HARARE | Wednesday
TELEVISION authorities in Zimbabwe have banned a new live weekly talk show that was highly critical of President Robert Mugabe’s policies and actions, the local media reported on Wednesday.
The discussion programme “Talk to the Nation”, sponsored by pro-government civic organisation the National Development Assembly (NDA), flighted just three times before it was pulled off air.
Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) chairman Gideon Gono denied the programme had been scrapped for political reasons, citing ZBC “policy” as the reason in a letter to the NDA.
Viewers calling in to the programme constantly challenged Mugabe and his government, which is facing a growing political and economic crisis.
The final programme featured opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) lawmaker Tapiwa Mashakada and an MP of the ruling ZANU-PF party, David Chapfika, on the theme the state of the economy – which drew a barrage of anti-government criticism.
Viewers telephoned in to challenge Chapfika to justify Mugabe’s continued stay in power in the face of the deteriorating political and economic situation in the southern African country.
“Live productions can be tricky and dangerous. You do not know what someone will say and there is no way of controlling it,” the Herald newspaper quoted a source at the television station as saying.
Information and Publicity Minister Jonathan Moyo told the daily that government supported the decision to switch off the programme.
Zimbabwe has only one broadcaster, the ZBC, but its monopoly was broken last year in a ruling handed down by the Supreme Court. However, no new player has been allowed on to the market yet.
Parliament passed a new broadcasting law in April after a marathon 12-hour debate which split the house along party lines.
The new broadcasting law forbids community radio stations from carrying any political programming, bars radio stations from carrying political advertising, and requires private broadcasters to give the government one hour of air time each week to explain its policies. – AFP
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