Political Perspective

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.