"Media is essential for shaping public opinion," says Makonese - not when media is confused N Garikai

“The role of the press with respect to Zimbabwe's political; social and economic changes as we move towards 2018 should not be underestimated. The media is capable of highlighting on the past, the present and help the people establish how best to model their future. Media is as essential as our daily bread as it plays an outstanding role in creating and shaping of public opinion and strengthening of society,” wrote Pythias Makonese in The Zimbabwean.

If the truth be said, and it must, Zimbabwe's private media has not done the nation any great favour by slavishly supporting the MDC even as the later blundered from pillar to post.  


Although most reporters and editors alike would agree that Zanu PF rigged the 2013 elections, for example, and yet very few, if any, of our independent media houses have a consistent position on the matter. First, they accepted Tsvangirai’s claim that the elections were “stolen”, they then welcomed MDC’s “No reform, no election!” stance and now the same media practitioners have accepted MDC’s position to contest next year’s elections with not even one reform implemented – no questions asked of MDC leaders.

SADC leaders warned Tsvangirai and friends not to contest the 2013 elections with no meaningful reforms in place. The private media never quizzed MDC leaders why they did not paid heed to the warning then or after Zanu PF rigged the elections and thus proving MDC leaders had been foolish to ignore the warning.

We know that not even one meaningful reform has been implemented since the rigged July 2013 elections and so SADC’s warning not to contest next year’s elections with no reforms is even more relevant today than in June 2013. MDC leaders themselves have already made up their minds to contest the elections regardless of the certainty that Zanu PF will once again rig the vote as before.

“We have come up with our own new strategies which are smarter that we are going to use in wiring and wining the elections,” claimed Obert Gutu, MDC-T spokesman.

“I think you are now hearing us talking about the wire trajectory, which is our new strategy, because obviously we are budgeting for the worst case scenario where the regime is not going to budge because very little in terms of reforms has been done and we will be fools to think that Zanu PF is going to give in.”

This is just grandstanding and posturing to justify why the opposition is once again contesting flawed elections. With no reforms in place Zanu PF is certain to rig the vote just as easily as it rigged past elections.

You would agree with me that many, if not all, of our private media houses have swallowed MDC’s empty rhetoric hook, line and sinker with no questions asked. The media have accepted MDC’s “wire trajectory strategy” for example as if this is a well establish and proven strategy one would sooner question Charles Dawn’s evolutionary theory than question MDC’s wire trajectory strategy.

The people of Zimbabwe desperately need some guidance on whether to take part in yet another flawed elections or heed SADC leaders’ advice and demand the implementation of reforms before elections. Whilst I agree with you, Makonese that the “media is as essential as our daily bread as it plays an outstanding role in creating and shaping of public opinion and strengthening of society”. But even you will have to accept that our media, by slavishly supporting MDC’s blunders have been totally useless to the nation, at best.

Zimbabwe’s private media has been slavishly supportive of the opposition parties at the expense of informing the public just as the public media has been slavishly supportive of Zanu PF.

“Our Zimbabwe media should be depolarized and be totally removed from the ruling party politics. It must be defined not on the basis of its ownership but on the basis of what it does professionally. Recognition of equality of all human beings with the understanding that there are no human beings that are more equal than others. We voted for a constitution which should be respected,” concluded Makonese.

“We should all play our part for a better Zimbabwe – come 2018.”

Time is the enemy of us all; the media practitioners must get their act together and act decisively now; not tomorrow and certainly not next year, because it will be too late. The people of Zimbabwe must either to participate in next year’s elections or ignore the whole shebang and just concentrate on demanding the implementation of reforms before elections. People must decide now because, if they are going to participate, the process kicks off with voter registration next week, 4 th September. Time is of the essence!

A “better Zimbabwe” has remain as elusive as the mirage lake because those better entrusted to advise the people have, more often than not, ill-advised them. If the people of Zimbabwe participate in yet another flawed election process it will be because the country’s media let the nation down, again!