SECTOR 2 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: Score of previous years: ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ 2.5 2006: 1; 2008: 1.1; 2010: 1.1; 2012: 1.5; 2015: 2.4 2.4 Transparency of news media ownership is guaranteed by law and enforced The law (AIPPA) requires disclosure of media ownership. However, the real ownership, and whether owners are connected to certain politicians, is more difficult to penetrate. It was claimed that ‘everyone who owns a media house is linked to ZANU-PF.’ Media ownership is, therefore, a complex issue and this creates a dilemma for independent reporting by journalists. Even if you check the company registry for the ownership of a media company, you might not find the file, the information will be missing or out of date, or you will be informed that the company registry files have not been updated. There are also some “security files” which cannot be accessed, even though these are supposed to be public documents. The Mass Media Trust (which owns 51% of Zimpapers) has an opaque ownership and it is not clear where the actual ownership lies. 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: Score of previous years: 21 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER ZIMBABWE 2020 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ 2.7 2006: n/a; 2008: n/a; 2010: n/a; 2012: n/a; 2015: 2 ✓