My math teacher in High School, Mr B. N. Ncube (may his soul rest in peace), once told us an anecdote that I still find to be as funny and enlightening as I found it then. So the story goes that a farmer was tilling his land with his tractor when suddenly it broke down. Seeing as it was planting season, he tried to fix it but found that all his attempts were in vain; and as he couldn’t afford to not plant his crop, he was forced to consult a mechanic in frustration. The mechanic came over and was taken to the fields to have a look at the broken machine. He stood there, arms akimbo, and looked at the tractor. He circled it a couple of times, looked at the engine and then he asked the farmer to hand him a small rock. He reached into the engine and gave it a hard tap with the rock, then asked the farmer to start the engine. The machine came sputtering to life, and the mechanic shook hands with the farmer and left. When the bill arrived a few days later, the farmer was shocked to find that the mechanic had charged him $100 for fixing his tractor, so he called the mechanic and asked him to provide a breakdown of his charges since all he had done was tap the engine once with a rock he had picked in the farmer’s field. When the invoice came, it read:
Item 1: Hitting tractor with rock $5
Item 2: Knowing where to hit $ 95
Besides producing a few chuckles and being a quite effective method for approaching mathematical problems, this anecdote taught me two valuable lessons. One, that possessing something does not matter as much as knowing how to use it. And two, when trying to solve a problem, it is better to spend time figuring out the right spot to hit. I feel that this is the same approach we should have when considering the role of ICT’s in the democratization process of Zimbabwe.
In a recent article on Nehandaradio, Pedzisai Ruhanya eloquently outlines the key role that New Media can play in Zimbabwe. I believe that in order for that role to be effectively realized, democratic forces in Zimbabwe should focus on increasing critical media literacy with the aim of getting more Zimbabweans to understand the role that they can actively play in the democratization process.
As Robert Ferguson says, perhaps it is one of the important characteristics of a successful democracy that it should be uncomfortable, especially for those in power. He goes as far as to assert that,
‘it is the responsibility of all citizens in a democracy to participate in this uncomfortableness and to work for productive change. Complacency, apathy and cynicism are the enemies of democracy. Scepticism and the will to action are its friends.’
Critical media literacy is tied to the project of radical democracy and concerned to develop skills that will enhance democratization and civic participation. With elections looming this year and in light of recent events where people have been persecuted for sharing jokes on social media (the case of Shantel Rusike comes to mind), it is clear that the discomfort of those in power already exists. We should however not be complacent and expect the new technology at our disposal to automatically translate into a political tool.
It is now an accepted assertion that Zimbabwe is an increasingly ‘wired’ nation and almost everyone now has access to mobile telephony, while a large number of people also have access to mobile Internet. It is also an accepted assertion that ICTs and New Media, the Internet, and cellphones can indeed be highly effective tools for political mobilization. They can strengthen the community’s voice in public debate and decision making, as well as fostering and maintaining the transparency and accountability of leaders. These technologies are having profound effects on social, economic and political institutions worldwide. In the hands of reformers and activists, these tools can overcome resource disparities and entrenched monopolies of power and voice. There are many recent examples of uses of the Internet in the democratic context, and I need not expound on those.
Nowhere else could these technologies be more relevant than in the nascent democracy that is Zimbabwe. I however feel that we are currently in the state where we are like the farmer with his tractor. We have the rock, and the tractor is there, but unless we hit the right spot, there will not be much change in our situation. Having the technology at our disposal is one thing, but using it to maximum effect is another. These changes in technology, media, and society require the development of critical media literacy to empower citizens to adequately read media messages and produce media themselves in order to be active participants in a democratic society.
In order to change our social media space from simply a platform where we share jokes, music, gossip and the latest news into a strategic tool to actively address our current predicament, we have to focus more on fostering a critical literacy of the democratic potential we hold in our hands. Media literacy is the ability to understand how the mass media functions, how meanings are produced, how they are organized, and how to use them wisely. A person who is media literate can actively describe the role that media play in his/her life, they can use them in a deliberately conscious way and control their own media experiences. By this I am not saying that ICT’s have not already had some form of impact in our political sphere, but that their impact can be greatly increased by a focus on cultivating a critically media literate polity that understands the notion of literacy to include different forms of mass communication and popular culture, as well as deepening the potential of citizens to critically analyze relationships between media and audiences, information and power. We need to move from a situation where there is a group of already politically active individuals who pretty much use the technology to preach to the choir, and move towards a situation where ‘ordinary’ citizens also make use of the technology to make their voices heard.
So in preparation for the next elections, in addition to voter registration and voter education programs, there should also be a focus on educating voters about the myriad political functions that our new technology can play. I think that by formulating and carrying out programs that enhance the ordinary citizens’ ability to do this, those who aim to build a better democracy in Zimbabwe would be hitting the right spot.
shaunmatsheza 