The South African Media Institute (MISA) Zimbabwe has warned the Zimbabwe government to shelve new Broadcast Services bills, allowing the National Forum to rethink its nature, and retreat Zimbabwe if the law is signed in its current form.
Addressing the delegates in the advance subject of World Press Freedom in Harare on Wednesday, Tabani Moyo, director of Massa Zimbabwe, citing many concerns, appealed to the Ministry of Information to consider withdrawing the bill from the President’s Office.
“What we are proposing is that the ministry rethinks the issue at the ministerial level and actually reminds us of the bill, sending it back to the ministries at the president’s office level, at the stakeholder level, organizing the best mind, and leading a process in which it slowly mimics that dialogue at the national level.
Moyo argued that the bill did not reflect contributions by Zimbabweans during public consultations nationwide, and that it did not understand the impact of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence on the global broadcasting industry.
He also expressed concern about the removal of the 40% foreign ownership cap for broadcasting agencies. This was included in the draft bill with the aim of promoting foreign direct investment.
“The bill did not take into account the majority of the contributions presented at the Consultative Conference held from December 16th to 21st, 2025. According to the Parliamentary Report, 485 Zimbabweans contributed to the provisions under Section 141 of the Constitution.
“The essence of bringing Congress to the people is to put people at the heart of the law, and when people submit it, it is fair that they are reflected in the bill.
“This bill is actually regressing from a foreign direct investment perspective. The draft suggests 40% and is now regressing. We struggle to push forward 40%, and we are now regressing.
One of the major competition bones that emerged during the public meeting of the new Broadcast Services Amendment Bill was Clause 15, which associated the ZINARA vehicle license with the ZBC radio license. Congressional reports from the hearing show that many participants described this particular connection as discriminatory and unfair to drivers.
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The main complaint was that drivers should not be forced to pay a ZBC radio license if they can access the same service using other digital gadgets, such as mobile phones, without necessarily having a vehicle.
Congressmen across the political spectrum were debated in vain against the combination of Zinara vehicle licenses and ZBC radio licenses.
At one point, while discussing the bill in the assembly, local government secretary Zanu PF and members of Congress Spa Manjuwanjira warned that the link between the vehicle license and the ZBC TV and radio licenses is “equivalent to throwing a cat inside a pigeon.”
In response to the Mass, Richard Mahonba, Director of International Communications Services at the Ministry of Information, urged Mass to put the proposal in black and white and invite the Ministry to respond to the Ministry.
Mahomva represented Information Minister Jenfang Masware at the event.
