'Zimbabwe benefited from bad publicity,' says Jonathan Moyo

ZIMBABWE benefited immensely from the bad publicity it received from the local and international media over the last 14 years, Media, Information and Broadcasting Services minister Jonathan Moyo has said.

Speaking during a media cocktail during the Sanganai/Hlanganani Expo in Harare on Friday, Moyo said Zimbabwe made international headlines albeit for the wrong reasons due to the situation prevailing then.

" . . . We know that we occupy a very special place in the world, I am happy as a media person that although there is a difference between a headline story and the story of heritage, which is the important story, we have benefited a lot from headline news," Moyo said.

"I don't believe there is a living, rational serious person anywhere in the world who does not know that there is Zimbabwe. The events that have happened in the last 14 years have made us famous and I think every visitor around the world is keen to come to Zimbabwe as a result of these headlines that have dominated radio, television, online platforms."

Zimbabwe made international headlines all for bad reasons since 1999 ranging from political violence, the violent land reform exercise, operation Murambatsvina, hyper-inflation, corruption, State-sponsored violence among other reports that made it acquire a "bad boy image" around the globe.

Most of the reports about Zimbabwe were usually on human rights abuses and failure to observe the rule of law.

"When they come to Zimbabwe, they are looking for the headline story. If the true story is our heritage, the last question is how best the story can be told. In our view, there is no better way of telling that story than tourism. It is the only platform to tell the story of our heritage. If you want to understand what we stand for, come to tourism," Moyo said.

"We in the media sector take it very seriously and that is why it is a privilege to be here with you. But for us, this event is important for one equally important reason which is that it gives our country an opportunity to tell the true Zimbabwean story."

"Certainly, many of us here from the media may be tempted to see the Zimbabwean story from the headline news point of view or the point of view of the news of the day, about the two witches who flew from Gokwe to Harare overnight and doing wonders, about sentiments of politicians. It is not that which interests us in the media sector about the Zimbabwean story. The Zimbabwean story is about our heritage."