SECTOR 2 2.5 Adequate legislation/regulation seeks to promote competition and prevent media concentration and monopolies There is a Competition and Tariff Commission which seeks to promote competition. However, sometimes there seem to be attempts to actively stifle competition. One example is the Indigenisation Act, which legislates ownership only by locals, completely excluding foreign participation and competition. Furthermore, the provision on cross-ownership has been removed, meaning that newspapers can now also own radio and television stations without restriction. The current Broadcasting Services Act restricts cross-ownership, but enforcement has been a challenge. The licences of internet service providers are extremely broad, covering the entire country. Therefore, the cost of such a licence is prohibitive, restricting many small potential providers from being able to apply. 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: ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ 2.3 2006: 1; 2008: 1.1; 2010: 1.5; 2012: 3; 2015: 1.4 2.6 Government promotes a diverse media landscape with economically sustainable and independent media outlets Although there are over 200 licenced media outlets in Zimbabwe, many are not operational. There is also little political will and few resources to start new media outlets or to support more diverse media landscapes. Foreign ownership of radio and television stations is discouraged because the government maintains that broadcasting airwaves ‘belong to the people of Zimbabwe’ and, as a strategic resource, must therefore be protected from foreign interference. However, there are some citizens who would like to see increased foreign ownership of stations. 22 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER ZIMBABWE 2020