Mahoso has 'subversive' papers in his sights

Mahoso has 'subversive' papers in his sights

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By Staff Reporter

THE head of Zimbabwe's media regulatory body wants to tighten press laws to control the distribution of "subversive material of foreign origin," reports said Tuesday.

Zimbabwe's Media and Information Commission (MIC) has control over which newspapers are published in the country.

But a few foreign publications that are often critical of President Robert Mugabe's government are distributed in Zimbabwe, to the apparent annoyance of the authorities.

The papers include weeklies such as The Zimbabwean, which is published in Britain; South Africa's Mail and Guardian newspaper and the Sunday Times of South Africa.

"It is essential that we should regulate both the publishers and the distributors," MIC chairman Tafataona Mahoso was quoted as saying.

He did not name the offending publications.

"Those distributors who import foreign periodicals should indicate where they are procuring such periodicals," Mahoso said.

He was speaking to a parliamentary committee on transport and communications.

Mugabe signed the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) into law shortly after winning presidential elections in 2002. Since then at least four local papers have been closed down and dozens of journalists - both local and foreign - arrested.

Meanwhile, the state-run news agency is "on the brink of collapse," it was revealed.

Some members of staff from the agency, known as New Ziana, are "failing to come to work because of poor salaries which were sometimes paid too late," the chairperson of the parliamentary committee on transport and communications, Leo Mugabe - a nephew of President Robert Mugabe - was quoted as saying. - Sapa-dpa
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