Voters Roll Fiasco

IFSDZ has always insisted that there is an urgent need to reform the public broadcaster in Zimbabwe. Last night (22/6/2011) was another exhibition of lack of fairness, impartiality and balance in ZBC's reporting style. A good amount of time was devoted to the issue of the Voters Roll but suprisingly only the Registrar General, Mr Simon Khaya-Moyo and another officer of the Registar General's office were interviewed on this issue and none of those who allege that the Voters Roll is in disarray were interviewed in order to bring some element of impartiality and balance in this matter of public interest. The issue of the Voters Roll is a matter of public interest and it is not enough for the ZBC to bring people on national TV and during prime time viewing for that matter, to make bare denials pertaining to grave and negative judgment on the state of the Voters Roll. It is certainly in every voter's interest to know about the state of the voters roll and if there are unsatisfactory issues, then the public ,must be given an opportunity to debate and engage each other on this issue. It is also not correct for the the Registrar General's office to be always on the defensive and to attempt to politicise an matter of huge public interest. It is regrettable that the ZBC is failing the Zimbabwean public by not openly allowing public engagement on issues of national interest on national TV or the available public radio stations. If indeed they are publicly funded as we all know, at least we know this because the law says so and we have seen their agents collecting viewers and listeners licence fees in the streets and shopping malls, then they must be reminded that they have an obligation to propagate democratic pluralism in Zimbabwe by ensuring that people of different backgrounds and views freely enagage each other in debates on issues of national interest on public TV and radio stations. The public must be left to judge for themselves and not for the public broadcaster to attempt to influence public perceptions and opinions regarding a matter of public interest. Public media has always been accused of wanting to tell people what to think and how to think. This is a wrong prescription for plural democracy. As IFSDZ we demand that the ZBC must be independent, impatial and exercise proper balance in their reporting. The issue of the Voters roll is neither an MDC nor Zanu PF matter but an issue that concerns all Zimbabweans regardless of political divide. Only free speech can enhance our democracy in Zimbabwe and the public broadcaster has a critical role to play in this respect.  Therefore, as IFSDZ, we implore on the national public broadcaster to re-open and invite all stakeholders to debate on the issue of the Voters Roll and no one view must be given prominence over the others. The right of reply is a key element of our broadcasting laws and in any case that is one of the calls of genuine democracy. Such is the duty of the public broadcaster as mandated by the law and any failure to uphold this key legal mandate amounts to a failure on not only its statutory duty but its fiduciary duties towards the people of Zimbabwe as well.

L.T. Nkomo
IFSDZ
23/6/2011