Media pressure group says commission should be temporary

By Lance Guma
19 June 2009

Friday was the deadline for applicants wanting to sit on the proposed Zimbabwe Media Commission, which is due to replace the now defunct Media and Information Commission (MIC). Austin Zvoma, the Clerk of Parliament, is reported to have said the number of applications from interested people was ‘overwhelming’ but refused to disclose who had put their names forward. Newsreel understands former MIC Chairman and renowned ‘media hangman’ Tafataona Mahoso and some members who sat on his board, have applied to join the new commission.

Those wanting to sit on the commission submitted their names to the Parliamentary Standing Rules and Orders Committee. This body will then submit the names of 12 nominees to President Mugabe. Allowing Mugabe to decide the final 9 members who will make up the ZMC board is one of the many controversies dogging the process. The ZANU PF leader and his party have shown no real commitment to reforming the repressed media sector. There are worries that discredited individuals like Mahoso and some of the commissioners on his defunct MIC, might be smuggled onto the new board.

Loughty Dube, the head of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) in Zimbabwe, told Newsreel that although they had initially opposed the ZMC in favour of a self regulatory body they urged people to apply to join ‘as individuals’ as a temporary measure. MISA is not happy that this is a ‘statutory’ body (making it mandatory and under government control) preferring instead self regulation by journalists. Their decision to accommodate the ZMC for now is guided by the realization that its lifespan is linked to the coalition government and is therefore a transitional arrangement.

Dube said they are determined to use the constitution making process to ensure that media freedom is enshrined in the new constitution. Meanwhile prominent media lawyer Chris Mhike this week used a presentation at Harare’s Quill Club to urge journalists not to shun the ZMC. He said a complete boycott was unwise and journalists should participate, under protest, and try to influence what happens from within.’ Mhike added that journalists should not be ‘too rigid’ in their positions and should instead seek to exploit any opportunities presented by the ZMC.