Post date: Mar 25, 2011 3:40:47 PM
Zimbabwe's privately-owned Daily News officially hits news stands, seven years after being shut down by the government for reporting material seen to be critical of Mugabe's regime.
HARARE, ZIMBABWE (MARCH 25, 2011) REUTERS - Zimbabwe's privately-owned Daily News officially went back on the streets on Friday (March 25) more than seven years after being shut down by the government, with a promise to expose bad governance.
The edition led with a story on Grace Mugabe having been swindled 1 million US dollars in a shadowy business deal.It is the second independent daily to publish since June last year, when a media commission appointed by Zimbabwe's unity government formed by rivals President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai issued licences for daily papers.
Critics say Mugabe has used tough security and media laws to hold onto power, but has been forced to implement political and media reforms as part of a power-sharing pact with Tsvangirai.
Editor in chief, Jethro Goko said the paper would continue with its past editorial stance, reporting even the controversial stories that may have had them closed down seven years ago.
"We are back publishing everyday, Monday to Sunday and telling it like it is, as we did, which caused us to be shutdown the last time. One thing that we know, we are not going to change the Daily News way, we will report without fear and without favour and we will expose all the shenanigans that in the first place caused us to be shutdown," the paper's editor in chief, Jethro Goko said.
The newspaper has been running trial editions since Friday last week and officially went to the presses on Thursday (March 24) night.
Goko says most of the funding to restart the newspaper, came from ordinary Zimbabweans and private sector advertising despite economic hardships in the country.
Zimbabwe is battling to reconstruct the economy that the government estimates contracted by nearly 50 percent from 2000-2008.
"In the last two years alone we have ploughed more than 6 million dollars in capital investment and when I look at it over the last 11 years, we have used almost 13 million US dollars and by Zimbabwean standards that is a lot of money. The other thing about it is, a lot of that money has been provided by Zimbabweans," said Goko.
But fear of being targeted for reporting stories critical of the government still hangs over journalists working in Zimbabwe and Goko says some of his staff have already received threats.
"It's a fragile environment that we work in. It could all end up in tears again for us being pressurised and being jailed and intimidated. As it is already, some of my staff members have been receiving not so good calls, but we are not too worried yet and we are keeping our fingers crossed that it will be okay," he said.
Zimbabwe has no independent radio or television stations. Its laws require compulsory accreditation for journalists and bar foreign correspondents from long-term employment.
Mugabe and his officials accuse the local private press and Western media of waging a hate campaign against his ZANU-PF party over its controversial policies, including the seizure of white-owned farms for redistribution to landless blacks.
Local rights groups say Mugabe's ZANU-PF has continued to use the police and other security agents to intimidate opponents while using its control of state media for propaganda purposes.