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Another
media house shut down
MISA-Zimbabwe
June 10, 2004
The government
appointed Media and Information Commission (MIC) has shut down yet
another media house, The Africa Tribune Newspapers, (ATN) publishers
of The Tribune newspaper on allegations of breaching section 67
of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA).
MIC closed the paper in terms of section of section 71 of AIPPA.
In a Press statement,
MIC chairperson Tafataona Mahoso says that the media house breached
section 67 which stipulates that the commission must be informed
of any changes in the titles, frequency and ownership of a licensed
Media house. MIC says the media house failed to:
- Report material
changes in terms of section 67
- Failure to
answer critical questions once the opportunity to do so was provided.
- Misrepresentation
of important information in an attempt to mislead the Commission.
MIC says as
a result of the reasons provided, the newspaper will be shut down
for a year. The publisher of The Tribune, Kindness Paradza told
MISA-Zimbabwe that the MIC letter to the ATN states that ATN failed
to inform the MIC that The Tribune newspaper, initially published
on Thursdays as The Business Tribune and on Saturdays as The Weekend
Tribune had been merged into one, The Tribune is now published on
Fridays only. Paradza adds that the letter states that the paper
changed its title, imprint and ownership without notifying the MIC.
The letter also states that the paper employed an unaccredited journalist,
Bekithemba Mhlanga as a reporter. Paradza informed MISA-Zimbabwe
that they never employed Mhlanga who made contributions, through
the "Letters to the editor" pages. Paradza also said that
they will challenge the closure in court tomorrow.
Background
Section
67 and 71 of AIPPA reads:
67
Notification of changes
A mass media
service shall be required to notify the Commission of any changes
if –
(a) the
owner is replaced;
(b)
the co-owners change;
(c)
the name, language, form and frequency of the periodical dissemination
of mass media is altered;
(d)
the area where the mass media products are circulated is changed;
(e)
the editorial office changes its place of location and form.
71
Suspension, cancellation and enforcement of registration certificates
(1) Subject
to this section, the Commission may, whether on its own initiative
or upon the investigation of a complaint made by any interested
person against the mass media service, suspend or cancel the
registration certificate of a mass media service if it has reasonable
grounds for believing that--
(a) the
registration certificate was issued in error or through fraud
or there has been a misrepresentation or non-disclosure of a
material fact by the mass media owner concerned; or
(b) a mass
media service concerned does not publish or go on air within
twelve months from the date or registration; or
(c) the
mass media service concerned has contravened sections sixty-six,
seventy-six, and ninety-one or this Act; or (sic)
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