffering...because of an unethical industrial action". Without questioning the minister the reporter then tried to give the impression that the medical workers' actions were unjustified because they had gone on strike when government was already looking into their concerns. Said the reporter: "The PSC last year awarded all civil servants, doctors and nurses included, a salary increase. The PSC says it was still making an effort to address the anomalies [of the job evaluation exercise] when doctors embarked on the industrial action now joined in by the nurses".

Comments by the Hospital Doctors' Association leader, Phibion Manyanga, that "It ($30million a month) might sound like a very big figure but you have to take into consideration deductions that will be effected..." were let to pass without any analysis. Instead, the Chronicle (27/10) said the doctors' demand for a $30 million monthly salary was "outrageous and ridiculous to say the least", adding that they "have a political agenda" and "should not be allowed to hold the government at ransom".

But The Zimbabwe Independent (31/10) disputed this. It pointed out that the industrial action in the health sector was a result of "failure by government to adopt workable economic policies". The Financial Gazette (30/10) agreed. It quoted a social analyst, Alois Masepe as saying "unless the government can move in to find holistic solutions to the problems bedeviling the whole economy, it would be very difficult for it to find solutions to recurrent strikes by the country's medical staff".

However, there was no unity within the private media. Like the government media, The Business Tribune accused the doctors of engaging in unethical blackmail. The Sunday Mirror (2/11) also quoted a University of Zimbabwe social scientist as having said, "Everybody is suffering, which means they [doctors] should make a compromise for the good of their patients".

The government-controlled media's stance on the strikes fitted their attempts to present government's efforts at rescuing the economy as paying dividends. According to the government media, Zimbabwe's economic malaise was mainly a result of unscrupulous business activities. For example, The Herald (29/10) announced that government had "formed a special taskforce to urgently address the management of foreign currency after realizing that the root cause of the obtaining economic problems was the unaccountability of foreign currency by exporters and other players". An unnamed "analyst" was quoted as saying only 10 out of about 8,000 exporting companies in Zimbabwe were remitting their foreign currency on time. Other "analysts" reportedly said the tourism sector, for example, " was grossing less than US$2 million per month even though tourist arrivals and bookings were increasing". No evidence was given to support these claims. Rather, an unnamed government spokesperson was allowed to claim: "All available evidence indicates that this economy is generating more foreign currency today than it did three years ago" adding "this foreign currency is being externalized and abused in the black market for reasons which are either political mischief or economic sabotage".

ZTV (29/10, 8pm) carried a similar report that evening. But unlike its stable mate, which deliberately avoided questioning government policy on the issue, ZTV quoted National Economic Consultative Forum spokesman Nhlanhla Masuku as saying, "...(government) need(s) to do away with policies that spawn corruption, do away with policies that don't address the situation on the ground..." to address the foreign currency shortage. Economist Andy Hodges agreed, saying government should come up with a realistic exchange rate.
However, ZTV (30/10,8pm) quoted Information Minister Jonathan Moyo unyielding. "It is not because our economy is not generating foreign currency.We received a report .that tourism has picked up to levels now approximating 60 percent and growing, but there is no commensurate receipt in terms of the inflows of foreign currency.it means there are leakages..." Moyo said.

The private media however, criticized government for formulating policies based on "self-deception". The Zimbabwe Independent, for example, dismissed the claim that Zimbabwe is generating more foreign currency, saying exports had actually "declined from US$3,1 billion in 1996 to an estimated US$1,2 billion in 2002". The paper also pointed out that, contrary to government claims, private companies were not the root cause of Zimbabwe's economic problems but "the unaccountability of a government intent upon imposing its discredited and unworkable economic mantras upon the nation". It further observed exporters were turning to the black market because of the unrealistic exchange rate, an issue which was notably corroborated by the central bank deputy governor, Sam Malaba, in the Chronicle (28/10).

Studio 7 (29/10) revealed that despite government's pretence that it was solving the foreign currency shortage, the worst was still to come. It reported that the monthly production of gold was "expected to shrink by another 5% because of low international prices and the depreciating economy..." It quoted the Chamber of Mines monthly report stating that "some mines have closed down." and added that "some mines were invaded and (this) scared off investors..."

But the government-controlled media persisted with their efforts to convince their audiences that government was in control and doing everything possible to resuscitate the economy. ZTV (30/10, 8pm) for example, praised the Zimbabwe-Iran Joint Commission saying- without full explanation that, "It will go a long way in improving the country's economy which has been under siege from Western countries..."
Similarly, The Herald and the Chronicle (1/11), The Sunday News and The Sunday Mail (2/11) uncritically reported President Mugabe's announcement that the Reserve Bank would be restructured as another solution to the country's economic woes.

