HARARE  – Five prospective mass media houses have submitted applications to operate new newspapers in Zimbabwe, among them NewsDay owned by media mogul Trevor Ncube, Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) officials said on Wednesday.

ZMC chairman Godfrey Majonga said the commission, which called for applications on Tuesday has been overwhelmed by enquiries from prospective mass media providers and journalists seeking application and registration forms.

“Its been a hectic two days. The response has just been overwhelming,” Majonga said, adding; “People are coming to renew their licences, accreditation, while some are coming to find out the requirements before applying. One new media house has so far completed its forms and submitted them.” 

Majonga declined to disclose the media house that had submitted its application but ZMC officials privy to the process, speaking on condition that their names were not published, said the NewsDay and four others had submitted their applications.

Owners of the Daily News, a popular independent daily newspaper which was closed in 2003 by the now defunct Tafataona Mahoso-led Media Information Commission (MIC) using the draconian Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) were also in town yesterday, according to the officials, finalising their application.

The Daily News was Zimbabwe’s biggest circulating daily newspaper when it was shut down by the government in 2003 for allegedly violating AIPPA. Three other newspapers were also banned during the period and scores of journalists charged as the Harare authorities cracked down on independent newspapers that the government accused of backing the then opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party.  

The ZMC, a constitutional body created last February as one of the key reforms to open up the country’s political space after President Robert Mugabe and long time rival but now Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai formed a unity government last year following a dispute over general elections in March 2008, replaced the state-appointed MIC that used the government's tough media laws to police the newspaper industry.

Under AIPPA, newspapers could not publish unless they had a licence from the MIC, with papers that breached the rule forced to close while their equipment was seized by the police. Newspaper company executives could also be jailed for publishing without permission from the commission.

The ZMC, which on Tuesday distributed guidelines of establishing a newspaper or magazine to prospective media houses, has slashed application and registration fees, resulting in the flood of prospective applications.

According to a gazette published last Friday local journalists will pay a total of US$30 to work in the country while local journalists working for foreign media will be required to pay a total of US$120 down from the US$3 000 that the MIC used to charge. 

Local media houses will pay an application fee of US$500, registration fee of US$1 500 and a renewal fee of US$1 000. Application and registration for news agencies will be US$1 300 per year and the renewal of registration will be US$500.

Foreign media organisations or news agencies who are willing to set office in the country are expected to pay US$2 500 down from about US$30 000 per year while those from the Southern African Development Community will pay US$1 250.

The deadline for all applications and registrations is June 4 and late applications will attract a penalty of US$1 daily.

Mugabe and Tsvangirai formed a unity government last year following a dispute over general elections in March 2008 and have promised a raft of reforms, including freeing up the media by allowing more players.

Western donors, whose aid is essential to Zimbabwe's economic recovery from a decade-long downturn, have demanded broad political reforms before funding the unity government, which says it needs at least $10 billion for reconstruction.

The southern African state has been urged to scarp legislation that bars foreign journalists from working long-term in the country.

By Zimonline