Political tug-of-war
I’ve been following the battle for control of Zimbabwe’s telecommunications portfolios with interest. For years, communications has been a tightly regulated and strictly controlled space. Politically that has made a lot of sense – adds a certain credibility to the “Big Brother is watching” threats that keep the population in check. And economically it’s made a bit of sense – in the short term, at least, monopoly means profit.
So I was pleased and impressed when the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology was created, and allocated to the MDC. But, unsurprisingly, Nelson Chamisa had hardly taken office when the tussle over control over communications began. First, Webster Shamu, Minister of Media, Information and Publicity tried unsuccessfully to assert his control over telecommunications. Then Robert Mugabe announced that he was “redefining” things, taking the Department of Communications out of the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, and putting it in the Ministry of Transport, (Communication) and Infrastructure Development – run by former Minister of National Security Nicholas Goche.
As Denford Magora put it recently, through this “realignment,”
Mugabe has taken TelOne, the phone company, Netone, the cellphone company and the regulating bodies for the communication industry out of the ambit of the MDC. Which means that Nelson Chamisa is now a minister in charge of shops that sell cellphones, phone shops and computer shops. Even the matter of the Internet has now been taken out of his hands.
So, I could understand Chamisa being upset. According to the Zimbabwe Independent, he’s threatening to resign unless his ministry is combined with Goche’s, and the two co-chair it. The article reports “Chamisa is also said to be prepared to stay only if the administration of the Interception of Telecommunications Act (sic) was removed from his ministry, leaving the original portfolio as it was.”
Wait a minute. Where is the principle here? Where is the commitment to democratic values that the MDC purportedly stands for. If Chamisa was going to resign unless the Interception of Communications Act was repealed, I would be impressed. But he’s happy for ICA to continue, so long as he’s not responsible for it?
Reading the Zimbabwe Independent this weekend, I got the sense that Chamisa wasn’t frustrated that the liberalisation of Zimbabwe’s telecommunications sector was being thwarted. He didn’t seem outraged that the potential to open up access to information to a range of Zimbabweans might not be realised. They didn’t quote him as expressing concern that Zanu PF control over telcoms would mean continued surveillance of activists’ communications. Rather, he just doesn’t want to feel demoted – and he doesn’t want to lose his ministerial position.