The Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) has announced that four new media houses have been granted licenses to operate in the country. According to the ZMC chairperson Godfrey Majonga, the Cable News Agency and the African Open Media Initiative will run news agencies, while Berimark Enterprises will publish a monthly magazine called Zimceleb and Feyjay Investments will publish a weekly sports magazine called Sport/24.
Ironically, Majonga then referred to the repressive Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), to send a warning to licensed media houses that have not yet started operating.
Quoting a section of AIPPA, Majonga warned that the Commission can cancel or suspend the registration certificate of any mass media service that fails to publish mass media products within twenty-four months from the issue date of registration.
Tabani Moyo of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) said they applaud any increase in the number of media outlets, but they were shocked that AIPPA was still being used to close media space in this era.
Moyo said: If we are really serious as a people about opening up media space, what we need to do is to correct the mess in the GPA article 19, which says all broadcasting will be done through AIPPA and the Broadcasting Services Act. These two pieces of legislation have presided over the shrinkage of media space within our country.
Moyo added: We as MISA always insist that we need democratic legislation, to repeal AIPPA totally, rather these cosmetic changes.
Robert Mugabe and ZANU-PF have been under pressure to liberate the media in the country and to allow independent publishers, and radio and television broadcasters to operate without political interference. The formation of the coalition government was supposed to fully facilitate this, but as always, ZANU-PF has resisted.
Despite the recent licencing of new independent daily papers and this latest announcement, there has been no mention at all of any attempt to licence independent broadcasters. ZANU PF keeps a tight rein on the electronic media and continues to use ZBC as its own personal media house.
Post published in: Politics