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afrol.com, 10 November - The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) has banned the flighting of a new set of Econet Wireless advertisements meant to introduce a new cellular contract package branded "Liberty," for what has been cited as ethical reasons. Equally, the Harare City Council has removed "Liberty" banners from Harare streets. The Zimbabwean "Financial Gazette" newspaper talked to Sure Chimbga, spokesman for Econet Wireless. Chimbga confirmed that the company's advertising agency, Dicomm Advertising, had been verbally informed by the ZBC that the broadcaster could not flight the adverts on both radio and television for ethical reasons. The banned adverts feature a man dressed as a judge in court, imploring Zimbabweans to free themselves using the Liberty package. Information Minister, Jonathan Moyo, who is alleged to have ordered the removal of the adverts, denied the charge. ZBC Director General Luke Munyawarara on the other hand refused to be interviewed on the matter by the "Financial Gazette" and insisted he had no comment, while Annan Maruta, the ZBC's Head of News and Public Affairs, said he was not qualified to comment and referred the matter to Munyawarara. Econet is the single largest advertiser on the ZBC and in most newspapers in the country. The company's adverts are believed to have accounted for one third of the ZBC's entire advertising revenue last year. The liberty campaign was set to earn ZBC Zim$2million between now and January 2001. Telecoms analysts said that there was nothing unethical about the new set of adverts, but believed that Econet was being punished for a series of court cases it had won against the government. Econet has also been accused of funding the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), a charge the company denies. Banners pulled down in Harare The Council removed the banners from along Samora Machel Avenue after the city council said they had political connotations and would not be allowed, the Daily News reported yesterday. The banners were similar to the advertising style used in the print media over the past two weeks. Pulling the advertisements cost the City Council and ZBC a reported US$ 400,000 and US$ 2 million respectively, according to numbers published by the MDC opposition. MDC protests MDC Secretary for Information and Publicity, Learnmore Jongwe, dismissed the action as a thoughtless waste of money and obstructive of political freedoms: "This is just one more attempt on the part of Government to restrain individuals and companies which they believe threaten their monopoly. It is no coincidence that this desperate move should happen after the PTC monopoly has been broken by the Supreme Court ruling," Jongwe stated. - It is ridiculous, the paranoia demonstrated by the ruling party. How can you ban advertisements and pull down banners just because they advocate liberty of all things! These are the actions of a dying party, a government which knows it is past its prime and no longer has the mandate of the people. This really is an absurd extension of other government moves to unconstitutionally restrict people's freedom of speech, as it has attempted to do with Capitol Radio, Jongwe concluded.
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