Fingaz - Who is Behind It?

Fingaz is short for Financial Gazette a privately controlled weekly newspaper in Zimbabwe. The paper is published every Thursday and is also known as the pink paper because of its pink color. For many years the pink paper has been an iconic representation of a business paper in Zimbabwe.

The Fingaz was established in the 60s and has a wide readership in government and private sector. Its current circulation is at about 40 000 and readership at about 400 000. It is an undisputed newsleader in Zimbabwe.

In terms of ownership, the paper has been dodged with unresolved controversy. Credible sources confirm that the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Dr Gideon Gono is the controlling investor in the paper. Mr Gono is strongly aligned with the Zanu PF party under President Mugabe and is also heavily blamed for Zimbabwe's problems involving the economy and the Zimbabwe currency.

The paper has little to no government harassment which for many seem to confirm its closeness to the ZANU PF party. In The midst of all this, it would appear to a large extent the Fingaz has managed to maintain its editorial independence. This is a clear reason why so many of Zimbabwe's decision makers and public sector authorities have maintained their loyalty to the pink paper.

Zimbabweans are politically very sensitive people especially in urban areas where Zanu PF is extremely resented. They cannot tolerate publications that promotes Zanu PF's hegemony in Zimbabwe's politics. For this reason Zimpapers the holding company of the Zimbabwe Herald has had its shares on the Zimbabwe Stock exchange largely suppressed due to government interference in newspaper publications.

Clearly the Fingaz enjoys government tolerance because of the politically connected investors behind it. Some of the paper's former employees have gone on to become publishers of their own newspapers such as Trevor Ncube the owner and publisher of  the Mail and Guardian in South Africa. He is also the publisher of The Zimbabwe Independent and the Standard both competitors of the Fingaz.

The online version of the paper is found on www.fingaz.co.zw and is run and managed by WebDev a Zimbabwe internet company. From the online perspective, the paper is still behind. The online version of the Fingaz is largely updated on weekly basis, is not dynamic and lacks many functions in line with multi-media and social networking functions.

The future of the pink paper looks bright as long as it maintains an independent editorial policy regardless of its backers. Only time will tell if the Fingaz will 100% uphold that independence. Often in Zimbabwe during election seasons, the political temperature against ZANU PF gets very hot forcing the party to use all might to make it through. All those who support the party are most likely to be called to use all they have to secure the party's political future.

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