Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai last week said the Media and Information Commission (MIC) had ceased to exist in January, because of agreements in the GPA. As a result, journalists are supposedly no longer required to apply for media accreditation to work in Zimbabwe, a regulation that for years has allowed the ZANU PF government to brutally control the media space.
Despite the Prime Ministers statement, the Information Ministry just days after Tsvangirais speech ordered both foreign and local journalists to apply for accreditation through the MIC, to cover the upcoming Comesa summit in Victoria Falls. ZANU PF Information Minister Webster Shamu defended the Ministrys orders, saying that the MIC is still in existence as a new media commission has not yet been constituted. The direct contradiction of the Prime Ministers statement has once again highlighted that there is very little unity and agreement in the coalition government.
The Journalists Union has since urged its member to boycott the orders of the Information Ministry until a legally constituted accreditation body has been put in place. ZUJ President, Matthew Takaona, told SW Radio Africa on Wednesday that the MIC is no longer a legally recognised body, and said journalists should not support the lawless activities of individuals with an agenda.
We need to respect the laws of this country and we will not endorse an illegal body that has no place in a law respecting country, Takaona said.
When asked if there was any concern that journalists would come under threat for not obeying the orders of the Information Ministry, Takaona explained that there is no longer a law to support state sponsored harassment. He added that media harassment in the past has always been supported by the MIC as a matter of law, and he once again emphasised that the MIC is now an illegal body.
Meanwhile foreign media houses are still waiting to be officially welcomed back to the country, despite Robert Mugabes spokesman George Charamba, saying that the likes of CNN were allowed to report in Zimbabwe.
Kim Norgaard, CNNs Johannesburg Bureau Chief, told SW Radio Africa last week that such an invitation had not been extended to them. Furthermore Sky News on Tuesday said it is currently banned from reporting in Zimbabwe. – SW Radio
Post published in: News