Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on Monday took a swipe at the state media for continuing to serve partisan interests to the detriment of the inclusive government, saying it’s failing in its mandate of serving the people as a true public media.
Addressing journalists at the Gweru Press Club, Tsvangirai said bias of the state media is temporary as reforms in the media to be introduced soon will ensure a divergence of views from which Zimbabweans can choose for their sources of news.
“It a fact that in contravention of both the letter and spirit of the Global Political Agreement, the state media continue to serve partisan interests, thereby failing to fulfill their mandate as a public service to the people of Zimbabwe.
“This situation is temporary as sooner rather than later market forces in the form of alternative media will enable the people of Zimbabwe to choose their sources of news on a daily basis,” said Tsvangirai.
The PM said the soon to be constituted Zimbabwe Media Commission will ensure media reforms, including those of repressive laws to lay the ground for a free and open media environment.
Tsvangirai gave the example of how the state media vilified him when he went on a tour of the United States of America and Europe to drum up financial support for the inclusive government.
“It was as if I had gone begging for Tsvangirai. I find it quite disturbing that the state media took such a stance, yet the GPA is clear on what role the media should play. The inclusive government means what it is. It is neither a Zanu PF government nor an MDC government,” said the PM.
“We have media mindset which looks at Tsvangirai as President of the MDC and not PM of the inclusive government,” he added.
When Tsvangirai toured Western countries recently, the state media dismissed his efforts as “futile” and “hitting a brick wall.”
The PM managed to amass a total of about US$500 million humanitarian aid to be channeled through Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO’s).
Zimbabwe needs about US $8. 5 billion to resuscitate the ailing economy.
Tsvangirai said his visit to the West was a success as it laid a ground on which Zimbabwe can be reintegrated in the family of nations at an international level. He said the amount he received though little does not reflect the support the country will receive if the three principals to the GPA fulfill their political obligations.
“..The amount of assistance that was pledged during my visit to Europe and the United States does not reflect the enormous support we will be able to harness if we are to fulfill all our political obligations.
“In every country, each leader I met expressed reservations about the delays in the full implementation of the GPA. They asked why after almost five months, had fundamental obligations undertaken by the respective political parties not been implemented.”
The PM said the outstanding issues in the GPA are “not foreign benchmarks imposed from outside Zimbabwe but are our own conditions that we committed ourselves to meeting when we signed the GPA.”
