served on a part time basis. The Bill does not make mention of the term limits that the members of the Commission will serve. Members of other Commissions, for example the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission can only serve a maximum of two five-year terms. In addition to the Chairperson and eight Commissioners, the Zimbabwe Media Commission may also hire secretariat staff which is led by a Secretary. The Commission may appoint a Secretary of the Commission after consultation with the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services and the Minister responsible for finance. According to Section 7 (3) of Bill, the Secretary will be responsible for the day-to-day administration and management of the affairs, staff, and property of the Commission. The Bill provides for the hiring of experts whose expertise is necessary to the fulfilment of the Commission’s mandate and functions. This is provided for in Section 7 (4). Fixed term contracts will set out the nature of the engagement of persons as either members of the Secretariat or as expert consultants. Submission of complaints for investigation Part III of the Bill outlines the Commission’s powers to investigate and hold hearings on alleged and suspected media freedom violations. The power to investigate complaints of media freedom violations is found in Section 249 (1) (e) of the Constitution and effected by Section 8 of the Bill. Section 8(1) says the Commission may on its own or at the request of a member of the public, investigate any action that either constitutes or is likely to result in a violation of any of the rights set out in Section 61 of the Constitution. Section 8(2) requires members of the public to submit their complaints to the Commission in written form. However, the Commission may not refuse to receive or investigate a matter solely because the complaint is not submitted in the required format. Any suitable person and not just the victim of an alleged media rights violation, may make complaints to the Commission. Section 8 (4) (a) states that complaints must be submitted within three years of the date the action complained of occurred. The Commission will not have the power to investigate or inquire on actions that occurred before the commencement of the Zimbabwe Media Commission law. It is important to note that in terms of Section 8 (4) (b), the Commission will not investigate matters where the action 4