US embassy cable - 02HARARE1287

UNCLAS HARARE 001287 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/S (KRAFT), AF/PD (COX AND ROBERTSON) 
 
NSC FOR JENDAYI FRAZER 
 
LONDON FOR GURNEY 
 
PARIS FOR NEARY 
 
NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PHUM, KPAO, ZI 
SUBJECT:  ZIMBABWE BROADCASTING CORPORATION ANNOUNCES 
DRASTIC CUTS 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  NOT FOR INTERNET POSTING. 
 
1.   (U) On May 25 the government-owned Zimbabwe 
    Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) announced massive 
    staffing cuts and personnel changes.  According to 
    Information Minister Jonathan Moyo, the de-facto 
    director of all government-owned media, approximately 
    60 percent of the ZBC's 900 employees will be laid 
    off.  Moyo, however, sought to reassure threatened 
    employees with an Orwellian statement: "What the ZBC 
    has announced are not plans to retrench (lay workers 
    off), they have announced an action programme in the 
    on-going restructuring exercise."  The Minister also 
    said he was sure that "..the on-going restructuring 
    exercise -- in particular the retrenchment process -- 
    will boost morale." 
 
2.   (U) Among the casualties are several high-profile 
    appointments made at the ZBC's November 2001 
    restructuring.  Chief among these is ZBC news editor- 
    in-chief Shepherd Mutamba, appointed to that key 
    position 7 months ago in during the ZBC's previous 
    pogrom.  He was perceived to be a protg of Minister 
    Moyo, but in early May he conducted a tough television 
    interview with the controversial Minister.  Among 
    other issues, Mutamba asked about the intent of the 
    "Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Bill" 
    and the perception that Minister Moyo is opposed to 
    freedom of expression.  In the wake of that interview, 
    an article in the independent weekly "Standard" 
    predicted major changes at the state-owned media.  Two 
o 
    journalists from that newspaper were arrested and 
    charged with "publishing falsehoods" for reporting 
    imminent changes at ZBC.  We will watch to see if 
    those charges are dropped now that the story has been 
    confirmed. 
 
3.   (SBU) Comment:  ZBC has steadily lost 
    credibility, audience and income in the last two 
    years.  Radio and television programs featuring live 
    calls from the public were canceled because of the 
    broadcaster's ban on dissenting views and criticism. 
    Current events and discussion programs sponsored by 
    advertisers or NGOs were canceled because, in the 
    words of Minister Moyo, "we do not want to be a 
    cultural colony of advertisers."  Commercial 
    advertising diminished and was replaced by ruling 
    party-produced music videos extolling the virtues of 
    the "fast-track" land re-distribution program.  News 
    and editorial opinion were merged into a pre- 
    masticated TV dinner that viewers have, apparently, 
    found unappetizing and indigestible.  Lack of funds 
    has also forced ZBC TV to dig deeply into their tape 
    library.  American sitcoms from the early 1970s, 
    largely irrelevant to Zimbabwe or the year 2002, now 
    form the basis of ZBC's entertainment programming. 
    The corporation is currently pursued by a number of 
    creditors, has had to take out emergency bank loans to 
    meet April and May payrolls, and has been reduced to 
    siphoning gasoline from inoperable Outside Broadcast 
    Vans in order to fuel reporters cars. 
 
4.   (SBU) Comment continued:  While firing 60 percent 
    of its staff will eventually reduce the payroll, the 
    broadcaster will first need to find funds to pay 
    separation benefits.  Minister Moyo has a plan: 
    "Retrenchments will have to be financed by finding the 
    money somewhere, one way or the other."  A solution to 
    the ZBC's larger problem, restoring credibility, 
    audience and the ability to generate income, remains 
    even more vague. 
 
SULLIVAN