(TALKZIMBABWE) Makone should resign or pull up her socks

Tuesday, February 08, 2011

(TALKZIMBABWE) Makone should resign or pull up her socks

Makone should resign or pull up her socks
By: Peter
Posted: Tuesday, February 8, 2011 9:25 am

THE incidents of looting and all the disturbances that have been taking place in Harare should be deplored by all Zimbabweans, regardless of their political affiliation.

On Monday, Harare came to a standstill when Zanu-PF youths' demonstration in the city turned into chaos and ended in the destruction of property worth thousands of dollars, according to reports from the capital.

When Zanu-PF, MDC-T or any supporters of an political party in Zimbabwe engage in such deplorable behaviour the law should descend heavily on them.

Such barbarism has no place in our society.

The same also applies to politicians and members of the media who try to gain political capital by taking advantage of the situation.

The media in Zimbabwe has remained largely an anti-State instrument, hence the acrimonious relationship that exists between the two.

There is a dearth of proper non-partisan reporting in Zimbabwe with virtually every problem in the country blamed on Zanu-PF even though it is now in an inclusive Government with the MDC-T.

MDC politicians have remained largely outside the scrutiny of the media.

In fact, the distinction between the two has been blurred. They feed on each other and such protests as we saw in Harare tend also to target the independent press as they are seen as anti-Zanu-PF instruments.

The media has remained silent and mum when MDC-T party leadership has displayed their ignorance of the law on several situations.

Regarding these disturbances, the MDC-T and its accompanying media once again got a chance to attack Zanu-PF, calling the young people hired mobs, thugs, etc, but failing to recognize their demands.

The MDC-T is "allowed", at least by the media, to engage in unruly behaviour and that is reported as anti-Government protests and not thuggish behaviour.

This is the sorry state of the media in Zimbabwe - failing to get to the root of the problem. Lazy journalists grab headlines using stories concocted in front of the keyboard, as spread as the truth.

Media organisations like the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe rush to issue statements when it is Zanu-PF youths who demonstrate, but never when it is MDC-T ones.

Such polarised interplay will continue until our media can accept that they should neither align with, nor advance the interests of, one political party.

Attacks on media companies by these youths like we saw with NewsDay, deplorable as they are, will continue as long as the general perception is that they are an extension of anti Zanu-PF instruments.

The leaders of the MDC-T party, including Home Affairs co-Minister Theresa Makone, have also put a spin on Monday's story blaming it on Zanu-PF leadership and the Office of the President.

Once again the un-inquisitive media published her version of the story without a balancing one from state media.

She said that if President Mugabe gave instructions to the police to act decisively on violence 'it will end instantaneously.'

For a start, the Police Force does not need orders from the President to arrest criminal. Police are the enforcers of the law and they know the law well, such that they do not need to be told when to act and when not to.

Makone heads the Home Affairs ministry which includes the ZRP, and she reports directly to her boss, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

She is the immediate 'boss' of the Police and is mandated to ask for an explanation when incidents such as these being highlighted have taken place.

What has she done, to date, to arrest the situation? What does she report to Cabinet and the Council of Ministers? Does she ever say this to President Mugabe in Cabinet meetings?

These questions are never asked by the media who have their own agenda to advance.

This is another case of the MDC-T leadership failing and trying to find someone to blame for their failures.

It also calls to question Tsvangirai's ability to select a strong leadership to run key portfolios.

The last co-minister of Home Affairs from the MDC-T, Giles Mutsekwa, was reassigned or demoted because he was said to be complicit with Zanu-PF.

Makone thought she was "tough" and would find the job a walk in the park.

Home Affairs is one of the most important, most dangerous and most difficult portfolios even in countries like the UK and US.

The UK has had at least six Home Secretaries in the last ten years

Makone should either resign from that post or start doing some work.

She took an oath to serve the Government of Zimbabwe, not pander to the whims and interests of a highly partisan media.