A brief history of the adoption of aippa provides some context as to why such a repressive piece of legislation was adopted. Charamba wrong on aippa misa zimbabwe the zimbabwean. In the face of changing digital trends, questions remain about the relevance of the aippa legislation. Registrar and offices for registration of companies. Operating environment and reform constraints lawrence mhandara charity manyeruke abstract. Section 31b mirrors section 80 of aippa, and deals with the communication of falsehoods. Zimbabwe the constitution unit ucl university college.
Briefing journalists in harare after tuesdays cabinet meeting, information minister monica mutsvangwa said the act would be replaced by the proposed zimbabwe media commission bill, datainformation protection bill, freedom of information and the broadcasting services act amendment bill. The access to information and protection of privacy act, commonly referred to as. Pambazuka news critics of the media and information commission span from its comprehensive authority and competences to its organisation. Aippa access to information and protection of privacy. Dube also said that the criminal law codification and reform act stifles free speech. Aippa is listed in the worlds largest and most authoritative dictionary database of.
The impact of zimbabwean media laws on the work of journalists and media organizations mr john mpofu and mr sylod chimhenga abstract. Repeal aippa, posa for a free media zimbabwe human rights. A law referred to as access to information and protection act aippa and broadcasting services act bsa have had a negative effect on the operations of media organizations and journalists. Summary comparison of aippa and freedom of information bill nango. To amend the access to information and protection of privacy act ilo. Aippa, the public order and security act posa, and the criminal law codification and. Repeal aippa, posa for a free media zimbabwe human. Zimbabwe the constitution unit ucl university college london. It was enacted in 2002 to oversee how the print and electronic media operate in the country. The constitution of zimbabwe the right to free expression is guaranteed in section 20 of the constitution, which states. Aippa, influence, politically related information, voters of ward 8 of chinhoyi research paper introduction access to information and protection of privacy act aippa is law in zimbabwe. To make further provision for the revenues and public funds of zimbabwe and to provide for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. In the face of changing digital trends, questions remain about the relevance. As with much zimbabwean law, this provision appears formally stronger than it is in.
This is problematic because aippa is an omnibus law that also deals in part with the protection of privacy. Aippa, broadcasting service act bsa and the realignment of the official secrets act osa. We seek to assist youth in developing their creative skills through human centred design hcd and help entrepreneurs grow their businesses more rapidly through a deeper understanding of their customers and markets. The act was part of an extensive and repressive infrastructure inherited by zimbabwe on independence. Zanupf zimbabwe african national union patriotic front. Africa freedom of information centre analysis of zimbabwes. Jul 25, 2019 more than six years after the adoption of the 20 constitution, most of zimbabwes laws are still to be aligned with the substantive human rights and fundamental freedoms enshrined in chapter 4 of the constitution known as the declaration of rights. Act in africa entrepreneurship development program in.
Aippa, the public order and security act, the interception of communications act, the criminal law codification and reform act, and the broadcasting services act continue to. Being interpretive in approach, qualitative methodology was preferred where key. While posa, on the one hand, had opposition political parties and nongovernmental zimabwe, as its targets, aippa, on the other, blocks the opening of airwaves by ensuring huge operating fees that aipp access to information. The zimbabwe media commission is seeking to extort money from foreign media houses in an effort to fundraise for its oppressive legal mechanisms. A draft constitution in zimbabwe guarantees media freedom and access to information, and protects journalists and their sources of information. The repeal of aippa, while welcome, may be premature. The interception of communications act 2007, primary legislation that governs. This means that if the freedom of information act repeals aippa before a protection of personal information act or a data protection act is gazetted, that will create a gap in zimbabwes data protection legislative landscape. The article examines how the media is exploited for political leverage in zimbabwe.
The repealed provisions have not disappeared from the law of zimbabwe. Finance act, 2017 act 22017 to make further provision for the revenues and public funds of zimbabwe and to provide for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. This contrasts with chapter four of the african commission on human and peoples rights stating that everyone. In any democracy, the role of the press is critical as it fulfills its normative roles of educating, entertaining and informing citizens such that they can make informed decisions about their lives. Media law reform and media regulation misa zimbabwe. Foreign nationals and agencies as well as unregistered mass media are excluded.
Looking for online definition of aippa or what aippa stands for. The zimbabwe lawyers for human rights and the legal resources foundation versus the president of the republic of zimbabwe and the attorneygeneral case indicates that the decision on whether to disclose publicly held information is rather a policy decision made by politicians and not by the courts and set a wrong precedent to those that might. The opposition had, at the time, seen its catastrophic effects and one would have hoped its repealing was a given. Their introduction caused a shift in the operations of filming, journalism and broadcasting in zimbabwe as they favoured for a biased and propagandist situation. Associated newspapers of zimbabwe anz, publishers of the daily news and the daily news on sunday, ranks as aippas severest blow against freedom of the press in zimbabwe. The zimbabwe human rights ngo forum the forum joins all zimbabweans and the rest of the world in commemorating world press freedom day. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. Aippa report final article 19 defending freedom of. It includes all amendments made to the act up to the 1st february, 2006, i. The zimbabwe electoral commission act subsequently created the electoral court to deal with any matters arising from any election. Analysis of the zimbabwes access to information and protection of privacy act, 2008 2 table of contents page about afic 4. Africa freedom of information centre analysis of zimbabwe. Enacted by the parliament and president of zimbabwe. Commission means the zimbabwe media commission established by section 38 mass media means.
