Prime Minister Tsvangirai respects a free press

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai respects a free press in Zimbabwe and he sincerely believes that press freedom is an integral part of a democratic society.

The Prime Minister, for long a victim of hate speech and a subservient public media, has largely remained quiet in the wake of vicious and defamatory attacks. He respects the public media, but the same media also have a responsibility to respect him and the public office that he holds.

It is in this context that the Prime Minister made what the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists is calling unpalatable remarks about journalists from the public media. At a recent seminar organized by the SAPES Trust, the Prime Minister berated the public media for irresponsible journalism, adding that judging by the incessant propaganda peddled from those media houses, it was hard to believe that the journalists themselves believed in their own stories. 

Prime Minister Tsvangirai has always been a victim and not a perpetrator of hate speech. He has been a victim of a hostile public media that has consistently and persistently attacked his person and it is regrettable that the ZUJ has not sought to protect him or to censor the responsible journalists and the media houses.

Everyone deserves protection from the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists and the Zimbabwe Media Commission; from the public media journalists who are themselves victims of government bureaucrats and politicians, to the hapless Zimbabweans like the Prime Minister who are needlessly vilified every day. The Prime Minister is a staunch disciple of press freedom and that is why he has championed media reforms as a key deliverable if this country is to have conditions for free and fair polls.

Journalists, particularly those in the public media, must be free to do their duties with neither fear nor coercion. They must refuse to be purveyors of one political party and one political leader, but must respect the political diversity that Zimbabwe has become since the consummation of the inclusive government in 2009.

The Prime Minister believes in the role of free expression in economic development. He believes that the fanning of violence and hatred by the media must stop immediately in the national interest. But he also upholds and respects the GPA, which calls for the granting of new broadcasting licenses to private players and calls on the public media to refrain from abusive language and hate speech.

Luke Tamborinyoka

Spokesperson - Office of the Prime Minister Harare

BAZ call for webcasting and diffusion service applicants mired in confusion

 MISA-Zimbabwe is concerned about the reports that do not only continue to add confusion on the country’s broadcasting regulatory body but also appear to be aimed at legitimising the body which has been deemed to have been illegally constituted by the information ministry in 2009.

This follows the publication of a notice published in The Sunday Mail of 19-25 December, 2010 in which the Broadcasting and Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) called for diffusion and webcasting service providers to register their operations with it this year saying it has the legality to demand fees and license of their operations.

The announcement by the BAZ implies that banks, hotels, hospitals, nursing homes and other business operators with diffusion services are required to register. The call also extends to broadcasting of pre-recorded programmes for reception by passengers of railway service, transport operators, i.e. railcasting and roadcasting.

Diffusion service is defined under the BSA as including the dissemination—
(a)   by means of any conducting medium of the whole or any part of writing, signs, signals, pictures, impulses or sounds broadcast by a broadcasting service; or
(b)   of music, speech, pictures or other data for information, education or entertainment purposes by means of any conducting medium connected to two or more items of apparatus specifically designed for the reproduction of sound, pictures or data; or
(c)  of teletext and vertical blanking intervals

Roadcasting as defined under the BSA refers to the broadcasting of pre-recorded programmes for reception by passengers of any public service vehicle as defined in the Road Traffic Act [Chapter 13:11], while railcasting means the broadcasting of pre-recorded programmes for reception by passengers of any railway service.

The Act also defines webcasting as a computer-mediated broadcasting service.

In the notice, BAZ emphasized the definition of a broadcasting service under the Broadcasting Services Act (BSA) as meaning “any service which delivers television or radio programmes to persons having equipment appropriate for receiving that service.”

The registration fees vary from $3000.00 for transport operators to $9000.00 for programme providers annually. Webcasters will be required to fork out $1000.00 non-refundable application fee and $18000.00 in license fees for the webcasting service.

BAZ also advised that it will be receiving the applications throughout the year and warned that it was illegal for any person to provide any service that falls within the broadcasting definition without a permission granted by it.

BAZ is a board established under the Broadcasting service Act (BSA) of Zimbabwe to regulate all broadcasting services in Zimbabwe.  Since the enactment of the BSA in 2001, the BAZ only called for applications once in 2005, but failed to issue a single license to prospective private broadcasters who had submitted applications, leaving the state’s broadcasting monopoly over Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation to continue.

The legal status of the current BAZ is mired in confusion. In terms of the law the president has the discretion to appoint nine nominees submitted by representative groups such as churches, legal practitioners and accountants following a call for nominations by the Minister. The president makes the other three appointments from a list of six nominees submitted by SROC.

In September 2009, the ministry of information unprocedurally appointed the BAZ as noted by even the principals to the Unity government at the SADC summit held in Windhoek, Namibia 2010. In fact, the coalition government agreed to reconstitute the board within 30 days. It was agreed that the Information Ministry, the Parliamentary Standing Rules and Orders Committee (SROC) and the principals would be responsible for that reconstitution.

MISA-Zimbabwe position

MISA-Zimbabwe is guided by the African Charter on Broadcasting in its emphasis on the need for transparency in the appointment and composition of BAZ. This makes inevitable, the need for the repeal of the existing repressive Broadcasting Services Act and its replacement with a democratic law in line with regional and international instruments on broadcasting.

It is against this background that MISA-Zimbabwe seeks clarity and transparency in the regulation of the broadcasting sector to allow for the proliferation of private broadcasters to enhance access to information for the generality of the Zimbabwean population. MISA –Zimbabwe calls for the clarity on the legal status of BAZ so that aspiring broadcasters are clear on which board to approach for broadcasting licenses

Source: Media Institute Of Southern Africa, www.misa.org

Government to roll out new AVR drug from April

The Zimbabwean Government is planning to start distributing a new Anti Retro Viral drug called Tenofovir in April, following complaints by recipients of Stavudine of side effects that have in some cases led to death.

