Govt gazettes broadcast licence
GOVERNMENT continues to show its commitment to media reforms and has gone a step further by gazetting various licence fees in the broadcasting sector.
President Mnangagwa’s administration is reviewing media laws to see how they can be improved to achieve best international practice and to align them with the Constitution.
The Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), which many thought was too restrictive, was repealed and is now being replaced by at least three other Bills Zimbabwe Media Commission Bill, Data/ Information Protection Bill, Freedom of Information and the Broadcasting Services Act Amendment Bill.
Government is already working on establishing 10 new community radio stations countrywide to empower marginalised communities through universal access to information.
Through Statutory Instrument 27 of 2020,
Broadcasting Services (Licensing and Content) Amendment Regulations 2020 (No. 3), the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services gazetted licence fees for radio and television stations, as well as content distribution.
“It is hereby notified that the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services has in terms of Section 46 of the Broadcasting Services Act (Chapter 12;06) approved the following regulations made by the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe Board:
“These regulations may be cited as the Broadcasting Services (Licensing and Content) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 No. 3.
“The Broadcasting Services (Licensing and Content) Regulations, 2004, published in Statutory Instrument 185 of 2004, hereinafter called the ‘principal regulations’, are amended in Section 2 by insertion of the following definition.
“Campus radio station means a broadcasting service run and owned by a college, university or other educational institution whose programming is exclusively by students and board as mainly educational programmes for training of students in media and broadcasting studies,” reads the Gazette.
Tertiary institutions wishing to run free-toair broadcasting services will pay a non-refundable fee of $21 250 plus $42 500 per annum as basic licence fees for 10 years and $510 per month in frequency fees.
Free-to-air national radio broadcasting service initial application fee is pegged at a non-refundable $42 500, public inquiry fee $127 500 and basic licence fee for 10 years $255 000 per annum.
The annual licence fees will be charged at two percent gross turnover or deemed turnover payable monthly for the licence period.
Frequency fees will be paid at $510 per frequency per site per month and broadcasting fund will be a contribution of 0,5 percent of the audited annual gross turnover or deemed turnover payable annually.
Free-to-air national television broadcasting services initial application fee is pegged at a non-refundable $42 500, public inquiry fee $127 500 (non-refundable), while the basic licence fees for 10 years is $306 000 per annum.
Subscription satellite broadcasting services basic licence fee for 10 years is $1 275 000 per annum in the case of a broadcaster who receives subscription in local currency or US$100 000 per annum in the case of broadcaster who receives subscriptions in foreign currency.
The basic licence for 10 years for content distribution service is $1 700 000 per annum in the case of broadcaster who receives subscription in local currency or US$100 000 per annum for the broadcaster who receives subscriptions in foreign currency.
The broadcasting fund for content distribution service is a contribution of $850 000 or US$50 000 payable in the currency the subscription is collected.
Zimpapers Group CEO Mr Pikirayi Deketeke said the country’s largest diversified media group was still studying the Gazette and would make the necessary recommendations to the board.
Zimpapers Television Network (ZTN) is already giving global streaming brands a run for their money.
The television industry has immense potential and ZTN is already targeting millions of viewers with a variety of affordable content.