INFORMATION deputy minister Supa Mandiwanzira yesterday said government was considering licencing community radio stations in the 11 centres that did not receive applications for provincial commercial radios.
BY PAIDAMOYO MUZULU SENIOR REPORTER
The Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) invited applications for licences last year.
Mandiwanzira was speaking at a Media Institute of Southern Africa Zimbabwe chapter breakfast meeting in Harare which is a prelude to Press Freedom Day at the weekend.
“We have learnt that there are some places where it is not viable to have commercial radio stations according to the response we got when a call was made for commercial licences,” said Mandiwanzira. “These areas will receive priority to have community radio stations which we will roll out before the end of this year.”
Mandiwanzira added that only nine of the 25 regions received applications for commercial radio licences.
“In most cases there was one applicant except for Harare and Bulawayo,” he said.
BAZ was now expected to move to the next stage of licensing that would involve public hearings in the respective centres, the minister said.
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Mandiwanzira said the ministry was happy that the media had made a Constitutional Court (ConCourt) application on the constitutionality of criminal defamation law.
He made the remarks in light of a Daily News application after the arrest of their journalists for criminal defamation and their subsequent appearance at the courts on Monday.
“I am glad the matter has been taken to the Supreme Court (ConCourt) for the courts to make a final determination on the constitutionality of the offending sections,” he said.
The government has recently been sending conflicting signals on whether it intends to retain criminal defamation laws on its statutes in light of the provisions of the new Constitution.
Justice minister Emmerson Mnangagwa recently defended the law.
