Technical consolidation of Media Practitioners Bill underway

Source: www.zimbabwesituation.com

Source: Technical consolidation of Media Practitioners Bill underway – herald Walter Nyamukondiwa in KADOMA GOVERNMENT has started the technical consolidation of the draft Media Practitioners Bill, which is expected to entrench professionalism and ethical conduct in journalism practice. The Bill is expected to curb sensationalism, weaponisation of information, free-loading and the proliferation of unethical and unqualified chancers. The move follows consultations with stakeholders, including civil society organisations and other interested parties.

Speaking at a Media Practitioners Bill writeshop (an intensive, participatory workshop) in Kadoma, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Dr Zhemu Soda – represented by his deputy, Dr Omphile Marupi – said the uncanny desire for clicks had upended established journalism ethics that ensure fair coverage of issues. Deputy Minister Marupi “The public is tired of sensationalism, false balance, and the weaponisation of information,” Minister Soda said. “We have witnessed too many instances where the desire for clicks has overridden the duty to verify, where partisanship has replaced public interest. This Bill must entrench a binding ethical code – not as a suggestion, but as a standard.” He said ethics were the cornerstone of journalism. “A journalist who lacks ethics is like a builder without a plumb line: whatever they construct cannot stand the test of time,” he said.

Journalists and journalism, Dr Soda said, must survive and thrive amid disruptive technologies, including artificial intelligence, social media algorithms, and deepfakes. “The Media Practitioners Bill must prepare our practitioners for this new reality. We need provisions on digital literacy, verification protocols, and the ethical use of AI in news gathering and dissemination.” While efforts are underway to introduce the Bill, the Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) remains the constitutional regulator as a Chapter 12 independent commission. “Therefore, any professional body, any self-governing council, any co-regulatory mechanism that emerges under this Bill – or under any other legislation – must do so under the spirit of co-regulation,” Minister Soda emphasised. “That means they must remain subordinate to the ZMC at all times. They must not, and shall not, usurp the authority of the ZMC.

Co-regulation is not the abdication of constitutional mandate; it is the intelligent delegation of certain operational functions while the ultimate oversight, appellate authority, and standard-setting power remains firmly where the Constitution placed it.” Government arms, including the Information Ministry, the Zimbabwe Media Commission and drafters from the Attorney-General’s office, have converged in Kadoma to fine-tune parameters for the proposed Bill. “We are here because the status quo is no longer tenable. For too long, the title ‘journalist’ has been claimed by those without training, without ethics, and without accountability. This Bill seeks to establish clear standards of competence, entry qualifications, and continuous professional development,” said Minister Soda.

Government, he said, wants a media corps that is knowledgeable, skilled, and proud of its craft. Permanent Secretary Mr Nick Mangwana said the writeshop was for technical consolidation of the draft Bill. He noted that journalism presents unique challenges when compared to other professions. “When it comes to the gathering and processing of news, the equation changes completely,” he said. “It is incredibly difficult to exclude those who are unqualified, untrained, or frankly those who are downright unethical because information is not a physical courtroom or theatre.

It is pervasive. “A person with a smartphone and a social media account can gather and disseminate to millions in seconds without a licence, without ethics, and without accountability.” He said old models of exclusion could not work in the digital age, making policing difficult. The technical team is now in the writing phase after the completion of consultations with stakeholders, including civil society organisations. State Advocate Mr Jameson Mukaratirwa said amendments to the Zimbabwe Media Commission Act had been completed, while sticking points had delayed work on the Media Practitioners Bill. “Given that anyone can disseminate information, whether professional or non-professional, it became necessary that if we needed to come up with a Media Practitioners Bill, we needed a clear distinction as to who is a media practitioner,” said Advocate Mukaratirwa.

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Related topics: Media Practitioners Bill, Government, Journalism Ethics, Legislation, Information Minister, Policy, Regulation, Zimbabwe, Media Regulation

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