ZBC is the type of entity Hlaudi dreams about
BIZARRE though it is to most rational people, Zimbabwe’s ruling Zanu-PF and President Robert Mugabe are still objects of veneration for South Africa’s black nationalists.
The ANC regularly exchanges fraternal salutations with its counterpart “vanguard liberation movement” across the Limpopo. The EFF, that neo-fascist offshoot of the ANC, admires the dispossession of white farmers and is keen to apply the same formula here.
Neither seems concerned that Zanu-PF’s disastrous policies have laid waste to what was once a diversified, vibrant economy. Zimbabwean gross domestic product is now considerably less than half of what it was at independence in 1980, while in neighbouring Zambia GDP trebled in the same period.
In reaction to the Zimbabwean treasury again delaying salaries for public servants, who account for 83 percent of government expenditure, there was a national stayaway announced for Wednesday. The stayaway, says the Zimbabwe broadcaster, has been a complete failure, although pictures of shuttered shops tell a different story.
But in an economy in such dire straits, it doesn’t really matter, says Zimbabwean economist John Robertson: “There isn’t much work being done in the factories anyway, so this will not make much of a difference.”
South Africa is a long way from transmogrifying into the Zimbo zombie. But the response of South African state and ANC structures to deteriorating circumstances and increasing unrest is not dissimilar, especially when it comes to trying to exercise social control.
The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) epitomises the type of state entity that SABC chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng has wet dreams about. Its public charter has been ruthlessly debased, so it operates unashamedly as the propaganda arm of Zanu-PF.
Like their Zimbabwean counterparts, SABC TV journalists are not allowed to show footage of public violence. Like his Zimbabwean counterpart, Motsoeneng is committed to the SABC having “positive stories”, which chimes perfectly with the ANC’s electoral motto of having “a good story to tell”.
The problem for both broadcasters is the truth is essential to a thriving democracy over the long run. Reality is not changed by propaganda, it is merely camouflaged. Without facing sometimes unpleasant truths, nations cannot adjust and adapt.
So the more that a broadcaster distorts reality, the more parlous the situation becomes. Which accelerates political demands for more “good” and fewer “negative” stories.
That is why Zimbabwe has reached the point that mere negativity is a crime that can land you in jail. This week its Postal and Telecoms Regulatory Authority said on state TV that anyone in possession of social media or SMS messages that incite violence or “that may be deemed to cause despondency… will be arrested”.
The authority also said social media and cellphones were being used to distribute “abusive and subversive materials” and warned those responsible would be prosecuted, after using SIM card registrations to track them down.
Even in Zimbabwe, which has spent many decades perfecting the mechanics of despotism, starting with the Ian Smith years pre-independence, the propaganda broadcaster has diminishing influence. It is not believed and many people find the truth elsewhere.
Motsoeneng’s SABC will meet the same fate, but it’s happening faster, partly because there are other credible free-to-air broadcasters. And while there is little cost to the internet being switched off in a Stone Age economy like Zimbabwe, as has happened intermittently this week, in a highly-sophisticated economy like South Africa it would cause substantial economic and reputational damage.
Most important, South Africa differs from Zimbabwe in that there is still a healthy resistance. The populace here remains uncowed.
SABC journalists have protested and resigned. Some ANC leaders and the SACP have broken ranks with the President Jacob ZumaMotsoeneng axis to lambaste Motsoeneng’s leadership and the failure of his board to control.
This week’s scheduled decision by the broadcasting regulatory authority on whether the SABC is in violation of the broadcasting charter in its decision not to shoot footage of violent protests was delayed. If they eventually do rule against Motsoeneng, it will be victory for those trying to prevent the SABC becoming another ZBC.
Follow Saunderson-Meyer on Twitter @TheJaundicedEye