|
Back to Index
Broadcasting
Services Act, 2001
April 04, 2001
Contents
PART
III
Licensing
of Broadcasting Services and Systems
6. Licensing
authority
7. Broadcasting
and signal carrier licences
8. Persons
disqualified to be licensed
9. Restrictions
in relation to the issue of certain licences
10. Application
for licence
11. Terms
and conditions of licence
12. Form
and period of validity of licence
13. Register
of licences
14. Renewal
of licence
15. Amendment
of licence
16. Suspension
and cancellation of licences
17. Licensee
to inform Authority of changes
18. Transfer
of licences prohibited
6 Licensing
authority TOP
Subject to this Act,
the Minister shall be the licensing authority for the purpose of licensing
any person to provide a broadcasting service or operate as a signal carrier
in Zimbabwe.
7 Broadcasting
and signal carrier licences TOP
(1) Subject to this Act, and the Zimbabwe
Broadcasting Corporation Act [Chapter 12:01], no person shall
provide a broadcasting service or operate as a signal carrier in Zimbabwe
except in accordance with a broadcasting licence or a signal carrier licence,
as the case may be.
(2) A broadcasting licence shall authorise
the licensee to provide any one of the following classes of broadcasting
service—
(a) a commercial broadcasting service;
(b) a community broadcasting service;
(c) a subscription satellite broadcasting
service;
(d) a subscription cable broadcasting
service;
(e) a subscription narrowcasting service;
(f) an open narrowcasting service;
(g) a datacasting service;
(h) a roadcasting service;
(i) a railcasting service;
(j) a webcasting service.
(3) A signal carrier licence shall authorise
a licensee to operate a signal transmitting station for the purpose of
transmitting a radio or television broadcasting service.
(4) Any person who contravenes subsection (1)
shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding $5,000,000
or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years or to both such
fine and such imprisonment.
(5) In addition to any punishment it may
impose under subsection (4) and without derogation from its powers
under any enactment, a court convicting a person of contravening subsection (1)
shall declare forfeited to the State any equipment or apparatus used for
the purpose of or in connection with the offence.
(6) The proviso to subsection (1)
and subsections (3), (4), (5) and (6) of section 62 of the Criminal
Procedure and Evidence Act [Chapter 9:07] shall apply, mutatis
mutandis, in relation to a declaration in terms of subsection (5).
8 Persons
disqualified to be licensed TOP
(1) Subject to subsection (3), a
broadcasting licence shall be issued only to individuals who are citizens
of Zimbabwe and ordinarily resident in Zimbabwe or to a body corporate
in which a controlling interest is held, whether through any individual,
company or association or otherwise, by one or more individuals who are
citizens of Zimbabwe and ordinarily resident in Zimbabwe.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1)
"controlling interest" means—
(a) all of the securities in the body
corporate; or
(b) securities representing all of the
share capital of the body corporate; or
(c) securities equivalent in value to
100 per centum of the share capital of the body corporate; or
(d) securities entitling the holders
thereof to all the votes in the affairs of the body corporate.
(3) No licence for a community broadcasting
service, commercial broadcasting service or datacasting service shall
be issued to a person other than a body corporate.
(4) No licence shall be issued to an applicant
who does not comply with Part IV.
(5) No applicant that is a body corporate
shall be qualified to be licensed if any one person holds or controls
more than 10 per centum of the securities in that body corporate.
(6) No person convicted of an offence
in terms of this Act, the Postal and Telecommunications Act [Chapter 12:05]
or the Radiocommunication Services Act [Chapter 12:04] before
its repeal by the Postal and Telecommunications Act [Chapter 12:05]
shall be licensed.
(7) No applicant shall be licensed if
the applicant or any director of the applicant—
(a) has, in terms of a law in force
in any country—
(i) been adjudged or otherwise declared
insolvent or bankrupt and has not been rehabilitated or discharged;
or
(ii) made an assignment to, or arrangement
or composition with, his creditors which has not been rescinded or
set aside; or
(b) has, within the period of five years
immediately preceding the date of his proposed appointment, been convicted—
(i) in Zimbabwe, of an offence; or
(ii) outside Zimbabwe, in respect
of conduct which, if committed in Zimbabwe, would constitute an offence;
and sentenced to a term of imprisonment
exceeding six months imposed without the option of a fine, whether or
not any portion has been suspended, and has not received a free pardon.
9 Restrictions
in relation to the issue of certain licences TOP
(1) Only one licence to provide a national
free-to-air radio broadcasting service and one licence to provide a national
free-to-air television broadcasting service shall be issued in addition
to the national broadcasting services provided by any public broadcaster.
(2) Only one signal carrier licence shall
be issued to a person other than a public broadcaster.
(3) With the exception of a public broadcaster,
a broadcasting licence and a signal carrier licence shall not be issued
to the same person.
10 Application
for licence TOP
(1) The Authority shall, if it determines
that there is a need for the provision of additional broadcasting services,
and after carrying out its functions in terms of the First Schedule, publish
a notice in the Gazette and in a national newspaper inviting applications
for licences to provide the broadcasting services or systems specified
in the notice.
