OPERATING ENVIRONMENT As the year ended, pressure mounted on Zimbabwe to withdraw the Private Voluntary Organisations (PVO) Amendment Bill, which was widely criticised for being designed to restrict civic society and muzzle dissenting voices. According to NewsDay, dated 11 December 2024, United Nations special rapporteurs on human rights urged the government to withdraw the Bill entirely, stating that it represents an assault on democratic principles. UN special rapporteurs Gina Romero, Irene Khan, Mary Lawlor and Ben Saul expressed concern regarding the Bill’s implications for human rights, particularly the right to freedom of association once it is enacted into law. They stated that the alleged differing versions of the Bill passed by the Senate and the House of Assembly created confusion and violated Section 131 of the Constitution, which specifies that both houses of Parliament must pass the same Bill. The special rapporteurs urged President Emmerson Mnangagwa to initiate a new process to replace the current Bill, which was awaiting presidential assent after being passed by the Senate on 17 October 2024. Critics of the Bill believe it is intended to close the democratic space and interfere with the operations of NGOs. On a positive note, during the year under review, Zimbabwe continued to experience a decline in incidents of media freedom violations. Zimbabwe climbed 10 places from 126 in 2023 to 116 in 2024 in Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index rankings. This improvement occurred against the backdrop of a reduction in media freedom violations in 2023, leading to a better media operating environment during Zimbabwe’s 2023 election season. This is aptly captured in the State of Press Freedom in Southern Africa Report (2024). In 2023, MISA Zimbabwe recorded 16 incidents of media freedom violations compared to 24 in 2022. This marked a 33.3 percent decrease in media violations in 2023, and this downward spiral continued in 2024. In 2024, we recorded eight (8) incidents of media freedom violations. This represented a 50% decrease in media freedom violations during the year under review compared to the number recorded in 2023. Meanwhile, in November 2024, the government gazetted the Broadcasting Services Amendment Bill 2024, paving the way for nationwide parliamentary public hearings on the Bill, which commenced in Harare on 16 December 2024. The Bill, among other issues, aims to align the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ)’s oversight role with the Constitution and the Public Entities and Corporate Governance Act, while modernising and industrialising the sector. 5 MISA Zimbabwe Annual Report 2024