Zimbabwe: Artists Pin Hopes on Political Deal

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Financial Gazette (Harare)

31 August 2008
Posted to the web 8 September 2008

Harare

The public broadcaster, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, appears far from liberalising the airwaves despite the current negotiations involving three Zimbabwean political parties.

Producer and playwright, Cont Mhlanga, believes the fight to free the public media, especially radio and television, will continue for some time, as he does not foresee any meaningful political settlement in the near future.

"The negotiations are wrong because they do not respect the will of the people as reflected through the composition of Parliament and the Senate.

"Anything short of what the people voted for will not bring any democracy to Zimbabwe. I do not see anything changing soon," he said.

Mhlanga said politicians were reluctant to open up the airwaves because they did not want pressing issues debated openly and democratically.

"The free environment which prevailed before the March 29 elections where radio and television was opened to everyone was a wake up call to politicians. They realised that people can express their feelings freely and openly," he said.

Mhlanga said after the March elections the ruling ZANU-PF party resorted to its old practice of killing democratic space, adding: "They fired broadcasters at will for opening up the public media to the people".

"That is not what the people want. That is not the will of the people. In negotiating and signing these documents, the political parties are actually endorsing the June 27 presidential elections."

Mhlanga said with an independent public media, issues like the tripartite negotiations could have been debated openly.

Musician and poet Chirikure Chirikure was optimistic that ZBC-TV would lift bans on artistes who have had their works blacklisted.

"We have been in a struggle of late and now that political parties are holding discussions, any agreement should also favour the affected artistes."

Chirikure said artistes, like any other concerned Zimbabweans, had participated in the fight for political change and now that the "war" was over, any ban on their products should be lifted.

"It is time for national healing and the state monopoly on the public broadcaster should consider all affected works of music and theatre," he said.

Information director of the Movement for Democratic Change, Luke Tamborinyoka, said he was hopeful that any new political settlement would bring with it the unbanning of "controversial" works.

He said: "Artistes will have to enjoy their artistic freedom and as a party we have in our national policies clauses that deal with that. Any blacklisted works should be available to the public unless it is pornographic."

Journalist and former news editor of ZBC, Sheppard Mutamba, said there was no where to hide for politicians.

"The talks will make way for the freeing of the public media. The politicians have no choice," he said.

Musician Leonard Zhakata said he hoped for the best to come out of the negotiations.

"I'm hopeful that these talks will include the issue of artistic freedom."

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