EU dangles 500 000 Euro to control Zimbabwe media

THE European Union has offered 500 000 euro to fund operations of the Zimbabwe Media Commission and implement a raft of activities, including MDC-T's proposed media reforms.

According to documents seen by The Herald, the EU will use Unesco as a conduit to convey the money. It is understood that the EU chose to deal with Unesco to circumvent sections of Government they claimed to be unhappy with.

EU charge d'affaires in Harare, Mr Carl Skau, yesterday confirmed that the European bloc was supporting various institutional processes in Zimbabwe.

However, according to the documents, the EU would not fund ZMC's strategic plan approved by the body at its retreat in Kadoma last year.

Instead, the EU through Unesco had come up with conditions that ZMC should follow to access the facility.

As part of the conditions, the EU demanded that the ZMC secretariat inherited from its predecessor the Media Information Commission be dissolved.

In the event that the same staff was hired for the new ZMC secretariat, the document noted they should be trained and reoriented to work in line with the new ZMC's mandate.

Through the fund, the EU also wanted ZMC to assume legislative powers and overturn the country's media laws such as the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act and Broadcasting Services Act.

The EU said the environment in Zimbabwe needed to be reviewed because it was not conducive for media development.

It argued that the continued existence of AIPPA was a threat to media freedom because it was the same legislation that Government used to shutdown some media houses.

In this regard, the EU through Unesco argued: "ZMC will therefore need to formulate and submit to Parliament proposals for review of AIPPA particularly to repeal sections to do with the registration of media houses and journalists or scrapping the entire Act in favour of a new Act that promotes media freedom.

"The Broadcasting Services Act needs to be in line with international standards on freedom of expression and media freedom. At the moment Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings is monopolising the airwaves. ZMC will therefore also need to formulate and submit to Parliament proposals for the review of this Act through consultations with the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe and other stakeholders."

The EU further asserts that there is need to review the proposed Media Practitioners Bill and the Access to Information Bill to make sure that they promote media freedom and ensure "timely access to information by media stakeholders and the public at large".

Sources said the EU was soliciate since the inception of ZMC with an offer of funding.

ZMC was facing financial challenges and approached its parent Ministry to seek guidance at law concerning funding constitutional bodies by foreign governments.

ZMC was notified that there was nothing wrong as long as they retained their legitimacy and autonomy as a constitutional body which normally diminish when their operations are exposed to foreign influence.

"In 2011 ZMC got money from the fiscus but it was not enough and the EU decides to deal with Unesco to make their funding offer palatable to the Government of Zimbabwe resulting with a meeting between ZMC and Unesco.

"The result of that meeting was that the EU offered a 500 000 euro through Unesco and of that amount 200 000 Euro would go to Paris as an administrative fee. Essentially,

ZMC would get a mere 300 000 Euro," said the source.

The source said last month another meeting was held between ZMC, Unesco and the EU where the European bloc outlined budget lines of the funding.

Mr Ezekiel Dhlamini represented Unesco, while Mr Emilio Rossette and a Ms Catherine Dorende were the EU officials present. It was at that meeting where ZMC was told that there should be a project co-ordinator and his assistant appointed by the EU and that the EU would not interact directly with ZMC.

The co-ordinator and his assistant would be paid at UN rates with the assistant getting over 1 700 euros per month.

ZMC was told that the EU visibility should prevail in all its activities such as stakeholder conferences and seminars.

The EU logo should be encrypted on the material and banners used at the seminars.

If there is to be a Press statement to be issued after such meetings, it has to be issued in agreement with the EU Ambassador.

Prior to any meeting involving ZMC, the EU Ambassador would reserve the right to place an advert of that meeting in a newspaper of his choice.

Media experts who spoke to The Herald said the EU was trying to disfigure ZMC to make it conform to its interests.

"When they say ZMC should formulate proposals to Parliament it means the EU is trying to give legislative and executive powers to a constitutional body whose mandate is purely to implement constitutional assignments," said one expert.

Contacted for comment over the funding deal, Mr Skau from the EU embassy in Harare said: "The EU is committed to support the GPA reforms as part of the re-engagement process.

"The support is implemented through organisations such as UN agencies. The EU has an agreement with Unesco, which will implement a support programme with the ZMC."

ZMC chairman Mr Godfrey Majonga declined to comment on the matter yesterday.