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Ivan Zhakata

Herald Correspondent

THE Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) has urged journalists to shun corruption and reject bribes from people who seek to interfere with their work.

Speaking at a press club discussion held in Harare recently, ZMC board chairperson Professor Ruby Magosvongwe said “brown envelopes” constituted one of the most cancerous problems in the media industry.

Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe (VMCZ) executive director Loughty Dube, Zimbabwe National Editors Forum (Zinef) co-ordinator Njabulo Ncube, Zimbabwe Union of Journalists (ZUJ) president Michael Chideme and veteran journalist Geofrey Nyarota were panelists at the discussion.

Prof Magosvongwe said brown envelopes can tarnish not only the journalism profession but the country at large.

“We have polarisation that we are witnessing and unfortunately that polarisation affects the whole society whether we like it or not. As journalists, yes, we can receive gifts, donations, the brown envelopes in whatever form, but my appeal to our journalists is for us to refuse to be manipulated.

“As ZMC, that is how best we can help to curb the whole issue of misinformation. It is your responsibility as journalists and editors to make sure that we jealously guard our Zimbabwean media landscape so that it redeems itself from this dark cloud,” she said.

Dube said the media industry needed to redeem itself and media houses should put continuous deterrences on corruption.

“There is no evidence of bribe taking journalists. Issues of bribe taking are supposed to be evidential. There needs to be evidence and it becomes difficult when allegations of this nature are raised,” he said.

Ncube said Zinef was ready to name and shame bribe taking journalists provided there is evidence.

He said they were going to form a committee of editors and former editors to assist in assessing all alleged corruption cases against journalists. Chideme concurred with his counterparts and said he believed that journalists in Zimbabwe were not corrupt.

“At ZUJ we deal with evidence so that we can name and shame those who give and those who receive bribes. We should be specific and name those people who are corrupt so that we do not tarnish those who are clean,” he said.

Nyarota said journalists must be courageous when doing their work.

“Courage is the essence of journalism,” he said.

“Timid journalists are the target of the corrupt people and journalists must be courageous when undertaking their duties.”