(2) Subject to subsection (1), an
application for a licence shall be submitted to the Authority in the form
and manner prescribed, and be accompanied by the prescribed fee and such
information or documents as may be prescribed or as the Authority may
require, including information concerning any tariff required in terms
of section 44.
(3) Within seven days of submitting his
application in the prescribed manner and form, an applicant shall publish
his application in a national newspaper at his own expense and in a manner
and form approved by the Authority, and the Authority shall not consider
the application until it has received proof of such publication.
(4) Within 14 days of the publication
of an application for a licence, any person having any objection to the
application may lodge a written objection with the Authority.
(5) The Authority shall examine all applications
and objections thereto with a view to short-listing those applicants who,
in its opinion, may qualify to be licensed.
(6) Every applicant short-listed in terms
of subsection (5) shall be required to attend a public inquiry conducted
by the Authority for the purpose of determining his suitability to be
licensed, at a time and place to be determined in a written notice to
such applicant.
(7) The Authority may refuse to consider
an application if, upon receiving satisfactory proof of service of the
notice referred to in subsection (6), the applicant fails to attend
the inquiry.
(8) For the purposes of a public inquiry
held in terms of subsection (6), the members of the Authority shall
have all of the powers, rights, privileges and duties conferred or imposed
upon a commissioner by the Commissions of Inquiry Act [Chapter 10:07],
other than the power to order a person to be detained in custody, and
sections 9 to 13 and 15 to 18 of that Act shall apply, mutatis
mutandis, in relation to any hearing conducted by the Authority and
to any person summoned to give or giving evidence for the purpose of the
hearing.
(9) After consideration of an application
for a licence in terms of this section, the Authority may recommend that
the Minister issue or refuse to issue a broadcasting licence to the applicant.
(10) On receiving the recommendations
of the Authority in terms of subsection (9) upon any application
for a licence, the Minister may issue or refuse to issue the licence sought
and direct the Authority to notify the applicant in writing of his decision
and, in the case of a refusal to issue a licence, of the reasons therefor.
(11) Within 30 days after the issue of
a licence in terms of subsection (10) the licensee shall, at his
own expense, cause the licence to be published in a national newspaper.
11 Terms
and conditions of licence TOP
(1) A licence shall be issued subject
to—
(a) this Act; and
(b) the standard conditions specified
in the Fifth Schedule; and
(c) such terms and conditions as the
Minister may reasonably determine after consultation with the Authority:
Provided that conditions of broadcasting
licences must be relevant to the category of broadcasting services to
which those licences relate.
(2) Without limiting the range of conditions
that may be imposed, the Minister may in addition impose a condition on
a broadcasting licensee—
(a) requiring the licensee to comply
with a code of conduct that is applicable to the licensee in terms of
section 24; or
(b) designed to ensure that a breach
of a condition by the licensee does not recur.
(3) Every licence for the provision of
a radio, television or subscription cable broadcasting service shall be
issued subject to the local content conditions specified in the Sixth
Schedule.
(4) Not less than 10 per centum of
total programming content broadcast by any licensee shall be—
(a) in any of the national aboriginal
languages of Zimbabwe other than Shona and Ndebele; and
(b) in the case of a television broadcasting
licensee, in a manner that may be understood by audiences who have a
hearing impairment.
(5) A licensee shall make one hour cumulatively
per week of its broadcasting time available for the purpose of enabling
the Government of the day, at its request, to explain its policies to
the nation.
(6) A licensee shall observe and comply
with the provisions of the Copyright Act [Chapter 26:01] when
providing his service.
(7) A licensee shall commence to provide
a broadcasting service or operate as a signal carrier, as the case may
be, within six months of the date of the issue of the licence concerned.
(8) No licensee shall, unless generally
or specially authorised in writing by the Minister, employ a person who
is not a citizen of Zimbabwe and ordinarily resident in Zimbabwe to work
or assist in the working or maintenance of a licensed broadcasting service
or signal transmitting station.
(9) It shall be a condition of every signal
carrier licence that the licensee shall comply with the International
Telecommunication Constitution,
(10) A licensee shall not broadcast outside
the licence area of the licence unless he proves to the satisfaction of
the Authority that broadcasting outside that licence area occurred accidentally
or is a necessary result of the provision of the licensee’s broadcasting
services within the licence area.
12 Form
and period of validity of licence TOP
(1) A licence shall be in the prescribed
form and shall specify—
(a) the name and address of the licensee;
and
(b) the date of issue and expiry of
the licence; and
(c) any terms and conditions in addition
to those imposed by this Act subject to which the licence is issued;
and
(d) any other matters which the Minister
considers necessary to give effect to this Act; and
(e) in the case of a corporate licensee,
the shareholding structure of the licensee and the names and other relevant
details of the directors; and
(f) the sources and manner of funding
of the licensee.
(2) A licence, other than a community
broadcasting licence, shall be valid for a period of two years.
(3) A community broadcasting licence shall
be valid for a period of one year.
