or television…” – as Section 20 (2) of the Zimbabwean Constitution stipulates but are in fact meant to directly affect the nature, quality and quantity of information to be broadcast by private players in the sector. A democracy – such as Zimbabwe professes to be – takes for granted the existence of a pluralistic political system, where everyone has the right to pursue their dreams through a free press, free speech and freedom of association and assembly. Centralised control of the means of communication, as well as of the nature of information disseminated, by any one individual is typical of autocracies and is harmful to the nourishment of democracy. Making the Minister the central licensing authority in the broadcast media illustrates the hunger, on the part of the government, to control the way people speak, think and share ideas. Ends. -2-