Examination of Witness (Questions 40-59)
MS GEORGINA
GODWIN
TUESDAY 21 JANUARY 2003
40. So there are no journalists who have actually
been expelled.
(Ms Godwin) We have now all been expelled according
to the media. Under what law we are not sure
Mr Olner
41. It is nice to know that journalists sometimes
get reports from the media. The Guardian newspaper recently
has alleged that Short Wave Radio Africa is funded by the United
States Government. Is that true?
(Ms Godwin) I have absolutely nothing to do with the
funding side of it. What I can tell you—which is something
that everybody keeps asking us—is that we have absolutely
no connection in any way shape or form with the British Government.
I am the news producer; I do not deal with funds. I really could
not comment on that.
42. What about the American Government?
(Ms Godwin) I would not know. I do not deal with the
funding side.
43. Is it possible that the company can let
this Committee know where the funding comes from?
(Ms Godwin) Yes. You would need to speak to the person
who deals with that department.
44. Do you know how many listeners you have
in Zimbabwe to your station. I know it is very difficult to get
precise numbers. Do you have a target audience in Zimbabwe?
(Ms Godwin) As you say, you cannot go around with
a clipboard. We believe we are looking at a couple of million
people, but we are not entirely sure. We know we get 24,000 hits
a day on our Internet site, on average, which is quite large.
Not only do we broadcast on short wave into most of southern Africa
we also broadcast worldwide on the Internet. To get accurate figures
is impossible.
45. Is there a particular section of the community
over there whom you target and who respond to the hits that you
mentioned?
(Ms Godwin) We broadcast in all three main local languages
so really we are not singling out any one part of the population.
It is just an alternative to the state media and obviously anybody
who wishes to listen and is able to, does.
46. In your own views as a journalist, do you
think that the British Government should be doing more to assist
independent journalists and news gatherers in Zimbabwe?
(Ms Godwin) I think you are always going to come against
the problem that the British Government is perceived as a kind
of colonial ex-master, imperialist, western, nasty running dogs,
et cetera. I am sure you can fill in the blanks. I think that
is always going to be a problem. But of course media is one of
the most important ways. People cannot make informed decisions
unless they are getting that information; they need information
in order to be able to make up their minds about anything, particularly
political things. If they are not hearing the voice of the opposition,
if they are not hearing that there are alternatives, then it is
very, very hard for people. I think that any government—not
only Britain—who want to help the situation in Zimbabwe
could do so by helping the media.
47. I was mentioning them before about the funding,
America being one of those powers that threw off the UK colonial
yolk many, many years ago, do you think they have a specific role
in ensuring broadcasting and journalistic freedom in Zimbabwe?
Or are the Americans themselves perceived as colonial masters
of the past?
(Ms Godwin) I think Britain and America particularly
are perceived in that way. I think that anybody who is doing anything
to help democracy in Zimbabwe at the moment is perceived in that
way.
Mr Illsley
48. I want to follow on from a comment made
earlier that there is no connection between yourselves and the
British Government, no funding or assistance. An article appeared
about a year ago on The Guardian web page where there was
a quote that said that your "broadcasts into Zimbabwe irritated
and embarrassed British officials". I wondered whether there
was any truth in that and whether there has been any backlash
towards you from the British Government in terms of the fact that
you broadcast it from this country.
(Ms Godwin) There has been no backlash because there
really is no contact.
49. At all
(Ms Godwin) Yes. As far as that particular Guardian
report goes we found most of it erroneous. We wrote and complained
to The Guardian at the time.
50. You are not aware of any criticism from
the British Government?
(Ms Godwin) No.
Sir John Stanley
51. What is your approach to news broadcasting?
Are you seeking to establish facts? Are you seeking to give balanced
view points? What is your news broadcasting policy?
(Ms Godwin) Obviously it is to give people the facts
and also to give them a chance to speak for themselves. We are
not a news organisation in terms of news organisations that you
would recognise. We are all telephoned based. We are on the phone
all the time to people who then tell their own stories to us and
those stories are then broadcast. It is not our opinion; it is
people who we are speaking to on the telephone who are saying,
"This is what happened to me today" or "This is
what I think". It is usually the voice of Zimbabweans, sometimes
the voice of people from elsewhere, analysts and such. But very
much the voice of the people.
52. Do you invite the political parties to comment,
both the government and the opposition?
(Ms Godwin) Yes, we phone both the government and
the opposition every single day. The last government minister
who spoke to us was Philip Chiyangwa and that was several months
ago. We have not given up phoning government ministers, but they
no longer take our calls.
53. And the opposition?
(Ms Godwin) They do. They see it really the only electronic
means that they are able to get their voices heard.
54. Are you subject to any electronic interference
from the Mugabe government? Any attempts to jamb you?
(Ms Godwin) Short wave itself is notoriously difficult.
It is prone to interference by weather and all sorts of things.
We are unable to establish whether when we go off air that is
interference by any other force than weather.
55. Does the Mugabe government engage in any
form of police activity or repressive activity against those who
listen to your broadcasts?
(Ms Godwin) Yes, we have had reports—particularly
recently—about people being beaten up because they have
been listening to our programs.
56. Have you had any evidence of people being
beaten up, imprisoned et cetera as a result of participating in
your programmes?
(Ms Godwin) Once again, yes, quite often. This is
why a great deal of the people who give us information either
will not go on air or will not give us their names.
57. Do you put people on air on the basis they
will conceal their identity, or do you ask them to always reveal
their identity?
(Ms Godwin) We give them that choice. If they wish
to do it anonymously then we let them.
Mr Hamilton
58. Are you and your colleagues involved in
the radio station based here effectively exiles now from Zimbabwe?
(Ms Godwin) Well, we think so. We are not quite sure.
There was a report in the State Press listing 119 people—Mr
Blair was number one and I was 116, slightly behind—which
said that we were banned; we could not go into Zimbabwe and our
assets would be seized or frozen. None of us have actually tried
to go back. I understand that our assets have not actually been
frozen, but I do not think any of us really had anything much.
The honest answer is that I do not know; we are not about to try
it.
59. What an extraordinary situation to be in.
Can I move on to the current political situation and recent developments.
What is your assessment of last week's report that key figures
in ZANU-PF may be seeking to strike a deal with the opposition?
(Ms Godwin) To go back to what Mr Longworth said,
I believe that there was never a direct meeting between Mnangagwa
and Zvinavashe and Tsvangirai. It was always between them and
retired Colonel Dyck. I do not think that a direct meeting actually
took place outside of the failed negotiations which happened some
months ago. Yes, I believe there is a lot of jockeying going on
and I think that possibly what we are seeing—again I should
stress that I speak as an individual here and not for the radio
station—is a bit of a feeding frenzy within ZANU-PF, that
suddenly it has become clear that the leadership post is going
to become vacant; he has to go. I think Zvinavashe coming out
and saying that was reminding people of that and saying, "By
the way, don't forget, I am head of the army". I also think
that perhaps we are leaving out one key person here who is retired
General Solomon Mujuru, otherwise known as Rex Nhonga which was
his Chimerenga war name. I think that Mujuru is very well respected
by Mugabe. Obviously I have no privileged access either to ZANU-PF
policy or to Mr Mugabe's mind, but Mr Mugabe surely must have
heard that Mr Mnangagwa has been marked as the one to take over
from and I would think that possibly Mujuru is the one he trusts
more. Mujuru has been known, as I say, as the king maker.
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