For a long time now, a number of Zimbabweans have been in up in arms against paying ZBC viewer and listener’s licence fees. The road blitzes by ZBC and the police have amplified the animosity.
This culminated in Jessie Majome’s lawsuit, pleading that we should not pay TV licence fees unless we have explicitly applied to receive ZBC’s signal. A form of subscription based viewership model, if you like.
A few models have been tossed around, one that licence fees should be collected by the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ), while the subscription model seems popular in my circles.
That BAZ should collect licence fees is predicated on an assumption of fairness and probably that they will distribute the money fairly. The problem with this is that BAZ is a regulatory body, regulating the entire broadcasting sector, while licence fees are only for ZBC or any other state broadcaster.
Therefore, it would be entirely unfair for a regulator to start micro-managing how a player in its sector works and how it spends its money.
The subscription model, quite popular, is also too idealistic. I have not watched ZBC in years and I would not pay a cent to it, and so I must be happy with this, right?
For starters ZBC is a national institution and that means it is our duty that it is kept running through taxes, the licence fees. While this may not be a popular opinion, I believe we should continue paying licence fees, but while doing so demand more accountability from the people we entrust our money with.
Without blaming the victims, us the audiences, there is a need to inculcate a culture where we demand accountability from ZBC on what it does with our money and how we would like them to spend it.
ZBC was modelled along the UK’s BBC. While they too in the UK have issues with licences, they are willing to pay, as the public has a say in how licence fees are used and there is some form of transparency.
While Majome is right with her lawsuit, I believe we should work more on strengthening our institutions, instead of getting rid of them simply because they don’t work for us.
In the 1980s, the government set up the Zimbabwe Mass Media Trust, which was supposed to act as a buffer between the media and the government. This was to prevent political meddling in the operations of the media, particularly Zimpapers.
Well the Mass Media Trust is dead as a dodo now, but it was an experiment that showed that with strong institutions, we can get the public media to do its role, serve the public.
My main problem with the subscription model is that it may prove exclusionary, particularly for the rural and poor folk that may not be able to afford paying subscriptions.
There will also be no incentive for ZBC or Transmedia to invest in making sure that the whole country receives TV or radio coverage, as outlying areas will not be able to afford the subscriptions and they will be denied access to a public resource.
Also, if few people subscribe to ZBC, it means the subscriptions would have to be raised so ZBC can meet its obligations and in this economy, it means fewer and fewer people would subscribe and the net effect would be the collapse of a national institution we once treasured.
I know in 35 years since independence, ZBC does not cover the whole country, but if we had stronger institutions and a culture of accountability, we would ask why they have failed to make sure the whole country has network and demand that they spread coverage.
I propose that we should work on reforming ZBC, challenging the way its run right up to the Constitutional Court if we have to, rather than watch it die.
Many would argue that they would only pay TV licences when programming improves, while ZBC will say programming will only improve when we pay their licences and so we are stuck with the current situation.
But more than licensing, the issue of strengthening ZBC as an institution first, while licences and programming are secondary. As the paying public, we should have a say in what we watch and ZBC should be accountable to us.
Source: www.bonisanani.wordpress.com
Joe Black / August 20, 2015
Bhadhara iwewe. Handidi
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Marcus Aurelius / August 20, 2015
Your argument fails to recognise one point, you can howl all you want about accountability for your money from a government body, and you will only manage to get yourself hoarse. Accountability in government in Zimbabwe is a pie in the sky. So when people refuse to pay for ZBC licences its because they are just hoarse from demanding accountability that never comes. Besides, you pay for a product, not for the promise of a product. ZBC is a vendor, like any other, competing for my dollar, so they cant claim that I first have to pay then they can give me a product. Never heard pick n pay say that!
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Nyamasvisva / August 20, 2015
The problem is not about paying licences, itsall about programming and political interference, i cant pay licences to watch zvavanhu, chimurenga files or the commissioning of an ice cream line, i want programming that resonates with me, news that is fair and as a national broadcaster be able to hold government to account expose corruption and during elections give fair play to all players, if this is not done i agree with Jessie lets gothe subs route.
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