According to the report Zimbabwe is ranked 133 out 179 countries worldwide. Last year, Zimbabwe was number 117 in the annual rankings of countries based on RWB’s assessment of press freedom.
Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe Director Andy Moyse said there had not been any fundamental changes in the Zimbabwean media landscape, as evidenced by the continued harassment of journalists.
“Government should be embarrassed by these world rankings. 133 is not encouraging. Press freedom can only be guaranteed if there are no laws that allow the persecution and arrests of journalists. At the moment the Zimbabwean media laws are being used to silence and persecute journalists,” said Moyse.
According to the report, the slow but sure progress that followed the formation of a Government of National Unity in 2009 and the granting of licences to several independent newspapers appears to have stalled.
The report notes that violence and arrests of journalists still niggle and if elections go ahead as planned in 2013, the atmosphere for the media promises to be tense.
Voluntary Media Council Director Takura Zhangazha said self-regulation of the media was the best practice to ensure press freedom in the country.
“Media laws such as Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act and the Public Order and Security Act have been used to criminalise the media. The problem with our government is that they view press freedom as a privilege not a right,” he said.
Media Alliance of Zimbabwe Director Patience Zirima said they had embarked on a right to information campaign to ensure that media has access to information from government offices ahead of elections.
“Secrecy breeds corruption and limits the public’s access to other rights such as health and education. Thus we are approaching government offices educating them on ways they can work with the media as a partner not as an enemy.
“There is always a problem towards and during elections. Information is not availed to the public and when journalists go an extra mile to find the information, they are arrested. Mutual understanding between the government and media will create a conducive working environment for journalists, paving the way for press freedom,” she said.
Chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Media, Information and Communication Technology, Settlement Chikwinya, told The Zimbabwean that government should promote a culture of openness that allows journalists unregulated access to public documents, to ensure the public is well informed on governance matters.
“The right to information is a fundamental right enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, and is a component of the broader right to Press Freedom,” said Chikwinya.
For the third year running, Finland has distinguished itself as the country that most respects media freedom, followed by Netherlands and Norway whilst Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea are at the bottom of the list.
Zimbabwe was ranked at 123 in 2010, 136 in 2009 and 151 in 2008. The media of Zimbabwe has seen varying amounts of control by the government despite having a constitution that promotes freedom of the media and expression.
A continental media watchdog, African Media Barometer, last year accused Zimbabwe of lagging behind in the implementation of regional and international protocols that promote media freedom and diversity.
“Since the formation of the inclusive government in 2009, there have been reports of new laws in the making to replace Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, such as the Freedom of Information Act and the Media Practitioners Act. No actual steps have been taken in this direction though,” the report said.
Post published in: News