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HARARE – Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said Tuesday that new boards announced last week to supervise state-owned newspapers and oversee the airwaves would have to be revised, in what could mark the start of a fresh tug of war with President Robert Mugabe over senior appointments.
Information Minister Webster Shamu last week named several boards -- packed with former military men and allies of Mugabe’s ZANU PF party -- to companies that run the government’s vast newspaper empire and the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings, formerly known as Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation that is the country’s sole radio and television broadcaster.

Shamu -- who insiders say would not have announced the new boards without express permission from Mugabe -- also announced a new Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) to oversee the airwaves, despite a power-sharing agreement that gave birth to Zimbabwe’s unity government requiring that the authority is appointed after full consultation between Mugabe his coalition partners.
Tsvangirai told journalists the appointments especially of the BAZ were irregular and must be revised.
“That issue is being revisited and appointments of board members of BAZ is the business of the President and the Prime Minister,” said Tsvangirai, who is locked up in another dispute with Mugabe over appointments after the latter unilaterally named two of his top allies to head the central bank and the Attorney General (AG)’s office.
Mugabe has adamantly refused to reverse the appointments of Gideon Gono as Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor and Johannes Tomana as AG.
“The names are submitted to us (Mugabe and Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara), we consider and we select. That has not been done. Therefore it is quiet irregular for the minister or anybody to announce those names,” added Tsvangirai, who spoke to journalists at Harare International airport on his way to Spain.
It was not clear from Tsvangirai’s statement whether Mugabe had in fact agreed to scrap the new media boards that are dominated by his allies and supporters to allow for consultations with his coalition partners as should happen under their political agreement.
Mugabe’s spokesman George Charamba, who is also permanent secretary of the Information Ministry and played a key role in making the controversial board appointments, was not immediately available for comment on the matter.
Meanwhile Tsvangirai said that he and his coalition partners had agreed on who should sit on the Zimbabwe Media Commission that will spearhead media reforms but said there was “one legal point that President Mugabe wants addressed” before the commission is announced.
He did not elaborate on the legal point that Mugabe wants addressed.
Tsvangirai also said Zimbabwe’s principal leaders were scheduled to meet next Monday to discuss appointment of a new Independent Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to take charge of elections in the country.
The media and electoral commissions are part of several commissions to be formed by Zimbabwe’s power-sharing government as part of a raft of reforms meant to re-shape and democratise the country’s politics that has been characterised by violence and gross human rights violations almost from independence from Britain in 1980.
The other commissions provided for under Constitutional Amendment Number 19 that established the power-sharing government are Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) and the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC).
Once the commissions and a new constitution are in place the government will call fresh elections with the whole process that began in February expected to last between 18 to 24 months.
Rich Western nations have refused to back the Harare government or lift visa and financial sanctions imposed on Mugabe and his inner circle seven years ago, saying they were not happy with the slow pace of the political reforms.

Text: http://www.zimonline.co.za/Article.aspx?ArticleId=5199