Editorial
Has latter-day journalism lost its ethics and integrity?
Zimbabwe continues to suffer unjustified damning attacks from foreign scribes, who discharge their duties as if they are reporting from the very center of its capital.
Grossly unsubstantiated information is sugar-coated and presented as the Gospel truth.
Early this week, Sky News carried an article titled, “'Little change' in Zimbabwe since historic election”, while the UK tabloid The Guardian published another story titled, “'Things are getting worse': economic collapse looms again in Zimbabwe”.
The unpalatable images these headlines conjure to their readers are unimaginable, but the mere fact that these articles come at a time when the United Nations General Assembly Summit in New York is underway, behoves responsible Zimbabwean scribes to set the record straight.
The media onslaught against Zimbabwe did not start today, but has been going on for the past 18 years, after ZANU PF-led Government launched the popular Land Reform Programme (LRP), to redress some of the imbalances and injustices of colonialism.
So much has happened politically since then and the country now has a new leader, the incumbent President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Ever since his inauguration he has issued a wide range of reforms as the country bolsters its efforts at international re-engagement, after years of isolation.
Setting a different record from previous elections, President Mnangagwa unequivocally preached peace and political tolerance during the run-up to and after the harmonised elections.
Election observers the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Commonwealth observers remarked that the voting process was largely free and fair, with no cases of political violence that had sometimes characterised previous elections.
Even though the opposition refused to accept the results, as has become the culture in elections across the continent – however, President Mnangagwa’s victory was later upheld by the Constitutional Court after the opposition failed to proffer adequate evidence of election malpractice.
A few weeks after his inauguration President Mnangagwa announced his Cabinet, that earned him accolades from even his staunch critics and brought hope to many.
Expressing his optimism on the microblogging website Twitter, JabuKa Mangena, wrote, “The more you listen to @edmnangagwa the more you realise that he is not like his predecessor. Let us give him a chance to deliver on his promises. His appointments for cabinet give #hope to #Zimbabwe.”
NewsDay tweeted, “Zimbabwe economy in safe hands: THE appointment of a leaner Cabinet by President Emmerson Mnangagwa is not only welcome, but also goes a long way in demonstrating that the President listened to the people...”
Commendable decisions made by the Cabinet so far has been the postponement of purchasing new vehicles for Parliamentarians and divert the funds to help with the cholera outbreak.
