| Victim/
Concerned Party |
Violation/
Event/issue |
Date |
Status
of matter |
| Interception
of Communications Bill |
The
government redrafted the Interception
of Communications Bill 2006 following strong objections
by the Parliamentary Legal Committee on the constitutionality
of its provisions. |
3
November 2006 |
The
revised version still falls far short of meeting the required
constitutional and democratic benchmarks and largely ignores
the inputs and concerns raised by civic society organisations
and the business community. |
| Telecel |
The
High Court suspended the Telecommunications (International
Termination Rates) Statutory Instrument 70 of March 2006 after
mobile operator, Telecel challenged the constitutionality
of the regulation which seeks to force all telecommunications
service providers to utilise the government owned fixed telephone
service provider, Tel*One’s international gateway. |
7
November 2006
|
If
implemented, the law would mean that Tel*One controls all
international communications and receives all foreign currency
accrued from international connections. |
| Independent
Journalists Association of Zimbabwe (IJAZ), Zimbabwe
Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), and Media Institute of
Southern Africa (MISA-Zimbabwe) |
The
African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights deferred a
communication filed jointly by these organisations to their
next session. The communication challenges the constitutionality
of the Access
to Information and Protection of Privacy Act. |
27
November 2006 |
The
ACHPR said it was postponing the issue so as to allow time
for the involved parties to find amicable solutions regarding
contentious legislation in the country. |
| Telecel,
NetOne, Econet |
Mobile
phone operators in the country were allegedly issued with
the wrong licenses by the Posts and Telecommunications Regulatory
Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ). The license that they were
meant to be given allow the government to intercept all telephony
communications. |
28
November 2006 |
In
his oral evidence before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee
on Transport and Communications, Colonel Livingstone Chineka,
Defence Forces director of communications, said the licenses
in question should be revoked to link their base stations
with the Mazowe Earth Station run by Tel*One. This would enable
the government to intercept all telephony communications as
is being considered under the Interception of Communications
Bill. |
