The Zimbabwean government’s Media and Information Commission (MIC) is refusing to renew the licence of one of the country’s biggest business newspapers, the Financial Gazette, demanding the paper first disclose its owners.
Under the government’s tough media laws, newspapers cannot publish unless they have a licence from the MIC, with papers that breach the rule forced to close while their equipment is seized by the police. Newspaper company executives can also be jailed for publishing without permission from the commission.
The Fingaz, as it is also popularly called in the streets of Harare, is believed to be majority-owned by Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor Gideon Gono.
But the Fingaz‘s main rival, the Zimbabwe Independent, has claimed that the feared state spy Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) — and not Gono — is the controlling shareholder in the paper.
MIC chairperson Tafataona Mahoso confirmed that his commission had not renewed the Fingaz‘s licence, but refused to be drawn to disclose further details.
“It must be known that it is not an automatic renewal; there are things that we look at and get satisfied before granting a licence, and we are still looking at their application,” Mahoso told independent news service ZimOnline. He added: “We are not saying they will get a licence or not.”
Newspapers renew their publishing licences after every two years while journalists, who also require licences to practise, must renew theirs after every 12 months.
Fingaz general manager Jacob Chisese confirmed the paper, which is the oldest business and financial paper in the country, is still to receive a new licence from the MIC. He refused to disclose details for confidentiality reasons, but expressed hope that his paper will soon have its licence renewed.
He said: “I can confirm we have not received our licence and we hope to get it as soon as possible like the others. Issues to do with licences are confidential, so we cannot just go public over the matter because there are still issues we are clearing [with the MIC].”
But senior journalists at the Fingaz and officials at the MIC suggested that the real reason the paper is being denied a licence has more to do with the vicious battle raging within the ruling Zanu-PF party over the succession of President Robert Mugabe.
They said powerful politicians in the ruling party do not trust Gono’s political ambitions and want to cripple the Fingaz, fearing the bank chief — a blue-eyed boy of Mugabe’s — might in the future want to use the paper to build a platform to position himself to succeed the veteran president.
“All this is part of the succession wars. There are many in Zanu-PF who fear Gono could use the paper either to campaign for himself or to back someone not of their liking,” said an MIC official who declined to be named.
ZimOnline was unable to confirm independently or cross-check these claims either with Gono or the senior Zanu-PF politicians said to be after him.
However, Gono has in the past denied harbouring political ambitions. But his failure to publicly declare whether he owns the Fingaz — even in the face of damaging claims that the CIO controls the paper — has left a huge question mark over who really owns the paper. — ZimOnline