MIC a costly anachronism

MIC a costly anachronism

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By Mary Revesai

DECADES ago, the then chairman of America’s Federal Communications Commission, Newton Minow, wrote: “The commission is a vast and sometimes dark forest where we seven FCC hunters are often required to spend weeks of our time shooting down mosquitoes with elephant guns. In the interest of our governmental processes and of American communications, the forest must be thinned out and wider, better marked roads have to be cut through the jungles of red tape…”

Following the steep increases in the fees being demanded by the anachronism that is the Media and Information Commission, it is clear that the same drastic action is needed in Zimbabwe. The MIC has recently increased the fees it levies from operators of media services and for the accreditation of journalists so steeply that questions are bound to be asked whether the commission is not engaging in a purely fund-raising campaign.

The MIC, headed by media persecutor Tafataona Mahoso has imposed new exorbitant fees for the registration of media organisations and accreditation of individual journalists. A mass media service operator or publisher will now be required to pay $600 000 while journalists working for local media houses are expected to fork out a total of $25 000 broken down into a $10 000 application fee and $15 000 for accreditation.

The government-appointed commission even expects to make richer pickings this year from foreign owned media organisations and the temporary accreditation of foreign journalists. The MIC demands US$ 100 temporarily to register a foreign journalist and US$ 500 for full accreditation. Operating a foreign mass media service or news agency will cost a total of US$12 000 (US$2000 as an application fee and US$10 000 for permission to go ahead). Zimbabwean journalists working for foreign media organisations will be required to fork out US$1200 in application and accreditation fees.

It is no surprise that these exorbitant charges have sparked an outcry because they are unjustified. Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) president, Matthew Takaona has predicted that most community newspapers operating on a shoestring budget would be forced to close because they could not afford the new charges. Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) research and information officer, Nyasha Nyakunu pointed out that these exorbitant charges were one more ramification of the oppressive Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA).

“It is in that context that the fees are now having to be increased; it’s all designed to make life difficult for newspapers”, he said.

What he omitted to mention is that these excessive charges are mainly designed to make life a bed of roses for Mahoso and the rest of the government-appointed commissioners. Why else would an organisation that is supposed to act as a facilitator rather than a hindrance to the affected stakeholders stoop to the level of charging penalties for late registration when it knows that journalist can be required to travel on assignment at a moment’s notice? This means that for some scribes, the MIC’s deadline could expire while they were away on legitimate professional business but they must still be punished financially.

Nyakunu’s observation that publishers and journalists are being required to pay for their own subjugation may cause Mahoso’s blood to boil but even he would be hard pressed to justify the increases in the context the relevance of the MIC and the benefits the stakeholders who are being squeezed so hard financially derive from its existence.

It is reasonable to conclude that these charges are being levied to ensure a comfortable salary for the MIC boss and his outfit. It will be remembered that before Jonathan Moyo arrived on the media scene with his aggressive and outmoded brand of propaganda, the registration and accreditation of journalists was efficiently handled by the Ministry of Information.

Once a year, a mobile unit would visit different centres in the country to conduct the exercise free of charge. Moreover, to reduce costs and to create a more stable and secure working environment for journalists, accreditation was for a number of years. Media practitioners knew that as along as they did not get on the wrong side of the law, they did not have to bother about their accreditation until it was due for renewal.

It is perhaps not surprising that the MIC requires journalists to go through the rigmarole of accreditation to raise funds to keep people employed. A former member of the MIC who resigned because he did not see eye to eye with Mahoso has alleged that the main reason the former journalism lecturer never fails to defend the indefensible is to protect his sinecure.

Mahoso has never responded on the numerous occasions when this allegation has been made against him. Like the rest of the passengers on the over-loaded Zanu PF gravy train, he is impervious to the concerns of the stakeholders he is supposed to be serving. However that will not make the questions that need to be asked go away.

Recent revelations by a portfolio committee that Mahoso has never submitted audited accounts since he was appointed MIC chairman show that journalists are not the only ones questioning how he is conducting the affairs of the commission.

For example, after the registration of journalists once per year, what does Mahoso and a full complement of staff do the rest of the year? True, a few occasions arise when foreign and local journalists may need to be accredited for specific events, but this can be done by one person as used to be the case in the past. If the MIC really cared about the stakeholders it claims to be serving, it would seek ways to downsize instead of raising fees to illogical levels.

Mary Revesai is a New Zimbabwe.com columnist and writes from Harare. Her column will appear here every Tuesday

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