PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Cabinet is winding back the clock by introducing amendments to the broadcasting sector to enforce what former Information minister Jonathan Moyo, who is now in self-exile, had implemented more than two decades ago.
Moyo, at the height of the land reform programme, revolutionarised broadcasting in Zimbabwe by setting local content at 75% of the broadcasting time in a day.
Radio stations such as Power FM (then Radio 3) and Classic 263 (then Radio 1) changed radically as at the time they predominantly played foreign music.
The policy killed two birds with one stone: Zimbabwe payment of royalties to foreign artistes was greatly reduced and at the same time local music production increased with the emergence of a new genre — Urban Grooves.
This created new record labels and new stars like ExQ, Nox, Decibel, Sani Makhalima, Roy and Royce, Plaxedes Wenyika, Tererai Mugwadi, Ruvhuvhuto Sisters [Ivy Kombo, the late Jackie Madondo, Plaxedes Wenyika and Sister Flame, born Fortunate Matenga] and PaxAfro, among others.
Gospel music and local sungura production were greatly boosted. And then there was Tambaoga, the man who came up with creative propaganda on land reform, earning a few plaudits at the time.
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It is not clear whether it was a Moyo or government policy, because soon after he was expelled from Zanu PF in 2005, the local content policy was abandoned.
Nearly 20 years later, Mnangagwa thought of taking the country back into the Moyo era.
The government said it wants to amend the Broadcasting Services Act and legislate the 75% local content.
In a post-Cabinet statement on Tuesday, the government said: “The Bill mandates the national broadcaster to broadcast 75% in local content. Furthermore, the Bill will provide for a licencee with a sports channel to broadcast 50% local sports content in view of the fact that sporting events are universal and international sports may bring commercial value to licencees.”
This is revolutionary. It will transform the broadcasting sector and also breathe new life into local music and film industries.
Mnangagwa is reinventing the wheel which Moyo invented and if it had been consistently applied, now local production would have increased exponentially.
Mnangagwa also suggested a controversial amendment that seeks to make car radio licences mandatory.
Cabinet said: “The Bill will also provide a new provision which will prohibit the Zimbabwe National Road Administration and every motor insurance cover to sell a motor vehicle licence and motor insurance policy, respectively, to individuals without the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation current radio licence or an exemption certificate from the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, unless the vehicle to be insured is not equipped with a radio signal receiver.”
The above proposal has raised a lot of fight back from motorists.
Some have ignorantly asked the essence of radio licence in the face of many new private broadcasters.
Some too have questioned why private broadcasters don’t levy a licence to their listeners.
It is important to highlight that ZBC is a creature of statute and its mandate is public broadcasting.
Public broadcasting, the world over, is funded by taxpayers for a variety of reasons.
Public broadcasting is not about making profit. It is about providing a public service like radio lessons, public service announcements and giving priority to government projects.
In short, public broadcasting has the three-fold responsibility of educating, informing and entertaining.
So, the bigger question that should be confronted is about redefining public broadcasting in Zimbabwe and not whether a radio licence should be mandatory.
The opposition benches and progressive Zanu PF Members of Parliament should show up their hands by debating the proposed Bill and even giving counter proposals.
This could include ZBC being precluded from acting as a Zanu PF mouthpiece, giving opposition equitable time on radio and television, hosting robust social and economic debates that inform the audiences on public issues.
It should be remembered that the West, after World War II, entered into a period of soft power using culture.
They offered films and music that subtly sell the American ideologies — neoliberalism and consumerism.
The films too cleverly send the message — the United States is the biggest economy, inventor and world’s police.
In media/culture studies, academia has been grappling with the idea what is global village or globalisation.
It is becoming evident globalisation is the Americanisation of the world and promotion of consumerism.
Let’s step back and relook at public broadcasting models.
The South Africa Broadcasting Corporation is the closest to a public broadcaster in the region.
It celebrates the South African diversity with soapies in nearly all the major languages like IsiZulu, Venda, Xhosa, Sepedi, Tswana, English, Afrikaans.
It covers national politics, sports and policy issues. All the major political parties get airtime on radio and television.
So, what is the window of opportunity that the proposed Bill brings, instead of whining on statutory fees?
This can be an opportunity to firstly redefine public broadcasting in the Zimbabwean context.
The other opportunity is linking the 75% local content to growth of producing, marketing and distribution of local music and film products.
The arts industry can provide employment for thousands of youths.
Sports broadcasting can have a dual role of entertainment and showcasing national talent.
The government should not only talk about 75% local content without speaking to how this will be funded.
Is the government ready to put more money into film and music production?
Is it ready to modernise ZBC studios and the film school?
What tax incentives is it ready to extend to investors into the sector?
The government’s retracing of Moyo’s 75% local content is a good move.
It has given a platform for Zimbabweans to redefine public broadcasting, funding and how this single policy can inspire a boon in music and film production.
However, this better late than never turnaround should not be used to dish substandard productions to audiences who were used to other world productions.
ZBC commissioning of productions should not be politicised or used as a channel to siphon off public funds by politically-connected individuals like what happened to the Presidential Goat Scheme or Command Agriculture Programme.
I’m out!