For years, Zimbabweans have been subjected to a TV monopoly by the state. Mention ZTV, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation’s television station, and you’re likely to be met with eye rolling, comments like “DeadBC” and even a spoof Twitter account.

Ever since the signal blackout from SABC, things have gotten even worse for Zimbabweans who used to rely on free-to-air decoders to get South African public television.

Lenard Kamwendo was just complaining about the lack of alternative television in Zimbabwe yesterday. And last week, a number of our SMS subscribers were sharing their frustrations with ZBC and wishing there were independent television stations in Zimbabwe.

Enter 1st TV, “Zimbabwe’s first independent television station.” Set to launch at 6pm on Friday 19 July, and available via the Wiztech Free to Air satellite platform, 1st TV will “provide impartial, factual news to the people of Zimbabwe as well as broadcasting popular films, soap operas and comedies.”

According to a press statement issued today, 1st TV “means that Zimbabweans will now have a station that not only broadcasts to them but also will serve as a platform for all people to express their views and to share information about what is happening in their areas and in their lives.”

In addition to being available via satellite, 1st TV says that it will also “have a strong presence on social media which will allow Zimbabweans themselves to influence and guide the growth and direction of the channel in terms of both news and entertainment.”

To find out more, read their full press statement, and follow them on Twitter.

Look familiar?

Zanu PF Election posters – 2013

Election posters 2008

When I first saw the Zanu PF presidential election posters going up, I did a double take. They looked so familiar . . . I was sure I’d seen them before – in Zimbabwe’s June 2008 Presidential Run Off Election.

I looked closer at the poster, and saw the slogan: “This is the final battle for total control of Zimbabwe by Zimbabweans.” Yes, I thought, I’m sure I’ve heard that before.

So I went digging around at some old news coverage, and sure enough, the posters I’ve seen going up around Harare are Exactly The Same Ones as those used by Mugabe in June 2008. Don’t believe me? Check out these stories from Reuters, The Guardian and Getty Images.

Which leaves me wondering:

a)    Did  Zanu PF really have hundreds of election posters left over from June 2008 that they conveniently were able to dust off and put up again in July 2013?

b)    This final battle business. Does this mean the 2013 Harmonised Election is the second final battle? Has the final battle been raging on from 2008-2013, all during the inclusive government? Is 2013 the really final battle? What if there is another presidential run-off? Will that be the really truly final battle, no this time I’m not joking?

The MDC got a lot of flack for the 2005 “Final Push.” To me, Zanu PF’s election poster “Final Battle” redux is just as ridiculous.  But at least it’s given me one of the first good laughs of this election farce.

(Aside: The picture of the 2013 posters was taken in Newlands. The public toilet block at Newlands Shopping Centre was recently painted.  In an effort to keep the walls looking clean and sharp, a notice was put up on all the walls: No Posters – Offenders will be prosecuted. But do you think the City of Harare is going to be prosecuting Zanu PF for disregarding this notice and papering the toilet block with its posters for the 2013 Harmonised Elections? Somehow I doubt it.)

After the signal blackout by the South African Broadcasting Corporation the free to air decoders acquired by most Zimbabweans are now symbolic and a reminder of what used to be an alternative source of entertainment. Recently I was watching a debate on ZBC’s “Melting Pot” and I expected to see a pot really melting with some lively debate but my expectations were a bit high. The debate turned out to be a rehearsed and a one sided event with in-between citation of a certain political party’s manifesto which I am sure by now viewers can now sing every word by heart. The show anchor actually did not even shy away from showing his party allegiance to an extent that one would have mistook him for a campaign manager of a certain political party. My previous dealing with shows like these would be remote in hand, flipping channels on my free to air decoder or settling my dollar for two movies from the streets.

I am not alone in this fix. The signal cut off by SABC has affected Zimbabwe’s generation of young viewers who had fallen in love with dramas and soaps from down south. Our own local production companies tried to lure young audiences with locally produced dramas and soap operas but the story line ended up getting tired and boring like the actors. The recycling of the usual actors was a big turn off to young viewers especially when our local television is competing with the youth targeted and fast paced programming from SABC and other digital satellite broadcasting stations. The reason why most Zimbabweans preferred to invest in the free to air decoders is they got tired of Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation’s programming and monopoly of the airwaves. Also DSTV subscriptions are just too exorbitant.  How to do you expect to compete for viewers when programs like “Madzinza eZimbabwe” and some Korean documentaries with subtitles are aired during prime time viewing when SABC offers programs like Isidingo and Generations? Neither would one expect to watch a repeat of  ‘Talking Farming” after a long day at work.

But since I’m still searching for an the alternative here is my Friday prime time fix from ZBC-TV & Channel 2:

1730-1830 – NHAU/INDABA
1830-1930 – WOZA FRIDAY
1930-1931 – NEWS HEADLINES
1931-2000 – REVELATIONS
2000-2100 – NEWS HOUR
2100-2115 – ZANU PF – THE MANIFESTO
2115-2145 – MA 1 EP 03
2145-2300 – FRIDAY NIGHT ACTION MOVIE:
2300-2315 – LATE NIGHT NEWS
2315-2330 – ACTION MOVIE  (CONTINUATION)
2330-0000 – MY WIFE AND KIDS
0000-0100 – DOCUMENTARY
0100-0400 – IN CONCERT
0400-0530 – MOVIE:  PLEASURE PALACE
0530-0555 – SINJALO EP 11

Comments attributed to First Lady Grace Mugabe that Mr. Morgan Tsvangira’s looks gave First Gentleman Robert Mugabe nightmares just show how low-brow the politics of State House can become.

Critics have long said our politics is not issue based, and Mrs. First Lady seems to confirm that.

It highlights she not only has very low regard for Tsvangirai (she doesn’t have to: Tsvangirai wants to take her husband’s job!), but most importantly perhaps, the low regard she has for her audience.

The favoured phrase for many people would be “don’t insult our intelligence.”

Imagine expecting to swing votes by telling voters that you need a more photogenic fellow at State House! That would help in international photo opportunities!

You are simply implying that your audience has no clue about the real issues that seek to address their impoverished livelihoods, but such has been the nature of Zimbabwean politics, recalling the rather unpalatable comments by one “nationalist” and “national hero” that if a baboon stood for Zanu PF in elections, you vote for that baboon.

Surely Zimbabweans deserve better.

Zimbabwe Alert
From MISA

Wednesday, 10 July 2013
Journalist arrested while taking photographs

Police in Zimbabwe on Tuesday, 9 July 2013 arrested Leopold Munhende, a journalist with The Mirror, in the southern town of Masvingo. Munhende was arrested while taking photographs of the voter registration process at the Registrar General’s Offices.

The arrest came at a time when Zimbabweans were jostling to register as voters before the lapse of the deadline that had been set on the same day.

The incident took place around 09.20hrs (CAT) and the journalist was taken to Masvingo Central Police station where he was charged with being a public nuisance in terms of the Miscellaneous Offences Act.

More details to follow.

MISA-Zimbabwe