This should include creatively covering political parties instead of waiting for notification of their activities. This would ensure desired balance in the coverage of political parties. ACCESS TO INFORMATION In its 2017 Q3 (third quarter) Report, the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ), reported an increase in Zimbabwe’s mobile penetration rate from 97% in Q2 to 100.5% in Q3. POTRAZ attributed this to an increase in mobile subscriptions which had risen to 13,799,648 when compared with 13,311,223 during the previous quarter. However, the Minister of ICT, Supa Mandiwanzira, said while the penetration had hit the 95% mark, the statistics might be misleading as far as mobile penetration was concerned. He said this could be so because a number of people had two or three mobile lines each. With an estimated population of 13 million, the statistics could mean that almost every citizen had a mobile phone. This came at a time when the minister was on record saying a suitable pricing model for the country would be arrived at following the conclusion of a survey which was undertaken by POTRAZ. The survey was conducted to establish the cost of landing bandwidth in the country by mobile network operators. In January 2017, the minister issued a directive for the suspension of an increase in mobile network voice and data charges following a public outcry. While this step was commendable in the context of citizens’ right to communicate and share information more affordably, according to Research ICT Africa, Zimbabwe’s data charges remain the third 142 So This is Democracy? 2017 highest on the continent. The cheapest monthly 1 GB data package in the country is set at $30. As the prices of internet-enabled smartphones steadily dropped, more Zimbabweans were connecting to the internet via these mobile devices. This was reflected in the quarterly reports published by POTRAZ over the past two years. As mentioned earlier in this report, these developments came at a time of spirited efforts by government to enact cybercrime laws. In a country with high voice-call rates, coupled with a political environment where freedom of association is sometimes restricted, social media provided affordable and relatively safe platforms for Zimbabweans with similar interests to “meet and share their views”. This has significantly improved the flow and accessibility of information in the country. Unfortunately some of the information shared by citizens also impacts governance issues, including important ones such as management of the current economic crisis. For example, towards the end of September 2017, Zimbabwe experienced sporadic price increases, which citizens documented and shared on social media. The statements released by government after that spell of price increases blamed inaccurate social media posts for causing panic buying which had in turn led to opportunistic retailers hiking their retail prices.