Zanu-PF must deal with changes in information technology

especially at this juncture when cyberspace is becoming the major if not the sole source of information or misinformation.
In grappling with how to deal with information technology, it is important that we understand what it is and how it can determine the ultimate survival of the revolutionary party. Generally, information technology comprises of gadgets mostly electrical currently used in communication which include computers, video camera, and videotext, videophone, and Internet, mobile phones and satellite television.
All these enhance the capture, storage, manipulation and distribution of information. Most of the so-called new technology depends entirely on the computer for it to function properly starting with the videotext-a generic term for view data or teletext to the digital camera.
Without the computer, communication varieties such as videotext and word processing would be impossible through satellite or desktop publishing.
Information dissemination was a critical component of the propaganda war during the formative years of early nationalistic fervour just as it was during the execution of the liberation struggle. During the liberation war, both Zapu and Zanu understood the need for effective information dissemination as a rallying tool and established among others — two critical departments, the commissariat and information and publicity. In the case of Zanu, the need for information dissemination to cadres, refugees at training camps and those back home saw the establishment of The People’s Voice — a weekly tabloid, the Zimbabwe News-a monthly magazine and the Voice of Zimbabwe, a radio broadcast mainly from Maputo.
It was through these media that cadres and the masses were kept abreast of developments in the war and got a clear ideological thrust of the liberation movement. The commissariat, on the other hand used word of mouth either through the holding of pungwes and or other such gatherings to explain the grievances of the struggle and Zanu policies.
The birth of a new independent Zimbabwe ushered in a new era in information management and dissemination which saw the Government setting up the Mass Media Trust, under whose armpit was Ziana and various community newspapers. The new Government also found it strategically important to have a major stake in Zimpapers once owned by Argus Press of South Africa. This was important as the media needed to reflect the aspirations of the majority.
The Rhodesian Broadcasting Corporation became the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation later ZBH.
Thirty years into independence, our media is far from monolithic. New players in the print media have emerged, all in the name media plurality.
Barely a few years after the entrance of the new players, especially in the print media, social media has entered the fray with such speed and force capable of blurring any difference between producers and consumers of news. It surely is no longer business as usual as most young people find it fashionable to access news by the click of a phone button or a computer keyboard.
Where does Zanu-PF find itself in this fast changing environment where bureaucracy has been overtaken by instant messages send in real time? While The People’s Voice and the Zimbabwe News have carried on with their mandate of educating and informing the masses about developments within the party and its policies, a lot still needs to be done. First, it is prudent that all party publications be accessible on the internet including interactive forums making it possible for anyone to have a close interpersonal relationship with the goings on in the party.
Secondly, it is important that the party’s website be proactive and includes current information regarding among other pivotal structures of the party the politburo and the central committee.
Thirdly, a clear history of the party must be easily accessible as this information is important for anyone including the young generation who are inheritors of this revolutionary party.
There is no doubt that the boon in new information technology has caught most people including the party by surprise and therefore unable to effectively deal with the challenges posed by this information superhighway. Zanu-PF, as a revolutionary party must effectively use the new information technology in enhancing its image and in enunciating its pro-poor and pro-majority policies. What has the party done to effectively counter the constant negative barrage of propaganda peddled on the internet by the country’s detractors?
It is unfortunate that those who control and master the new technology have been using it to demonise Zanu-PF, its leadership and its policies.
It must be clear that the traditional media — radio, newspapers and television though useful must be complemented by a strong presence on the cyberspace to counter such negative portrayal of the party.
The party’s views, thoughts and aspirations must be put in the right perspective in real time through the creation of interactive websites to capture and incorporate the views of the young generation in the daily life of the party. The party must go beyond just computerising its entire departments but must ensure that all its administrative officials are vigilantly abreast with usage and new developments on the cyberspace so that they are prepared to defend the party at any time with sufficient information on various programmes and subjects pertaining to the party.
Young people must form the focal audience targeted by the party given the fact that the internet has become a central part of the daily lives of people across the planet. Social media has become the sphere within which young people and adults coalesce, maintain social relationships, conduct commerce, acquire knowledge and even entertain themselves.
It is therefore critical that the party as an active political animal must be present at such for a vociferous defending its values and principles. Its absence at such fora can be misinterpreted as a sign of its weakness or simple backwardness of which it is not.
Zanu-PF must present itself as a party with a clear rich historical record — a party of the present and the future. As a matter of survival, the party must rethink, revamp and revise its strategic and tactical approaches especially at this juncture where we are faced with an election so as to lure and win the hearts and minds of the electorate.
While I am not an avid admirer of American politics given its apparent blurring of reality and acting, I was however struck by Terry Nelson, the then political director of the National Republican Congressional Committee in 2000 during John McCain’s presidential bid when he stated: “Traditionally, political parties organised themselves through a process that was primarily driven from top down. A core group of leaders would form the party’s strategic and tactical components around common set values.”
Nelson says the emergence of the Internet, combined with low cost information technology has to a large degree turned the entire process upside down.
Indeed, through the Internet people can now share common set values by a mere click given the availability of social networks, blogs, and youtube, the pyramidal structure is slowly becoming redundant.
This is not to say that the party must abandon its hierarchical structure that has sustained its stability and focus over the years. The challenge facing the party is to ensure that its lieutenants heading various departments in the party must be adequately empowered to ensure that they promptly disseminate all critical activities on the Internet or create a blogs or website so that it quickly cascades down to the lower echelons of the party and the generality of the electorate.
Political parties the world over exist essentially to run and win elections. However, each political party and each campaign operates or occurs within a unique political environment. As such successful use of the internet requires political strategists to understand how the online tactics available via the Internet can best be utilised to achieve their objective.
Yes, the Internet has changed the whole ball game of politics yet despite this change the most important thing in politics is to win elections. As we prepare for another election this year, Zanu-PF must brace itself for a cyber war, which can only be won among other strategies through a strong presence on the internet.
The global reach and speed at which information or news moves via the Internet calls upon Zanu-PF to ensure that its campaigns are always in rapid response mode.