Zimbabwe: Recall the Broadcasting Services Amendment Bill Before It Is Signed Into Law – Misa Appeals to Govt
The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Zimbabwe has urged the Zimbabwean government to shelve the new Broadcasting Services Bill and allow a national forum to reconsider its nature, warning that if it is signed into law in its current form, it will set Zimbabwe back.
Addressing delegates at the pre-commemorations of World Press Freedom Day in Harare on Wednesday, MISA Zimbabwe director Thabani Moyo appealed to the Ministry of Information to consider withdrawing the Bill from the President’s Office, citing a number of concerns.
“What we are proposing is that the Ministry rethinks the matter at ministerial level and actually recalls the Bill. At the President’s Office level, to send it back to the ministry, at the stakeholder level, to organise the best minds to come together. At national level, to get that dialogue going through a step-by-step process of reimagining broadcasting services in Zimbabwe,” he said.
Moyo argued that the Bill failed to reflect the contributions made by Zimbabweans during public consultations across the country and that it did not appreciate the impact of emerging technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, on the global broadcasting industry.
He also voiced concerns about the scrapping of the 40 percent foreign ownership cap on broadcasting institutions, which had been included in the draft bill with the aim of boosting foreign direct investment.
“The Bill did not factor in the bulk of the contributions that were proffered in the consultative meetings held from 16 to 21 December 2025. According to the parliamentary report, 485 Zimbabweans contributed as provided for under section 141 of the Constitution.
“The essence of taking parliament to the people is to put the people at the centre of law-making, and when the people make submissions, it is only fair that they are reflected in the Bill. Members of Parliament across the board made similar submissions in Parliament but were also equally ignored.
“The Bill is actually regressing in terms of foreign direct investment. The draft proposed 40 percent, and now it is going backwards. Even 40 percent was a struggle to push for, and we are now going backwards. Broadcasting by its nature is capital intensive,” he added.
One of the key bones of contention that emerged during public meetings on the new Broadcasting Services Amendment Bill was clause 15, which links ZINARA vehicle licensing to ZBC radio licensing. According to the parliamentary report from the public hearings, many participants described this particular linkage as discriminatory and unfair to motorists.
The main grievance was that motorists should not be forced to pay ZBC radio licenses when anyone can access the same services using other digital gadgets, like mobile phones, without necessarily having a vehicle.
Parliamentarians across the political spectrum also debated in vain against combining ZINARA vehicle licensing and ZBC radio licensing.
At one point, while debating the Bill in Parliament, the Zanu PF secretary for local government and Member of Parliament Supa Mandiwanzira warned that the linkage of vehicle licensing and ZBC Television and Radio licensing was “equal to throwing the cat among the pigeons”.
In response to MISA, Director for International Communication Services in the Ministry of Information, Richard Mahomva, urged MISA to put its proposal in black and white and engage the ministry for a response.
Mahomva was representing the Minister of Information, Jenfan Muswere, at the event.
By New Zimbabwe.
