Chronicle Editor
Sunday News Reporter
THE Government has worked hard to ensure it enhances democracy by allowing the coming in of multiple media platforms through which political parties should be able to engage to put across their messages, Deputy Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services Cde Kindness Paradza has said.
Speaking at a media workshop organised by Zimbabwe Institute and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services, Cde Paradza called on political parties to be free to engage all media players in the country to ensure their political messages were able to reach the country’s populace.
He said it was disheartening that some political parties were playing victim to media blackout while they were to blame for refusing to co-operate with the media due to lack of structural organisation.
“We are very happy that we are going to have these elections in an environment that is quite different from all the years before 2018. We have managed to licence a significant number of radio stations all over the country for a wider reach.
“Unfortunately, we have reports that there are political parties who do not want to co-operate with the many media outlets out there due to issues of bureaucracy and lack of organisational structures. They have not been availing themselves to comment when approached by media personnel.
“Other than ZBC, we now have four more television stations that are very ready to for political parties to disseminate their election messages,” he said.
He said it was supposed to be the population’s prerogative to make a choice between wishful thinking and the reality that they see on the ground, something that raised the ire of Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) members in attendance who accused the deputy minister of campaigning.
To journalists, he said, it was time to go back to basics of journalism and avoid being part of political activists. He said journalists should not be found getting angry or emotional on behalf of political parties but they should remain impartial in their reporting.
Cde Paradza said there were journalists who were in the habit of provoking political parties to create an impression of political violence against the media to satisfy the egos of those funding them.
The workshop was held at a local hotel and was attended by senior media practitioners, the academia and politicians as well as stakeholders in the country’s political space.
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