The Ministry of Health head of TB unit, Dr Charles Sandy revealed to journalists during a media briefing hosted by Safaids in Harare that the combination of Tenofonvir, Laminuvine and Nevorapine is less toxic and causes minimum side effects.

Stavudine also known as Zerit or D4t is associated with side effects such as diabetes, muscularity, loss of memory, general body pain and fatigue, headaches and loss of libido in males. The continued use of the drug by the Ministry of Health resulted in some recipients defaulting risking developing drug resistant trends of HIV.

“We are changing the drug in view of the complaints recipients are giving, in accordance with World Health Organisation new guidelines. The probability of becoming resistant to an ARV drug is very high, if taken for more than three years.

The new drug is less toxic to human liver hence the recommendation although the cost of administering that drug is much higher,” revealed Dr Charles Sandy.

According to Dr Charles Sandy the cost of administering Stavudine combination (triomune) at a state hospital is $79 per annum whereas latest drugs which are less toxic and patient friendly will cost at least $137 a year per individual. 

Currently Zimbabwe has about 1, 3 million people living HIV of which 593, 000 are in need of Ante Retro Therapy although only 301,198 people are being catered for.

Despite achieving a sharp decline in HIV/Aids prevalence within a short time Zimbabwe is still suffering from a high mortality rate of around 86 000 mainly due to TB. It is estimated that about 80 percent of people with TB have HIV hence the integrated model of testing people with any ailment for HIV.

Efforts have been put in place to reduce the death toll to 46 000 by 2015 through provision of quality HIV care, expanding and sustaining the currency WHO programmes, early initialisation of ART, increased laboratory capacity, nutritional support and abolition of user fees.

By John Cassim

Media centre in pictures

Blogger Buzz: Blogger integrates with Amazon Associates

Blogger Buzz: Blogger integrates with Amazon Associates

Zambezi Valley - Zimbabwe's most Marginalised Region

The Zambezi Valley is one of the most disadvantaged vulnerable regions in Zimbabwe with the lowest social indicators in the country, a Zimbabwe born UK-based researcher has said.

Sunset in the Zambezi valley

The marginalization of the Tonga and Korekore people is largely attributed to the involuntary displacement in 1957 to make way for the Kariba Dam Hydroelectric Scheme and yet it remains  one of the richest regions endowed with natural resources in Zimbabwe.

Dr Bernard Manyena, a researcher from Northumbria University, UK, who was  brought up in Binga was one of the participants at the recent conference which focused on Access and Benefit-sharing of Resources in the Zambezi Valley. 

Said the Researcher in an interview with Media Centre Zim on the sidelines of the workshop: “The CAMPFIRE model is one of the best models the world over, which adopts an ecosystem services approach. However, putting conservation ahead of poverty has caused a lot of tensions between Rural District Councils, Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife  Management Authority (ZPWMA) and the communities.

“We need to re-think and refine the model to appropriately tackle deep-rooted causes of poverty in the Zambezi Valley using available natural and genetic resources. This is in line with Conference of Parties 10 on Biodiversity  held in Japan in November 2010, which emphasizes equitable access and benefit-sharing of genetic resources.

“In relation to fishing, the fishers in the Zambezi valley have had conflicts with Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority since the displacement to pave way for Kariba Dam in 1957. Fishing is one of the high risk jobs today, yet the fishers’ livelihoods  are dependent on fishing.”

One of the issues discussed at the conference was the Kariba Lakeshore Combination Master Plan (KLCMP) which was approved by the government in 1999. The conference outcome includes an action plan on how access and benefit-sharing issues should be taken forward and also ensure the KLMCP is implemented by central government, local authorities, non-governmental agencies and the private sector.

By Gilbert Munetsi

Belated Soccer Stars banquet on the cards

Joel Ngodzo

A belated banquet to honour the Soccer Stars of the Year for 2010 will be held at the Rainbow Towers on Thursday, January 27.

Organisers of the 47^th edition of the event, the Sports Writers Association of Zimbabwe,  said 200 people drawn from the sports and related sectors have been invited for this annual function on the national football calendar.

They attributed the delay in hosting the honours for the country’s top 11 footballers to a lack of corporate support. Traditionally, it is the mandate of the Premier Soccer League to put together the Awards ceremony, but owing to the fact that even the league itself is being run with nil sponsorship, the scribes have taken it upon themselves to take over.

“It is better to be late than never. What is of paramount importance is that as sports journalists, we have seen it proper to be involved by doing something for sport apart from just writing stories.

“We hope the other sections of society such as the corporate world will also come on board and extend a helping hand to fulfill our endeavour of seeing our best performers duly rewarded,” said Philemon Mhlanga, the SWAZ treasurer and chairman of the Marketing and Fundraising Committee.

The nominated Soccer Stars for 2010 are Edmore Sibanda, Nyasha Mushekwi, Charles Sibanda, Bhekithemba Ncube, Norman Maroto, Joel Ngodzo, Menard Mupera, Desmond Maringwa, Benjamin Marere and Fortune Ncube.

While the Golden Boot Award automatically goes to Maroto for having banged in the most number of goals during the season, it remains to be seen who will be the Soccer Star of the Year, his first and second runners-up.

The coach and referee of the Year will also be known on the night of the Awards ceremony.

By Gilbert Munetsi