Way Forward in 2023 Government should seriously consider the domestication of the UN Plan of Action into Zimbabwe’s legislative frameworks to legislate for crimes against journalists. This will go a long way in reducing and curbing crimes that continue to be committed with impunity against journalists. Political parties; the police and the broader security forces should ensure the safety and security of journalists during campaign rallies and at all times. Every journalist duly accredited with the ZMC should be allowed to freely cover the elections without the burden of being accredited by ZEC and the additional requisite fees. Journalists and media workers, in general, should familiarise themselves with the profession’s safety and security guidelines to minimise the risks that come with their chosen profession. Media houses should swiftly address and correct unprofessional conduct by their journalists where this is highlighted or brought to their attention. Journalists should refrain from participating in political processes if they still want to continue practicing journalism to retain the much-needed neutrality while conducting their professional duties and covering electoral processes. The media, especially the state-controlled media should take note of the observations and findings of election observer missions to Zimbabwe’s 2018 elections and ensure equal and equitable coverage of all political players in the 2023 elections Effective co-regulation of the media should be underpinned by a strengthened and inclusive professional regulatory mechanism in which there is joint enforcement of a Code of Ethics and Conduct with the constitutional regulatory body. Broadcasting laws and regulatory framework should be in line with the Constitution of Zimbabwe, the African Charter on Broadcasting and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) Declaration on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information and African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms, among other instruments that set democratic principles and standards on regulation. Multi-stakeholder approach involving all the key relevant players with the aim of coming up with mechanisms that ensure affordable internet access and data prices for all, including those in marginalised rural communities in line with the African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms which stresses that access to the internet is a fundamental right. State of the Media Report 20