Mozambique President Felipe Nyusi An assessment by International Media support indicates that Mozambique’s media is in decline, with community radio stations (CRS) under the umbrella body of the Forum for Community Radio Stations in Mozambique (FORCOM) and others outside this network struggling to maintain operations with notable challenges in replacing and upgrading equipment.(5) MEDIA INDEPENDENCE One can argue that to understand the independence of the media, one has to understand the concept of political economy which attempts to explain dynamics in running media organisations. The four Cs of political economy namely context, collective behaviour, conflicting interest, and change can help in explaining why authorities and political elites linked to Frelimo would pursue a hegemonic agenda, which is against the grain of media freedom. With the public media sector’s sustainability heavily reliant on state funding, it makes it challenging to provide news and information with the impartiality and plurality required of it. Although the bulk of media organisations are under the firm control of the state and Frelimo acolytes, there is a notable contribution of alternative sources of information and news from the few smaller, independent outlets that are part of the media landscape. However, an International Press Institute report warns that: “Independent journalism in Mozambique is facing considerable legal, political, and economic pressures.”(6) A state sanctioned media blackout on the raging conflict in Cabo Delgado in the northern parts of the country has led to high levels of self-censorship as journalists reporting on the insurgency face the risk of intimidation, harassment, assaults, arrests and other more dire confrontations. INTERNET ACCESS AND AFFORDABILITY Mozambique’s digital transformation has undergone rapid acceleration since 2020, although only 21.7% of the population were internet users in January 2021 according to analysis from Kepios. Most of these were through low-speed mobile networks. According to the Digital Mozambique report, Mozambique’s population stood at 32,62 million in 2022, an increase of 2,1% on the 2021 figure. The statistics show that the country has a largely youthful population and the median age is 17,9. 51