SECTOR 3 However, the Broadcasting Services’ Act is silent on the independence of the state broadcaster. “There is a possibility of allowance of state interference from the government in general in the state media (not just state broadcaster).” Examples cited include delays in the news bulletins caused by the ministry of information; the affording of more airtime to ZANU-PF compared to other political parties during the 2013 election; the strong bias of ZBC journalists towards ZANU-PF; and the suspension of a ZBC media worker for mentioning President Mugabe’s Malawian origins.4 “The coverage of ZANU-PF definitely takes prominence over other parties. For example, there was a time when the ZBC covered a ZANU-PF rally live, then covered it again in the news, and then after the news presented a special edition on the First Lady.” 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: 1.8 (2012 = n/a; 2010 = n/a; 2008 = n/a; 2006 = n/a) 3.6 The state/public broadcaster is adequately funded in a manner that protects it from political interference through its budget and from commercial pressure. ZBC draws its funding from licence fees and advertising, and claims that it does not receive money from parliament, although there is a statutory provision for this. With regards to advertising, it does not face much commercial pressure because it is the only television station, although advertising has been affected by its coverage. For example, when ZBC once linked Joice Mujuru, former vice president to Telecel, the company appeared to withdraw advertising from the station for a while. 4 It is widely believed that President Mugabe’s father is Gabriel Matibili who comes from Malawi. AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER ZIMBABWE 2015 47