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Broadcasting
Services Act, 2001
Incorporates
Act 3/2001, 22/2001 (s. 4)1 ,
26/2001 (s. 10)2 ; 6/20033
September 19, 2003
Contents
PART
III
Licensing
of Broadcasting Services and Systems
6. Repealed
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 …4
TOP
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) a fine not exceeding five million dollars
or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years, where the offence
involves the unlicensed provision of any broadcasting service referred
to in paragraphs (a) to (f) of subsection (2); or
(b) a fine not exceeding level ten or to
imprisonment for a period not exceeding three months, where the offence
involves the unlicensed provision of any broadcasting service referred
to in paragraphs (g) to (j) of subsection (2)
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).
(7)5
Both the person responsible for recording the programmes used in a railcasting
or roadcasting service and the operator of the public service vehicle
or railway service who broadcasts such programmes for reception by passengers
of such public service vehicle or railway service shall apply for a licence
to provide a railcasting or roadcasting service, as the case may be.
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—
(a) whose broadcasting
service or signal transmission station is wholly or partly funded by
foreign donations or contributions; or
(b) which is a subsidiary
company as defined in section 143 the Companies Act [Chapter 24:03],
or whose broadcasting service is provided as agent for, or under a franchise
from, another person; or
(c) 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
(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
for a licence to provide any of the broadcasting services specified in
paragraphs (a), (c), (d), (e) and (f) of subsection (2) of section seven,
who is 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 or her suitability to be licensed, at a time and place to be determined
in a written notice to such applicant.8
(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)9
After a consideration of an application for a licence in terms of this
section, whether after a public inquiry or otherwise, the Authority may
issue or refuse to issue the licence sought and notify the applicant of
its decision and, in the case of a refusal to issue a licence, of the
reasons thereof.
(10)10
… [Repealed]
(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)11
A licence for a broadcasting service specified in paragraphs (a) to (f)
of subsection (2) of section seven shall be valid for a period of ten
years.
(3)12
A licence for a broadcasting service specified in paragraphs (g) to (j)
of subsection (2) of section seven shall be valid for a period of two
years.
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)13
Subsections (3), (4), (9), (10) and (11) of section ten shall apply, mutatis
mutandis, to an application to renew the licence.
15 Amendment
of licence14
TOP
(1) Subject to this
section, 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) for any reasons
connected with regulating the technical administration, technical operation
or general efficiency of telephony, telegraphy, posts, wireless broadcasting
or television, or connected with the interests of defence, public safety,
public order, the economic interests of the State, public morality or
public health; or
(c) if the licensee
requests an amendment; or
(d) if the Authority
considers the amendment necessary to reflect the true nature of the
service, system or business which the licensee is conducting.
(2) Before amending
a licence in terms of subsection (1), otherwise than at the request of
the licensee, the Authority to notify the licensee in writing of the nature
of the amendment it proposes to make and of its reasons for wishing to
make the amendment, and shall give the licensee thirty days to make representations
in the matter.
(3) Where a licensee
requests an amendment of its licence and the Authority—
(a) refuses the
request, it shall, within ten days after reaching its decision, notify
the licensee in writing of its decision and of its reasons for it;
(b) proposes to
amend the license as requested, it shall afford the Minister an opportunity
to make representations to it concerning the proposal, and subsections
(9) and (11) of section ten shall apply to such proposal as if it were
a proposal to issue a licence.
16 Suspension
and cancellation of licences TOP
(1)15 Subject
to this section, the Authority, on its own initiative or at the request
of the Minister, 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)16 Before
taking any action in terms of subsection (1), the Authority shall notify
the licensee in writing of its 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)17 After
receiving any representations from the licensee in terms of subsection
(2) the Authority shall, if it is of the opinion that the evidence referred
to in subsection (1) justifies such a course, 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)18 If,
at the conclusion of a public inquiry held in terms of subsection (3),
the Authority is satisfied for any reason specified in subsection (1)
that the licence concerned should be suspended or cancelled, the Authority
shall, by notice in writing to the licensee, suspend or cancel the licence
or take such other action as it 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.
1 Criminal Penalties
Amendment Act, 2001 (commencement: 20th May, 2002).
2 Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (Commercialisation) Act, 2001 (commencement:
2nd February, 2002)
3 Broadcasting Services Amendment Act, 2003 (commencement: 19th September.
2003).
4 Section repealed
by s. 5 of Act 6/2003.
5 Subsection substituted by s. 6 of Act 6/2003.
6 Subsection inserted by s. 6 of Act 6/2003.
7 Subsection substituted by s. 10(c) of Act 26/2001.
8 Subsection substituted by s. 7 of Act 6/2003.
9 Subsection substituted by s. 7 of Act 6/2003.
10 Subsection (10) repealed by s. 7 of Act 6/2003.
11 Subsection substituted by s. 8 of Act 6/2003.
12 Subsection substituted by s. 8 of Act 6/2003.
13 Subsection substituted by s. 9 of Act 6/2003.
14 Section substituted by s. 10 of Act 6/2003.
15 Introductory words amended by s. 11 of Act 6/2003.
16 Subsection amended by s. 11 of Act 6/2003.
17 Subsection amended by s. 11 of Act 6/2003.
18 Subsection substituted by s. 11 of Act 6/2003.
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