New accreditation regulations for journalists

Journalists in Zimbabwe would be required to produce professional qualifications before being issued with press cards under proposed accreditation regulations, the state-run ‘Herald’ newspaper reported on Monday. The Minister of State for Information and Publicity Jonathan Moyo, said the requirement was one of the proposals under consideration as the government reviews accreditation regulations.

He said the proposed Freedom of Information Bill, to be presented to parliament soon, would form the basis of the new accreditation rules. “We have existing accreditation regulations whose implementation had been relaxed if not corrupted and we are now reviewing them in the context of the forthcoming Freedom of Information Bill and fully implement them,” said Moyo.

The government would consult unions that represent journalists on the proposals but not activist organisations that “make noise on behalf of political parties”. Moyo singled out the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) as one such organisation. Last month the government expelled two foreign journalists, the BBC’s Joseph Winter and Mercedes Sayagues a Uruguayan, who writes for the South African ‘Mail & Guardian’.