radio stations and privately-owned TV stations,” he said. The Broadcasting Services Act was enacted in 2001. “Certain sections of the Act have proved difficult to implement and some sections have become inconsistent with the new constitution,” he said. “Technology has also evolved rapidly over the last few years making sections or definitions of services meaningless or definitions meaningless or out of sync with reality.” Media env ironment Regrettably, Zimbabwe once again declined on the Reporters Without Borders (RSF)’s 2022 World Press Freedom Index. Following former President Robert Mugabe’s ouster in 2017, Zimbabwe initially rose on the World Press Freedom Index, but the country has been on the decline for the past two years. In 2021, Zimbabwe was ranked 130th and in 2022, it was ranked 137th, a decline of seven places. The report said laws such as the Cyber and Data Protection Act and the Official Secrets Act, continued to hamstring journalism. One of the positives the RSF report noted was that the political climate has been more peaceful for Zimbabwean journalists since President Emmerson Mnangagwa took over as president. However, it also pointed out that authorities are still tempted to intervene in editorial decisions, citing a case in 2021 where “the head of Zimpapers asked editors to publicly support the ruling party ahead of the election….” RSF noted that although levels of violence against journalists have declined significantly under President Mnangagwa’s administration, they remain alarmingly high and self-censorship is routinely practiced to avoid reprisals. “The police often use disproportionate force and confiscate equipment,” the report said. “Acts of intimidation, verbal attacks and threats (especially on social media) are still common practices.” State of the Media Report 6