13 Register
of licences TOP
(1) The Authority shall maintain or cause
to be maintained a register of licences in which shall be recorded, in
relation to each licence—
(a) the name of the licensee; and
(b) any terms and conditions subject
to which the licence was issued; and
(c) any renewal, amendment, suspension
or cancellation of the licence.
(2) The register kept in terms of subsection (1)
shall be open for inspection by members of the public at all reasonable
times at the offices of the Authority on payment of the prescribed fee.
14 Renewal
of licence TOP
(1) Subject to this Act, the holder of
a licence may renew it before it expires.
(2) An application for the renewal of
a licence shall be submitted to the Authority in the form and manner and
within the period prescribed, and be accompanied by the prescribed fee.
(3) Subsections (2) to (10) of section 10
shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to an application to renew a licence.
15 Amendment
of licence TOP
(1) Subject to this section, the Minister,
after consulting the Authority, may at any time amend a licence or any
term or condition of a licence—
(a) to correct any error in the licence;
or
(b) if the licensee requests and is
granted an amendment; or
(c) if the Minister considers the amendment
necessary to reflect the true nature of the service, system or business
which the licensee is conducting; or
(d) if for any other reason the Minister
considers the amendment necessary or desirable in the public interest.
(2) Before amending a licence in terms
of subsection (1), otherwise than at the request of the licensee,
the Minister shall direct the Authority to notify the licensee in writing
of the nature of the amendment he proposes to make and of his reasons
for wishing to make the amendment, and shall give the licensee an adequate
opportunity to make representations in the matter.
(3) If the Minister refuses to amend a
licence at the request of the licensee, he shall, within 10 days after
reaching his decision, direct the Authority to notify the licensee in
writing of his decision and of the reasons for it.
(4) The details of any amendment to a
licence shall be published in the Gazette.
16 Suspension
and cancellation of licences TOP
(1) Subject to this section, the Minister,
after consulting the Authority, may suspend or cancel any licence if there
is evidence that—
(a) the licence was issued in error
or through fraud or the misrepresentation or non-disclosure of a material
fact by the licensee; or
(b) the licensee has contravened any
provision of this Act that is applicable to him; or
(c) the licensee misrepresents the service
or system he offers to the public; or (d) the licensee has ceased to
provide the service or system specified in the licence; or
(e) the licensee has failed to comply
with any term or condition of the licence; or
(f) in the case of a licensee which
is a body corporate, the licensee has been provisionally or finally
wound up or placed under judicial management; or
(g) in the case of a licensee who is
an individual, the estate of the licensee has been provisionally or
finally sequestrated; or
(h) the licensee has acted in a manner
prejudicial to the defence, public safety, public order, public morality
or public health of Zimbabwe; or
(i) the licensee has repeatedly breached
one or more provisions of the code of conduct applicable to that licensee
in terms of section 24, or any standards determined in terms of
section 25.
(2) Before taking any action in terms
of subsection (1), the Minister shall direct the Authority to notify
the licensee in writing of his intention to suspend or cancel the licence
concerned and the reasons for doing so, and shall call upon the licensee
to show cause to the Authority, within seven days of receiving the notice,
why the licence should not be suspended or cancelled, as the case may
be.
(3) After receiving any representations
from the licensee in terms of subsection (2) the Minister shall,
if he is of the opinion that the evidence referred to in subsection (1)
justifies such a course, request the Authority to institute a public inquiry
for the purpose of determining whether or not the licence in question
should be suspended or cancelled.
(4) For the purposes of a public inquiry
held in terms of subsection (3) the members of the Authority shall
have all of the powers, rights, privileges and duties conferred or imposed
upon a commissioner by the Commissions of Inquiry Act [Chapter 10:07],
other than the power to order a person to be detained in custody , and
sections 9 to 13 and 15 to 18 of that Act shall apply, mutatis
mutandis, in relation to any hearing conducted by the Authority and
to any person summoned to give or giving evidence for the purpose of the
hearing.
(5) If, at the conclusion of a public
inquiry held in terms of subsection (3), and on the basis of the
recommendations of the Authority arising from the inquiry, the Minister
is satisfied for any reason specified in subsection (1) that the
licence concerned should be suspended or cancelled, the Minister shall,
by notice in writing to the licensee transmitted through the Authority,
suspend or cancel the licence or take such other action as he considers
appropriate, and publish a notice in the Gazette of such suspension
or cancellation or other action.
(6) No licence shall be of any force or
effect during any period of its suspension.
17 Licensee
to inform Authority of changes TOP
(1) A licensee shall without delay, but
in any case no later than 14 days after he becomes aware of the alteration,
inform the Authority of any material alteration in the information or
particulars furnished by him when he applied for his licence.
(2) A licensee shall without delay inform
the Authority of any transfer to or by any single person of more than
10 per centum of the shares in the licensee.
18 Transfer
of licences prohibited TOP
No licensee shall assign,
cede, pledge, transfer or sell his licence to any other person, or surrender
his programming duties to another entity outside his establishment. Any
such assignment, cession, pledge, transfer, sale or surrender shall be
void.
Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.
TOP
|
