WINDHOEK – The Embassy of Zimbabwe is dismayed to read the unsubstantiated allegations in The Namibian of September 2 2013, Notable Quotes, “The way land reform was done offended other players in the world,” on former South African president, Thabo Mbeki’s lecture delivered on August 23 2013 at Unisa.
“While we respect freedom of opinion and the right of a newspaper to publish articles as it deems fit, we are equally mindful of the need for journalistic integrity and balanced reporting. The article is quoted out of context. It is dispiriting to read inflammatory language moved by factual inaccuracy. In that spirit, we are writing to clarify the facts for Namibians who deserve to be informed accurately,” stated Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Namibia Her Excellency Chipo Zindoga.
“As a matter of fact, we quote from former South African President, Thabo Mbeki’s lecture delivered at Unisa on August 23 2013:
“Many years ago and as part of the leadership in this region, we engaged the Zimbabwean leadership – President Mugabe and others – in a very sustained process to discourage them from the manner in which they were handling the issue of land reform. We were saying to them, ‘Yes indeed we agree, the land reform is necessary, but the way in which you are handling it is wrong.’
“We tried very hard, ‘No, no you see all of these things about the occupation of the farms by the war veterans, this and that and the other, all of this is wrong’, that’s what we were saying. But fortunately the Zimbabweans didn’t listen to us, they went ahead. The consequence of it is that, I have looked at, at least four books that have been written about the land reform in Zimbabwe, all of which say in fact the process of land reform in Zimbabwe has given land to at least 300 000-400 000 new land owners, the peasants of Zimbabwe at last own the land.
“The programme succeeded and has this direct benefit on these huge numbers of Zimbabweans,” the Ambassador Zindoga quoted Mbeki as having said.
She continues: “The readership is free to read the full lecture online. It is deliberate mischief to misquote the former South African President.
Zimbabwe Alpha Media Holdings have since suspended its editor of the Newsday article published on Wednesday August 28 2013 ‘Mbeki Speaks on Zim polls, chaotic land reform’,” she elaborated.
“The Embassy of Zimbabwe wishes to dismiss the article carried by The Namibian newspaper with all the contempt it deserves,” concluded the Ambassador.
Zindoga previously called for objective and balanced reporting from the media.
By Staff Reporter