MEDIA OPERATING CONTEXT The Reporters Without Borders (RSF) 2021 media freedom rankings, released in May 2021, saw Zimbabwe sliding in terms of its rankings. Zimbabwe was ranked at 130 out of 180 countries in 2021 compared to its ranking at 126 in 2020. Namibia was the best ranked country in Africa, ranking 24th worldwide. Eswatini and the Democratic Republic of Congo were ranked at 141st and 149th, respectively. However, based on MISA Zimbabwe’s monitoring of the media operating environment during the period under review, there was a marked, if not considerable reduction in the number of violations recorded in 2021 compared to the previous year. This points to an improved media operating environment during the year under review as will be highlighted in this report based on the violations recorded by MISA Zimbabwe. On the positives, the RSF said access to information had improved and self-censorship had declined, but that journalists were still often attacked or arrested. While RSF noted that new broadcasting licences had been awarded, it noted the lack of diversity in the granting of the permits. Zimbabwe’s lowest ranking was 135 out of 180 countries in 2014. The best ranking was 124 in 2016. Meanwhile, the issue of media co-regulation remained on the agenda during the course of 2021 as engagements between policy makers, parliamentarians and media representative organisations continued on the matter. Under co-regulation, a proposed media council as espoused in the Draft Zimbabwe Media Practitioners Bill drafted by MISA Zimbabwe under the auspices of the umbrella Media Alliance of Zimbabwe (MAZ), would be the first entry point for lodging complaints against the media while the constitutional Zimbabwe Media Commission, would be the appellant body. “ We are therefore encouraged by the open-door engagements we continue to enjoy with the Ministry of Information and the Parliament of Zimbabwe, in our quest for a democratic media environment, and more so, as we continue to consult on the outstanding issue of media regulation,” said Golden Maunganidze, MISA Zimbabwe Chairperson, during a media reforms stakeholders meeting in Harare in October 2021. During the meeting, stakeholders re-affirmed their commitment to co-regulation of the media. Earlier in June 2021, the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Information, Media and Broadcasting Services, Honourable Sipho Mokone, had moved a motion imploring parliament to enact legislation that enhances media freedom and encourages the media to conduct their activities without fear or favour. These sentiments were shared across the political divide as the motion on: Information as a public good, 6