Zimbabwe Papers: Report

The Zimbabwe Papers, a major report released on May 19, 2009 in Accra, Ghana by 9 of Africa’s most respected think-tanks, examines the causes of Zimbabwe’s social and economic problems and offers a blueprint for urgent and practical reform that will enable the country to become a thriving, peaceful and prosperous country.

Over the past decade, average incomes in Zimbabwe have declined by more than two-thirds and life expectancy has fallen by 20 years. The cause is clear: policies implemented by Zimbabwe’s government. As Franklin CUDJOE, Executive Director of Ghanaian think tank, IMANI and editor of  www.AfricanLiberty.org and a Commissioner of The Zimbabwe Papers, points out:

“Zimbabwe  is the epitome of how a typical  African breadbasket could easily slip into a chaotic basket case in less than a generation and we, as Africans, must recognise that the reason for this is the Government’s failed policies.  We have attempted to proffer policy solutions-which are clearly laid out in this policy-makers’ manual to make Zimbabwe shine again.”

The Zimbabwe Papers addresses the main problems facing the people of Zimbabwe, from the constant threat of violence, to the crumbling health care system, to one of the worst cases of hyperinflation in World history.  It describes the main policy errors that have led to these problems and emphasises the need to take urgent action to reverse them.

The top priority is simultaneously to provide reliable money and reduce government expenditure. Transactions are now being conducted in US dollars and South African rands, which has greatly increased business activity and stabilised prices. Re-establishing a local currency would require adopting a currency board or pegging the currency to a major stable currency. Other urgent actions advocated by The Zimbabwe Papers include:

·         Ending the arbitrary violence inflicted by the military and police on Zimbabwean citizens.

·         Reducing and simplifying taxes and tariffs, in order to reduce corruption, improve the climate for entrepreneurs, and increase government revenue

·         Reducing the burden of regulations, which currently prohibit entrepreneurs from creating formal businesses, drive economic activity underground and reduce government revenue

·         Supporting the rule of law – essential for a peaceful, well functioning liberal democracy

Rejoice Ngwenya of Coalition for Liberal Market Solutions, a think tank based in Harare says, “Zimbabweans have been persecuted by continuous state violence and destabilising, destructive economic policies that made the country one of the least hospitable business environments on earth.  Zimbabweans must be able to live and work in an environment conducive to entrepreneurship; that means, sound money, simplified regulations, and low taxes. Only then will Zimbabwe get back to work.”

The Commissioners of the Zimbabwe Papers conclude, “We believe that Zimbabwe’s leadership must look in the mirror and accept that most of their problems are the result of their own misguided policies. If Zimbabwe is to reverse course and become a thriving economy once again, it must stop blaming outside forces and focus on reforming its domestic situation.”

“At some point, the dominance of state-sponsored plunder will evaporate and make way for sustainable reform.  When this opportunity comes, Zimbabweans will have to move quickly to rediscover the rule of law, constrain government, and grant their citizens important economic and political rights.  The Zimbabwe Papers provides Zimbabwean reformers with a plan for their renewal and the brave Zimbabwean citizens, who dared to stand up against illegitimate, immoral leadership, the information they need to put their country back on a path to peace and prosperity.” – www.africanliberty.org

*The Zimbabwe Papers: A Positive Agenda for Zimbabwean Renewal  is available here

Media Leaders Call For New Blueprints

Pioneering African media leaders who are meeting in Dakar have called for closer co-operation among publishers and broadcasters across the continent to promote development.

Participants in the inaugural meeting of the African Media Leaders’ Forum – co-sponsored by The World Bank and allAfrica.com – were discussing challenges facing the media on the first of two days of discussions in Dakar.

In a vigorously-argued contribution to the forum, Nduka Obaigbena, the founding editor-in-chief and chairman of Nigeria’s THISDAY newspaper, advocated a blueprint for the development of media in Africa based on an acceptance of the efficacy of markets.

The continent’s media needed “partners and investors, not donors… It is not as if we are begging,” he said. Until publishers improved the capacity of their journalism, they would not earn the respect they needed to attract more readers, and thus more advertising. “Let’s produce damned good products,” he urged.

Linus Gitahi, the chief executive officer of East Africa’s Nation Media Group, wanted media leaders to find ways of sharing content across the continent “to tell the African story in an African way” instead of relying on Western-generated news about the continent, which often meant news was misreported or not reported at all.

He also called for African media leaders to pool resources for training and for more focus on bringing more radio broadcasters – who reached much bigger audiences than newspaper – to join other media leaders in planning for the future.

Hoosain Karjieker, chief operating officer of South Africa’s Mail & Guardian Media, told the forum that “if you’re an independent media house, it’s a risky world out there.”

Citing examples from countries across southern Africa, he said there was growing pressure from governments to set up statutory media councils to control journalists. Battles of the past were having to be revisited, he said, to educate “a new generation of politicians” on the need for free media.

Senegalese publisher Baye Dame Wade recounted how he had used his savings to leave his work as an economist and launch a business magazine, entitled Reussir. In the early days, he acted as owner, manager, reporter and secretary, writing every word of the magazine himself. Now, 28 issues later, the magazine had built up the trust of decision-makers, who opened up and communicated with it.

Thierry Hot of the Burkina Faso-based magazine and website, Fasozine, called for the establishment of training courses in skills such as media management for publishers in Africa. He also advocated collaboration among publishers so they could learn from one another about such practical issues as methods of distribution, and even share co-operatively-owned printing presses.

Azubuike Ishiekwene, executive director (publications) of Punch Publications Nigeria, said the major challenges the media faced were the quality of journalism, effective management and legal and ethical issues.

Quality journalism was the key to attracting readers to newspapers when they had so many other ways of accessing news, he said. Management challenges included the recent doubling of newsprint prices and the lack of nationally-accepted audited circulation statistics.

Legal challenges were inhibiting the press, Ishiekwene said. It was a battle to persuade society that laws guaranteeing freedom of information were in the interests of not only the media, but were a means of enabling ordinary citizens to hold their leaders to account.

The forum, which will be expanded to include more publishers and broadcasters from across the continent as it becomes more firmly established, has three central objectives, according to a statement tabled at the Dakar meeting:

* To listen to media owners about the kinds of support they need to address deeply-rooted problems in their industry;

* To begin a discussion about content, the role of the media in development  and the links between regional development and long-term business interests of the media; and

* To take up a discussion started by the European Union and African Union about the links between repressive policy environments and the lack of journalistic ethics, and to encourage consensus around the need for a journalistic code of conduct. – allAfrica