Are Chinese getting good Press in Zim?
Astereotype has been created around Chinese businesses in Zimbabwe. Chinese businessmen are cast as cruel slave drivers who beat up their workers and pay them poorly. They are labelled as willy-nilly violating labour laws and basic human rights. And now the fad is that they have captured the state which stands akimbo while people are driven away from their ancestral lands.
But are these accounts true? Zimbabwean reporters have been known to be very tendentious in their handling of certain issues. They tend to push certain narratives which may be thrust upon them by certain interests. This is what has generally caused the polarisation witnessed in Zimbabwean journalism over the past two decades.
In politics the public press pushes the government narrative while private media have often pushed anti-government sentiment. The anti-government sentiment is very often being promoted by Western governments, either directly or through nongovernmental organisations.
But the codified professional ethics dictate that journalists at all times must observe accuracy, impartiality and fairness. Impartiality means reporting should not support one political party, religion, people or ethnic group over another. It seems due to the stereotype created of the Chinese, reporters have thrown their lot behind the West in its geopolitical fight against the Chinese. Because of this bias, reporters have clouded the distinction between fact and opinion.
It is a fact that once a journalist takes sides, he/she will always work to support that side. This destroys another pillar of journalism, namely balance.
This week the Chinese embassy in Zimbabwe wrote a statement complaining about how the media is bent on tarnishing Chinese investments in the country.
“Some Western media outlets keep smearing Chinese investment in Zimbabwe by making and spreading fake news,” the statement said without openly naming the outlets.
“They are not guardians of the interests of the Zimbabwean people, but guardians of illegal sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe. Spooking Chinese investors in Zimbabwe is what they really want.”
The pun on the word “guardian” was less than subtle; the statement was apparently aimed at a UK-based newspaper, The Guardian, which had published a story headlined They want to remove us and take the rock, say Zimbabweans living near Chinese-owned mines.
The story was picked up by many publications around the world with different headlines.
The Jinding-Mutoko matter is not the only one that has cast the Chinese in a bad light. In Marange in Manicaland, villagers are resisting eviction to pave the way for diamond mining by a Chinese company called Anjin Investments. In Hwange, Matabeleland North, Dinde villagers are fighting a Chinese company over a coal mine that might mean their eviction.
In the stories that have been written on these happenings the voice of the Chinese people involved is often missing. This seems deliberate as it seeks to push the “bad-guy” attitude because when the voice eventually emerges it shows the picture on the ground to be totally different.
“There is a malicious and false accusation currently being circulated to the effect that Jinding has not properly compensated two Mutoko families for relocating those families from the Jinding mining claims there. As for the so-called relocation of 50 households, there is even more rumours and slander. The fact is that the mining project only involves relocation of three families. These accusations are completely groundless. Jinding has all relocation contracts and payment proof of proper compensation for the two families relocated by Jinding arising out of its mining operations,” the company said.
There are underlying principles which should be adhered to by every journalist. Scribes should make it their business to provide reliable information to promote responsible public debate. They should hold officials accountable and help the electorate make informed decisions. This requires that they should be honest and decent.
What exactly is happening in the areas the Chinese are operating. Are journalists making those in power accountable?
In Zimbabwe, the land belongs to the state; that is what the supreme law of the country says. So, the state can move people from certain lands to others for the sake of development. The Mines and Minerals Act (Chapter 21:05) explicitly states that the rights to minerals are vested in the President of the republic.
“The dominium in and the right of searching and mining for and disposing of all minerals, mineral oils and natural gases, notwithstanding the dominium or right which any person may possess in and to the soil on or under which such minerals, mineral oils and natural gases are found or situated, is vested in the President, subject to this Act.”
What is happening in certain parts of the country such as Uzumba, Chilonga and Hwange where people were supposed to move to make way for mining and agricultural estates, is nothing new and is perfectly legal.
But the government has been remiss in its planning and communication of its intention to move people from one place to another. It is incumbent upon the government to ensure that all communities that have to be moved are moved properly and humanely to arable lands where they can resume their lives seamlessly. This is the heart of the matter and it is incumbent upon any journalist with an interest in this to make the government accountable.