ZBC's deficiencies as a public broadcaster due to its political capture and abuse by the ruling party and government. Without its transformation, ZBC as it is currently constituted, cannot objectively and impartially evaluate the ‘worthiness’ of opposition political parties activities, as posited by the then minister. Despite this, ZBC has statutory obligations to exercise editorial discretion and judgments in the public interest. This should include creatively covering political parties instead of waiting for notification of their activities. This would ensure desired balance in the coverage of political parties. As the 2018 elections draw closer, transformation of ZBC to ensure equal and equitable access by political parties and the generality of Zimbabweans despite their political affiliations is of imperative urgency. Transformation of ZBC from a state-controlled entity into a truly independent public broadcaster is urgent given its strong bias and partisanship towards Zanu PF, which is afforded more airtime compared to other political parties. This also entails the repealing of the Broadcasting Services Act. Digitisation Zimbabwe missed the 17 June 2015 International Telecommunications Union’s (ITU), deadline for migration from analogue to digital broadcasting. Thereafter, Zimbabwe said it would, however, be on course to meet the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) June 2016 deadline. Suffice to say, 2017 came and went with the country now way beyond the deadline. In 2016, the government attributed this to lack of funds. Mobile penetration/telecommunications In its 2017 Q3 (third quarter) Report, the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ), reported an increase in Zimbabwe’s mobile penetration rate from 97% in Q2 to 100.5% in Q3. 13