TRADITIONAL leaders have rapped Zimpapers’ tabloid newspaper H-Metro and social media networks for contributing to the erosion of cultural values through their publication of pornographic and sexist images.
VENERANDA LANGA
Debating the issue in Senate on Thursday, Mashonaland East Chief Enos Masakwa Musarurwa appealed to Media, Information and Broadcasting Services deputy minister Supa Mandiwanzira to ensure media outlets do not contribute towards cultural decay.
“I would like to know your plans in terms of our cultural values when looking at social networks like WhatsApp because when you look at the messages that are sent around, is it good for our culture and our nation? I think as a nation we need to stick to our culture,” Chief Musarurwa said.
“On newspapers, yes we love news and it should be distributed, but you find that some things that we see in our newspapers, especially in the H-Metro, are not helping us keep our culture,” he said.
Mandiwanzira said there were laws which prohibited use of pornographic material and pictures of dead people in newspapers and admitted that the issue of pornographic material sent through social networks like WhatsApp needed to be looked into.
“What is being passed on WhatsApp is not proper and there is a law which prohibits things like pornography being spread using our telecommunication systems. Coming to newspapers, in journalism, there are things that are not allowed. There are media ethics that do not allow the showing of pornographic pictures, and we are going to engage H-Metro so that they really look at the pictures that they bring out which should not be seen by people of all ages,” Mandiwanzira said.
Meanwhile, ministers remained defiant to the plea a fortnight ago by Senate President Edna Madzongwe that they should attend question-and-answer sessions on Thursdays in the Upper House.
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Madzongwe had ordered Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs minister Emmerson Mnangagwa to caution ministers and encourage them to take business of the legislature seriously as they were failing to show up during question-and-answer sessions.
On Thursday, 10 questions were on the Senate Order paper, but only three were responded to as only one Cabinet minister, Lazarus Dokora (Primary and Secondary Education), and deputy ministers Tongai Muzenda (Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare) and Mandiwanzira were present in the House.
On another note, Senate was adjourned to November 19.
