Zimbabwe: ZBH entrenches monopoly of airwaves

Voice of Zimbabwe radio, a subsidiary of the state-controlled Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings (ZBH) was officially launched in Gweru on July 30. While the restrictive Broadcasting Services Act (BSA) acknowledges the three-tier broadcasting system comprising public, private and community radio, no single private player has been allowed to enter the broadcasting sector since its enactment in 2001.

Equally, the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) is still to call for applications for licences for community radio stations, nine years after enactment of the BSA.

Zimbabwe has the dubious distinction of being among the very few African countries without privately owned television and radio stations as well as community radio stations, 30 years after independence.

MISA Zimbabwe says the country is  in breach of the principles of the African Charter on Broadcasting which encourages members states to adopt the three-tier broadcasting system and transform state-run broadcasters such as ZBH, into truly independent public service broadcasters.

In a report presented at the MISA-Zimbabwe 2010 AGM  in Bulawayo on July 31, MISA Zimbabwe Chairperson Loughty Dube urged Zimbabweans to raise the decibe in their agitations for a liberalised broadcasting environment.

Dube said he was happy that the issue of media freedom, community radios and ZBC coverage, are among issues raised by citizens during the constitution making process. He attributed this positive development to the lobby and advocacy strategies of MISA-Zimbabwe’s Advocacy Committees which are decentralised throughout the country.
 

- August 09, 2010 by MISA Zimbabwe

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Source: www.misa.org  (received via email alert on 09.08.2010)