Posa, aippa have no place in democracy the ban on demonstrations and the subsequent overturning of the decision by the high court produces a glimmer of hope that zimbabwe, to an extent, has an. Access to information and protection of privacy act zimbabwe. Briefing journalists in harare after tuesdays cabinet meeting, information minister monica mutsvangwa said the act would be replaced by the proposed. He is quoted saying a lot of time was wasted as organisations such as misa zimbabwe fought government on the registration of the media at the expense of testing the law in accessing information held by. Aippa access to information and protection of privacy act. The public order and security act posa is a piece of legislation introduced in zimbabwe in 2002 by a zanupf dominated parliament. This is a vast improvement compared with the current constitution which does not explicitly provide for freedom of the media and access to information, according to a statement by misazimbabwe. An act to provide for the taxation of incomes and for other taxes. The promulgation of a new media law in the form of a zimbabwe media commission act provides zimbabwe with an opportunity to migrate from the current state regulation dual regulation model to a co regulatory regime whereby the internationally respected selfregulatory mechanism would be enhanced with the cooperation of the state.
The impact of zimbabwean media laws on the work of. Pdf a critique of the key legislative framework guiding. Media laws in zimbabwe by wilbert mandinde follows an analysis of legislation affecting free expression and access to information in zimbabwe. Alternatively the bill should set up an independent body such as the south african information regulator, which is empowered to monitor and enforce compliance by public and private bodies with that countrys promotion of access to information act and protection of personal information act. Zimbabwe, and patience zirima, who coordinates the media alliance of zimbabwe, commented that section 20 of zimbabwes current constitution states that everyone has the right to enjoy freedom of expression without expressly providing for media or press freedom. The influence of aippa on access to politically related. Act 2002 posa, which restricts freedom of association and freedom of assembly.
Original act published and into operation on 15th march 2002 amending act 52003 published and into operation on 10th october 2003 second amending act 212004 published and into operation on 7th january, 2005 third amending act 202007 published and into operation on 11th january, 2008. Aippa, was passed by the parliament of zimbabwe on 31january 2002 and. Access to information and the legislation governing. Therefore aippa, which falls under my ministry, will be repealed as soon as his excellency assents to the zimbabwe media commission bill after being tabled before cabinet and. Prohibition of partnership exceeding twenty m embers. The citizenry share legallybased civil liberties and can use the courts to seek recourse. The chief architects of the act when it was formulated were jonathan moyo and emmerson mnangagwa. Accident and illness prevention program various organizations american institute for pollution prevention now defunct american institute for psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. Act and wcc comment on situation in zimbabwe 23 nov 2017 act alliance has joined with the world council of churches to issue a minute on the situation in zimbabwe from the wccs executive committee meeting in amman, jordan this week after events in zimbabwe have led to the resignation of president robert mugabe. The law was recently invoked by government and used to prevent public gatherings. The statutory zimbabwe media commission is empowered through the access to information and protection of privacy act pdf. Zimbabwe zimbabwes political and media space remains restricted in breach of african.
Charamba is quoted in the staterun daily, the herald of 26 june 2017, reportedly dismissing the basis of civil societys calls for the long overdue repeal of the restrictive law. Application of act to existing companies and savings. Zimbabwe, as a country, cannot embrace posa and aippa and still fall. Kubatana archive media laws in zimbabwe misa zimbabwe. Jan 25, 2020 posa, aippa have no place in democracy newsday zimbabwe. Finance act, 2018 zimbabwe legal information institute. Zimbabwe, as a country, cannot embrace posa and aippa and still fall under the banner of a constitutional democracy. Zimbabwe act to make amendments to acts to bring them into conformity with the constitution. This stakeholder report highlights five areas of concern. Protection of information whose disclosure will be harmful to the law enforcement. Associated newspapers of zimbabwe anz, publishers of the daily news and the daily news on sunday, ranks as aippa s severest blow against freedom of the press in zimbabwe. The access to information and protection of privacy act aippa was enforced in 2002 by the. In terms of entitlement, only citizens of zimbabwe, permanently residents or holders of temporary employment, residence permit or students permit are eligible to make a request.
At independence, the government of zimbabwe inherited the law and order maintenance act loma, which was introduced by the colonial regime in 1960 and was widely used by the rhodesian authorities to suppress any form of civil unrest. Act is a human centred design training and entrepreneurship development organisation. Since zimbabwe has went a step further to create a whole bill aimed at legalizing state surveillance online, it is important to emphasize and make clear the points that. Zimbabwe human rights developments in zimbabwe in 2012 were dominated by the drafting of a new. Pdf a critique of the key legislative framework guiding civil. Posa, aippa have no place in democracy newsday zimbabwe.
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