Zimbabwe’s banned independent Daily News has been licensed, in a development that will be seen as a major step towards reform in the country.
The newspaper and its sister paper, the Daily News on Sunday, were banned in 2003 after refusing to register under the country’s repressive media laws. But a high court later ruled that the government reconsider a fresh application from the Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ), publishers of the papers.
A special committee set up by the government to hear the application on Thursday wrote to ANZ to inform them that their application had been successful.
”This letter serves to advise you that your application for registration as a mass media service provider was successful. The special board committee mandated by the then minister of information to adjudicate on your application is satisfied that you have complied with the provisions of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA),” Edward Dube, head of the committee writes.
ANZ, Dube says, ”is therefore advised to contact the relevant authority for their licence”.
Dube has also written a separate letter to the Ministry of Information informing the government of his decision.
There was no immediate comment from the ministry as to whether the paper would in fact be allowed to operate.
Under consitutional amendments agreed as part of the formation of the unity government, the Media and Information Commission, the body that was previously tasked with licensing media in Zimbabwe, is to be replaced by a new commission jointly appointed by the parties to the government.
Media freedom is a key condition by Western governments, who have held back crucial aid until more reform is seen. This week, the BBC and CNN were allowed to report from inside Zimbabwe for the first time in eight years.