Zimbabwe
economy. Legally, the information revolution has thrown up new issues to do
with growth promotion, regulation,
standards and protection of society from
negative, harmful material,” noted the
report.
“The main recommendation is the need
for review of existing media laws in line
with the Constitution, including media
regulation and removal off all penal
measures and criminalisation.”
However, the enthusiasm to implement
the findings seemed to have been lost
with the reassignment of Professor Jonathan Moyo to the Ministry of Higher Education from that of Media, Information
and Broadcasting Services where he was
spearheading the IMPI process.

Economic Impact on Media
The environment for freedom of expression and media was greatly affected by
the declining economy.
Vigorous and various attempts to attract foreign investors continued to fall
flat, due in part to the Indigenisation
Act which compels foreign companies
to cede 51% shareholding to locals and
is a clause that most investors find constraining.
Another major burden for the business
sector, was the effect of perennial water
and electricity shortages, which according to a Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries (CZI) survey, reduced capacity
utilisation in the manufacturing sector
from 34.3% from 36.5%.
All these problems were topped by the
exposure of malfeasance and mismanagement in public institutions by Auditor-General Mildred Chiuri during her
tabled report to Parliament. Her 2015
report noted that among many other

anomalies, bad corporate governance
and mismanagement had led to the
loss of US$180 million in public funds
which could not be properly accounted
for.

Despite adoption of
a progressive Constitution in 2013 that
guarantees media
freedom and freedom
of expression and the
launch of the country’s
Media Panel of Inquiry
recommending the
reform of oppressive
laws, the country has
not seen any meaningful shifts in the
country’s legislation or
policies.
This harsh economic situation affected
the media in terms of content and ethics
as the industry was driven solely by the
bottom line mantra.
Sensational and superficial stories became the order of day as newspapers

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