3. Mounting pressure on Zimbabwe

The private media continued to reveal that, contrary to claims by government and the media it controls, the international community's disappointment with Zimbabwe's misgovernance was far from waning.
For example, The Zimbabwe Independent (31/10) reported that the outgoing United States Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Walter Kansteiner, had "fired a broadside at President Robert Mugabe", whom he accused of human rights abuses. Describing Zimbabwe as "a country on the brink of disaster", Kansteiner reportedly added that "carrot and stick" measures were needed "to force Mugabe and his regime to jettison tyranny". The Sunday Mirror (2/11) and Studio 7 (29/10) carried the same report.

However, The Sunday Mirror viewed Kansteiner's statements as a "somewhat conciliatory position", which "represents a dramatic shift from the hard stance" the United States had earlier taken on Zimbabwe.
Studio 7 (31/10) also revealed that Germany was also anxious to see a solution to the Zimbabwean crisis. It reported German Deputy Chancellor as having called on African leaders to find a "speedy resolution" to Zimbabwe's problems saying this was "in the interest of the continent".

In another related matter, The Zimbabwe Independent reported that the World Council of Churches had called on "government to restore the rule of law and put an end to arbitrary arrests, torture and killings".
The government-controlled media ignored these reports, preferring to continue with their misleading notion that the leadership was not under any pressure, either from within or outside the country, for it to mend its ways. To buttress this facade of normalcy, they ignored reporting on ZANU PF violence at local council election nomination courts, resulting in some MDC candidates failing to register. It was not surprising therefore that ZTV (30/10, 8pm) unquestioningly quoted Minister Moyo misrepresenting the MDC's failure to register candidates for some council posts to mean that the electorate had confidence in ZANU PF's leadership. Moyo was quoted as saying that as a result, the MDC had difficulty finding candidates because people now "understood" the causes of their problems.

However, The Weekend Tribune (1/11) and The Standard (2/11) revealed that Moyo's statements bore no relation to reality. The two papers reported that ZANU PF supporters had assaulted MDC candidates and barred them from submitting their papers to the nomination court for the elections in Chinhoyi. As if that was not enough, those who had managed to submit their nomination papers had their documents forcibly taken away from the court. Officials from the Registrar's Office were also reportedly assaulted for accepting nomination papers from the MDC.

Despite this brazen subversion of the democratic process, the government-controlled media would not relent in their suffocation of the truth. They continued to make unsubstantiated claims that reports of rights violations were being fabricated by the international media, whose countries were against land reform.
The visit by the British Foreign Affairs official, Andrew Lloyd, to Zimbabwe however, gave the government media a golden opportunity to promote the impression that Britain now had a different perception of Zimbabwe. ZTV (30/10, 8pm) reported that Lloyd, together with British High Commissioner Sir Brian Donnelly, met ZANU PF Chairman John Nkomo and other ruling party officials. There was no independent investigation of the reason behind the visit and the outcome of the meeting. And in the absence of any explanation from Britain, Minister Moyo's statements were left to stand as fact: "...He had come to familiarize himself with the reality of this country and one reality is that there is Zanu PF and it is the ruling party".

The Herald (31/10) carried a similar story and quoted Moyo adding that, "It is good to notice that the British realise there is a ruling party in Zimbabwe and remember where it is located". ZANU PF secretary for external affairs, Didymus Mutasa, was also quoted as having said his party had "exposed British hypocrisy" when it pointed out that Lloyd "was free to visit Zimbabwe yet Zimbabwean...officials were barred from visiting Britain". The paper failed to remind its readers that the ZANU PF government had drawn up a counter travel embargo on British government officials in retaliation to targeted sanctions slapped on the Zimbabwean leadership. Nor did it reveal whether Lloyd was on that list.

The Zimbabwe Independent failed to shed light on this peculiar meeting, and added to the fog surrounding Britain's real position regarding Zimbabwe by quoting its Minister of State in the Foreign Office, Baroness Elizabeth Symons: "Mugabe's time was almost up...Our policy towards Zimbabwe has not changed. We want a democratically accountable government which respects human rights and the rule of law".
Ends.

The MEDIA UPDATE was produced and circulated by the Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe, 15 Duthie Avenue, Alexandra Park, Harare, Tel/fax: 263 4 703702, E-mail: [email protected]

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