State media gives absurd coverage to IMF visit

mbabwe by an International Monetary Fund delegation provided a new opportunity for the state-run media to demonstrate the absurdity of its coverage and its ludicrous attempts to stifle criticism of the authorities.

A count by Zimbabwe’s media watchdog, the Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ), showed that through a total of 19 stories on the subject, the state broadcasters and newspapers depicted the IMF delegation as being impressed with the regime’s so-called turnaround policies. None of them even mentioned the IMF’s grave concerns about the regime’s fiscal ineptitude, soaring inflation and the deteriorating humanitarian crisis.

The coverage was so distorted that the first hint listeners received that the IMF was less than happy with what it found came from the finance minister himself, Herbert Murerwa. ZTV quoted Murerwa as saying that the IMF had expressed some concern over the Zimbabwe administration’s policies – although he added hastily that he was confident Zimbabwe would retain it membership and the IMF was ‘impressed’.

Naturally no attempt was made to seek comment from independent analysts or the IMF – and the state mouthpieces, The Herald and The Chronicle, followed suit.

“In fact, the official dailies’ blindly positive portrayal of the IMF as being happy with the government’s economic programme was belied by their revelations that the two parties … had agreed on the need for an overhaul of at least five key policy areas,” the MMPZ said in its report covering Jan. 30 – Feb. 5. “These included an end to farm invasions and the protection of property rights, privatization of parastatals, civil service reform, reducing the money supply and clearance of the IMF debt.”

The private media, however, were generally candid, telling the truth that the IMF remained unimpressed by the economic policies of the Mugabe regime. The Financial Gazette, SW Radio Africa, Zimbabwe Independent and Studio 7 all reported that the IMF was actually pressing the authorities to undertaken major policy reforms to resuscitate the economy.

The same critical approach was continued by the private media in stories about the indicators of economic decline, including steep price increases, power shortages and the collapse of the health service.

They blamed these woes on the regime’s failed policies. In contrast, the state media’s approach is to report the obvious, such as prices soaring, garbage piled up, lights going out, but making no link to the general economic mismanagement.

Increased penalties for breaching the country’s notorious laws against freedom of speech and freedom of the press appeared a bit much, even for the state mouthpieces, The Herald and The Chronicle. Both newspapers left out the fact that breaches of these internationally condemned laws now carry a jail term of up to five years, though they reported the hugely increased fines.

Studio 7, however, put the matter into perspective. It quoted prominent lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa as saying the stiffer penalties were “part of the continued assault on the freedom of the media in Zimbabwe.

MMPZ said the radio station exposed the continued harassment of member of civic society and individuals perceived as anti-government.

For example, it reported the arrest of students conducting research for the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights on the effects of Operation Murambatsvina on grounds they were working “for foreign news organizations.