STATUTES REQUIRING CONSTITUTIONAL ALIGNMENT __________________________________________________________________________________ by section 61(4) of the Constitution. At present members of the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe are appointed by the President after consultation with the Parliamentary Committee on Standing Rules and Orders and the responsible Minister [who is of course appointed by the President]. There is no provision to ensure their neutrality or the breadth of their opinions. • To limit the Minister’s currently absolute power under section 4A of the Act to give policy directions to the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe. • To require the boards of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Company [the successor to the ZBC] and the Mass Media Trust to be politically neutral so as to ensure compliance with section 61(4) (b) of the Constitution [which obliges Stateowned media to be impartial]. Members of the boards are appointed in terms of the company’s articles and the trust’s trust deed respectively, but legislation can and should be enacted to require members to be neutral. • To ensure that public broadcasters are free to determine their editorial content, are impartial, and afford fair opportunity for the presentation of divergent views and dissenting opinions (section 61(4) of the Constitution). The prohibition against issuing broadcasting licences to non-citizens may violate section 56 of the Constitution, in that it discriminates against non-citizens. 10. Censorship and Entertainments Control Act [Chapter 10:04] The Act clearly violates freedom of expression guaranteed by section 61 of the Constitution: • No one is allowed to distribute, televise or show in public any film unless it has been approved by the Censorship Board, and the Board must not approve any film which, in the Board’s opinion, “is indecent or obscene or is offensive or harmful to public morals”, or is “likely” to be contrary to the interests of defence, public safety, public order or the economic interests of the State. The guidelines set out in section 33 of the Act as to what is deemed to be indecent or obscene are so vague and broad that the Board has an unduly wide discretion to approve or prohibit films. • Under section 14 of the Act the Board has power to declare publications, pictures and statues to be “undesirable”, i.e. in the Board’s opinion indecent or obscene or offensive or harmful to public morals. If the Board makes such a declaration then the article concerned cannot be printed, published, made or imported into Zimbabwe. Again the Board has an unduly wide discretion. • Members of the Board of Censors are appointed by the Minister; there are no provisions requiring members to be independent from the executive and ensuring representation of a wide range of opinions and interest groups. 11. Children’s Act [Chapter 5:06]* There should be a general provision at the beginning of the Act stating that all decisions made under the Act must be made in the best interests of the children concerned and so as to confer on the children the rights guaranteed them by section 81 of the Constitution. 4