State of the media in Southern Africa - 2004 were saying as opposed to digging beneath the surface of their public statements in a country where corruption is on the ascendancy because public officials are not accountable to the taxpayer. Most of the stories published were therefore mostly speculative, unsubstantiated and unsourced, leaving readers guessing at what exactly was going on around them. Instances where efforts to access information landed journalists in trouble are too numerous to mention. However, one such case involves the detention of Desmond Kwande on 6 May 2004. He was detained by the police for taking pictures of a school that had been closed by the Minister of Education for increasing fees without government approval. With the impending ban of non-governmental organisations, and if President Robert Mugabe signs the NGO Bill into law, Zimbabweans would yet again be deprived of alternative voices through which they were beginning to speak vociferously on issues affecting their socioeconomic and political affairs. The government’s determination to stifle dissenting views was amply demonstrated when it threw out a COSATU delegation which had come to Harare on a fact-finding mission. The action was viewed as a prime example of the government’s reluctance to subject itself to scrutiny on matters pertaining to respect for human rights and good governance. Repressive laws still in place The closure of The Tribune by MIC on the flimsy grounds that the company did not notify the Commission about the material changes to its ownership structures as required by AIPPA, and the upholding of that action by the High Court dashed hopes that repressive laws would be repealed. Appeals by both The Tribune and The Daily News against MIC rulings remained unheard throughout the year. Ruling the airwaves The Government continued to pay lip service to its commitment to open up the airwaves. Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings, a State-owned radio and television company therefore continues as a monopoly. The Government, in accordance with Statutory Instrument 185 of 2004 Broadcasting Services (Licensing and Content) Regulations, announced the new broadcasting fees in September and followed this with yet another announcement in December, but there were no takers. The regulations impose restrictive conditions for licenses and license fees that are out of reach for ordinary Zimbabweans, compounded by the prohibition of foreign funding in the broadcasting sector. This media environment has seen a wave of radio stations based outside the country forming in order to fill in the void. The radio stations include the Voice of America, Studio 7 (based in Washington), SW Radio Africa, (London) and the Voice of the People Communication Trust. Media diversity Media diversity continued to shrink with the banning of The Tribune and the closure of Parade, the country’s largest monthly magazine, due to financial constraints. The government, using a memorandum of understanding between Zimpapers and the New Era of Namibia launched The Southern Times to counter negative stories about Zimbabwe published So This Is Democracy? 2004 138 Media Institute of Southern Africa