In its 2018 Media Complaints Analysis Report, the self-regulatory body, Voluntary Media Council of
Zimbabwe (VMCZ), said section 11 of its Code of Conduct on reporting on elections, was the most
breached in 2018.

❖ Broadcasting/Telecommunications/ICTs

The script almost remained unchanged concerning the broadcasting sector in Zimbabwe save for
statements of intent pertaining to the envisaged reforms.
For instance as of December 2018, the government was still to license a single community radio
station, 17 odd years after enactment of BSA, which provides for community radios.
In 2018 the government announced that it had approved the merging of the Broadcasting Authority of
Zimbabwe (BAZ) and the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe
(POTRAZ).
This announcement was made by then Permanent Secretary for Information, Media and Broadcasting
Services, George Charamba. He was speaking after an inspection of the proposed Maphisa digital
broadcasting transmission site on 26 April 2018.
Currently, BAZ is responsible mainly for broadcasting related affairs while POTRAZ is responsible for
the administration of telecommunications and internet related services. The proposed parastatal will
incorporate all the areas currently covered separately by POTRAZ and the BAZ.
Advancements in technology mean that these previously distinct fields overlapped and thus no longer
efficient to administer them separately. Meanwhile, Charamba did not go into detail on what the merged
parastatal would look like in terms of its composition or roles as well as that of Transmedia, the signal
carrier. He also did not give timelines on when the merger of BAZ and POTRAZ would be finalised.
POTRAZ was established in terms of the Postal and Telecommunications Act, while BAZ was
established in terms of the Broadcasting Services Act. Government will have to establish the new
parastatal by an Act of Parliament. Government’s first option is to amend either of the two Acts which

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