(MISA/IFEX) – The Department of Information and Publicity in the President’s office will not entertain any queries or inquiries from reporters or media organisations that are incapable of reporting accurately, Minister of Information and Publicity Jonathan Moyo said, in a statement “The Herald” reported on Friday 11 May 2001. Moyo said that the lack of […]
(MISA/IFEX) – The Department of Information and Publicity in the President’s office will not entertain any queries or inquiries from reporters or media organisations that are incapable of reporting accurately, Minister of Information and Publicity Jonathan Moyo said, in a statement “The Herald” reported on Friday 11 May 2001.
Moyo said that the lack of professionalism and journalistic ethics has become prevalent in the media. “There now appears to be a pattern that has developed within the oppositional press to deliberately twist, distort, misrepresent and falsify news and information apparently for political purpose at the expense of the public’s right to know, and at the expense of the interests of professional and ethical journalism,” said Moyo.
Moyo was reacting to a headline that appeared in the business weekly “The Financial Gazette”, which said that “President Mugabe will not stop company invasions” that are being orchestrated by war veterans and ruling party (Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front, ZANU-PF) supporters. Moyo said that the headline was misleading, sensational and inconsistent with direct quotes in the story’s text.
According to “The Herald”, “The Financial Gazette” was allegedly informed by the president of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI), Zed Rusike, that he would seek a meeting with President Mugabe to discuss the invasions by war veterans and ZANU-PF supporters.
“The reporter’s question, and whole context was whether the president would meet Rusike, and the response was that Rusike should seek a meeting with the workers and not with the president. Furthermore the department advised the reporter that his allegations that the invasions were continuing was baseless and in fact false,” said Moyo.
“Against this background, Mr. Rusike’s purported request to meet President Mugabe was made through ‘The Financial Gazette’ and is misplaced as it smacks of politically engineered and rather desperate oppositional attempts to make a mountain out of a mole hill,” said Moyo.
“Mr. Rusike, the CZI and the oppositional press should know that justice delayed is justice denied. It is the employer who should address this issue of social justice, not the President,” said Moyo.
