Zim Journalists To Launch Voluntary Media Council

Zimbabwean journalists will next Tuesday finally launch the Voluntary Media Council (VMC) that had been deferred twice this year, www.zimonline.co.za has reported.

Abigail Gamanya, the co-ordinator of the Media Alliance of Zimbabwe (MAZ) an association of media groups pushing for the setting up of the council, said the launch will go ahead next week with or without government approval.

“We are going ahead with the launch of the council on 29 May and everything is so far according to plan. So come Tuesday, the council will be in place as we do not need government approval to launch this council,” Gamanya told the online paper.

Gamanya said the media council, just like the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ), did not need a government statute to enable it to be set up since it was a voluntary council.

“The media council is a voluntary council and we do not need government approval for launching a voluntary body for journalists,” she said.

The MAZ groups together media organizations operating in Zimbabwe. Among some of these are the ZUJ, Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)-Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe National Editors Forum, the Media Monitoring Project of Zimbabwe and the Federation of African Media Women of Zimbabwe.

MAZ said it had so far received 30 names of individuals who have been recommended by media organizations to sit on the 12-member board to be elected into office next Tuesday.

Among some of the individuals that have been recommended are retired judges, George Smith and Justice Ibrahim, publishers Raphael Khumalo (Zimbabwe Independent) and Jacob Chisese (Financial Gazette), Justin Mutasa (Zimpapers), Father Nigel Johnson, lawyer Sindiso Mazibisa and media lecturer Lawton Hikwa.

Zimbabwe does not have a voluntary media council but has a statutory body, the Media and Information Commission, that was set up by the government under the repressive Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA).

The MIC has banned four newspapers including the biggest selling Daily News, over the past four years. Prresident Robert Mugabe's government's government stands accused of masterminding the bombing of the Daily News printing press and the offices of the Voice of the People (VoP) private radio station. VoP has since switched base to Capr Town, South Africa. - ZimOnline and additional reporting by Zimscoop