However, most members of the public appeared to have been mobilised to support Section 38 of the Bill, which compels motorists to pay for the ZBC radio licence fees as a prerequisite for obtaining vehicle insurance and licence fees. Consequently, the dominant narrative at all the public hearings centred around this clause, though there were wider issues regarding the regulation of broadcasting in Zimbabwe that could have provided valuable insights for the legislature in debating this law. Encouragingly, those advocating for this position also urged Parliament to include a clause ensuring ZBC’s accountability to the public. 5.2 Members of the public, especially in Bubi and Kwekwe, demonstrated a relatively limited understanding of the law being amended, with most submissions falling outside the scope of the Bill under discussion. Nationwide, participants seldom referenced the specific provisions or sections they wished to alter or incorporate, as most submissions consisted of general comments either supporting or opposing aspects of the Bill. This may be due to the short timeframes between the gazetting of the Bill and the parliamentary public hearing period. MISA Zimbabwe and MAZ recommend that Parliament provide citizens with ample time to critically analyse the Bill and invest in explainers and other media awareness-raising initiatives to assist citizens in engaging with the laws from an informed standpoint. 5.3 There was a noticeable gender balance in terms of attendance. It was encouraging to have the participation of persons with disabilities and youths, who made their submissions at most of the public hearings. In particular, the youths and persons with 9