SECTOR 3 The independence of the board is debatable, and although the ZBC Commercialisation Act is in place, it is not being implemented, and its status is ambiguous as it is governed by the ZBC Act of 2001. In addition to the minister appointing the board, he is also involved in the promotion and demotion of executives at ZBC. “The board is not independent because when it fired/suspended executives at ZBC who had been implicated in looting, the then minister lashed out at the board, and those who had just been let go were reappointed.” “The long and short of it is that it’s just a ZANU-PF thing. ZBC is not a public broadcaster! It’s a state broadcaster.” In some cases, bulletins have been sent to the permanent secretary at the ministry of information for vetting before being aired. Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country meets only a few aspects of indicator 3 Country meets some aspects of indicator 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator Average score: 1.5 (2012 = 1.3; 2010 = 1.1; 2008 = 1.0; 2006 = 1.0) 3.5 The editorial independence of the state/public broadcaster from political influence is guaranteed by law and practised to ensure balanced and fair news and current affairs programmes. Section 61 of the constitution states that: All State-owned media of communication must-a. be free to determine independently the editorial content of their broadcasts or other communications; b. be impartial; and c. afford fair opportunity for the presentation of divergent views and dissenting opinions. 46 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER ZIMBABWE 2015