AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER ZIMBABWE 2010 Executive Summary Uganda’s In February 2009 the then ruling party Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU PF) and two formations of the then opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) formed the “inclusive government”. This new government was based on a “Global Political Agreement” (GPA) of September 2008 which formally recognises the “importance of freedom of expression and the role of the media in a multi-party democracy”. The economy has stabilised with the introduction of the US dollar as the operating currency and economic production has picked up. The extent and frequency of persecution of media practitioners has decreased as has the number of incidents of hate speech in the media. Hopes, however, that the “inclusive government” would repeal or amend repressive acts did not materialise in full by April 2010. The most prominent among these are the Public Order and Security Act (POSA), the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), the Broadcasting Services Act (BSA) and the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act. The latter makes it a criminal offence to publish or communicate “false statements prejudicial to the state”. A person may be fined or imprisoned for up to five years for publishing a “false” statement likely to incite public disorder, affect the defence and economic interests of the country, or undermine public confidence in the police, armed forces or prison officers. AIPPA still requires print media to obtain a license to operate from the newly formed Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) created through a constitutional amendment. Media organisations are opposed to the ZMC as it will administer the repressive AIPPA and because its very existence contradicts the notion of selfregulation of the media. For the time being, however, media houses and associations as well as civil society organisations have accepted the Commission grudgingly as the only available legal vehicle to get new print media on the streets. A month after the panel meeting, at the end of May 2010, the Commission approved the applications of three new daily newspapers and re-registered a previously banned daily and a weekly. Fear still permeates society in general. There are many who express themselves rather freely but everyone does so with a degree of fear. In most communities, especially in the rural areas, the threat of exposure does not come directly from AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER ZIMBABWE 2010 7