Political Perspective

By: GWEN LISTER

IT sort of came and went in the news, because of issues of more import and immediacy, but the announcement of the joint Namibia-Zimbabwe Sunday newspaper initiative is bound to be a big waste of money that these two countries can ill afford.

Time these governments learn that their task is to govern properly,

transparently and accountably, without sticking their noses in

where they quite obviously don't belong.

And the media is just one of those areas.

 

THE days are long past of the New Information Order when African

governments tended to wholly manage media, whether electronic or

print, in their countries.

 

Not only was the NIO thoroughly discredited, but this era was

characterised by presidents-for-life and ruling parties that kept

their people in the dark and fomented political crises.

 

At a time when free and independent media has thankfully taken

some form of (albeit often tenuous) hold on the African continent,

Nujoma and Mugabe decide that some form of regional newspaper, to

be called the 'New Sunday Times', is necessary to "counter the

threat of the global media to African values".

 

At least Nujoma has a reasonable, but not flawless, track record

on media in Namibia.

 

Interference at the NBC, the launching of a state-run newspaper,

temporary self-allocation of the ministerial portfolio of

information and broadcasting and the bans on The Namibian aside, he

has not - like his ally Mugabe - unleashed a reign of terror on the

media he calls the 'running dogs of imperialism' in his

country.

 

But this still doesn't justify what is going to be a monumental

waste of money in countries where taxpayers can ill afford to allow

their precious resources to be squandered on what will probably

amount to being a massive PR attempt for these two governments.

 

Mugabe's ratings worldwide couldn't possibly be lower than they

are at present, and the problem for us is that Nujoma can't resist

fighting for the retention of the image of a man who's long past

his sell-by date.

 

And heaven forbid that Mugabe should be a role model for

'African values'.

 

Hopefully, this is something Nujoma's successor, if he has a

head on his shoulders and the interests of the country at heart,

will reverse with immediate effect once he takes office.

 

All in all, this new 'venture' is perceived as a sad joke, even

in our own sub-continent, and for one, Robert Kirby, satirist for

the South African-based Sunday Times has taken it apart in his

column Loose Cannon.

 

Quite rightly so too.

 

It not only deserves condemnation, but also derision, given the

nature of the memo of understanding between our two

governments.

 

It's been described by supporters as a "purely business

proposition", which is a patent smokescreen for another agenda

entirely.

 

Besides which, a regional newspaper/magazine, has been tried

before, but failed, among other reasons, due to the constraints of

distribution in the sub-continent.

 

Perhaps the two governments should have done a little more

homework before embarking on this ludicrous project.

 

If it's to be regional, how do they envisage the content; (one

page per SADC country?) and what on earth will be the cost; and

where is it to be headquartered? Many unanswered questions remain,

even though they are said to plan launch by July 1.

 

But then New Era has promised a daily for some time, and that's

not yet seen the light of day, so your guess is as good as mine

...

 

Apart from what Kirby caustically describes as 'groundbreaking

features, such as portraits of Mugabe and Nujoma that have been

incorporated into the paper's title', giving "a sense of dignity

and restraint, a feeling that this is a newspaper to be

trusted".

 

He also takes aim at Zim Information Minister Jonathan Moyo,

predicting an "enervating column" from him to be entitled 'Turd's

Eye View' in which 'he is bound', and the paper, 'to dedicate

itself to explaining how fortunate Africa as a whole, and Zimbabwe

in particular, has been in 'having Mugabe as a leading political

giant'.

 

Again, we'll have our vocal pro-Mugabe minority shouting the

odds about the disrespect accorded to African leaders, but once and

for all, and with a project as insane as this one, he deserves

it.

 

And for heaven's sake, if media magnate Mugabe wants to continue

on the downwards spiral that he's chosen for his country, well and

good.

 

But why on earth should we in Namibia, who have chosen a more

democratic direction, choose to go down with him? I think our Head

of State should explain.

 

And the media is just one of those areas.THE days are long past of

the New Information Order when African governments tended to wholly

manage media, whether electronic or print, in their countries.Not

only was the NIO thoroughly discredited, but this era was

characterised by presidents-for-life and ruling parties that kept

their people in the dark and fomented political crises.At a time

when free and independent media has thankfully taken some form of

(albeit often tenuous) hold on the African continent, Nujoma and

Mugabe decide that some form of regional newspaper, to be called

the 'New Sunday Times', is necessary to "counter the threat of the

global media to African values".At least Nujoma has a reasonable,

but not flawless, track record on media in Namibia.Interference at

the NBC, the launching of a state-run newspaper, temporary

self-allocation of the ministerial portfolio of information and

broadcasting and the bans on The Namibian aside, he has not - like

his ally Mugabe - unleashed a reign of terror on the media he calls

the 'running dogs of imperialism' in his country.But this still

doesn't justify what is going to be a monumental waste of money in

countries where taxpayers can ill afford to allow their precious

resources to be squandered on what will probably amount to being a

massive PR attempt for these two governments.Mugabe's ratings

worldwide couldn't possibly be lower than they are at present, and

the problem for us is that Nujoma can't resist fighting for the

retention of the image of a man who's long past his sell-by

date.And heaven forbid that Mugabe should be a role model for

'African values'.Hopefully, this is something Nujoma's successor,

if he has a head on his shoulders and the interests of the country

at heart, will reverse with immediate effect once he takes

office.All in all, this new 'venture' is perceived as a sad joke,

even in our own sub-continent, and for one, Robert Kirby, satirist

for the South African-based Sunday Times has taken it apart in his

column Loose Cannon.Quite rightly so too.It not only deserves

condemnation, but also derision, given the nature of the memo of

understanding between our two governments.It's been described by

supporters as a "purely business proposition", which is a patent

smokescreen for another agenda entirely.Besides which, a regional

newspaper/magazine, has been tried before, but failed, among other

reasons, due to the constraints of distribution in the

sub-continent.Perhaps the two governments should have done a little

more homework before embarking on this ludicrous project.If it's to

be regional, how do they envisage the content; (one page per SADC

country?) and what on earth will be the cost; and where is it to be

headquartered? Many unanswered questions remain, even though they

are said to plan launch by July 1.But then New Era has promised a

daily for some time, and that's not yet seen the light of day, so

your guess is as good as mine ...Apart from what Kirby caustically

describes as 'groundbreaking features, such as portraits of Mugabe

and Nujoma that have been incorporated into the paper's title',

giving "a sense of dignity and restraint, a feeling that this is a

newspaper to be trusted".He also takes aim at Zim Information

Minister Jonathan Moyo, predicting an "enervating column" from him

to be entitled 'Turd's Eye View' in which 'he is bound', and the

paper, 'to dedicate itself to explaining how fortunate Africa as a

whole, and Zimbabwe in particular, has been in 'having Mugabe as a

leading political giant'.Again, we'll have our vocal pro-Mugabe

minority shouting the odds about the disrespect accorded to African

leaders, but once and for all, and with a project as insane as this

one, he deserves it.And for heaven's sake, if media magnate Mugabe

wants to continue on the downwards spiral that he's chosen for his

country, well and good.But why on earth should we in Namibia, who

have chosen a more democratic direction, choose to go down with

him? I think our Head of State should explain.

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