Amendments to draconian laws dismissed as “non-event”

By Henry Makiwa
17 December 2007

The government on Saturday published amendments to repressive security and media laws, as a response to opposition demands at the mediated talks between Zanu PF and the MDC. Analysts have however dismissed the proposed changes as cosmetic, saying they will not bring about any significant changes.

According to a government gazette there will be amendments to the Public Order and Security Act (POSA), the Broadcasting Act and the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) – which have helped Mugabe to entrench his rule. The development has raised concerns that the opposition is not getting key issues addressed at the talks.

Under the new amendments political parties seeking to hold public gatherings can now appeal to a magistrate if police turn down their application. Currently they have to appeal to the Minister of Home Affairs. Instead of randomly barring public meetings, police would now be required to "enter into dialogue" with the concerned party to explain the reasons for prohibiting the meeting.

The government will also amend AIPPA by reconstituting a state-appointed commission that regulates the country's media. Mugabe would appoint members of the media commission, from a list submitted by a bi-partisan parliamentary committee. The media will be opened to foreign owners but foreign journalists remain barred from working permanently in Zimbabwe.

Changes made to the Broadcasting Services Act include a provision for the sole public broadcaster, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC), to run news and programmes in a fair manner without bias towards the ruling party and government. In addition, foreigners can now have majority shares in a broadcasting service. It however remains to be seen if ZBC can be transformed into an objective broadcaster.

Political analyst Eanest Mudzengi said: “Its obvious that the opposition has fallen into the Zanu PF trap and have legitimised Mugabe’s script. To make matters worse, they don’t seem to have noticed that Mugabe has been on these talks to merely buy time while consolidating his power base. The amendments are mere window dressing that will appear as if the MDC has had their demands met, but in essence there will be no change at all as the democratic space is still stifled.”

In a statement, the Media Institute for Southern Africa (Zimbabwe) also dismissed the amendments. The media body said: “The proposed amendment Bills contained in the extraordinary gazette reflect no serious intentions on the part of government to democratise the laws in question, dwelling instead on inconsequential issues which will not advance basic freedoms such as the right to freedom of expression, media freedom and freedom of assembly and association.”