Harare — Zimbabwe has given its second-ever TV broadcasting licence to a state-owned newspaper group, entrenching the government’s monopoly over the broadcast media ahead of elections expected in a few months. Zimbabwe Newspapers, which runs some of the country’s biggest newspapers and several radio stations, said on Wednesday that it had been issued a TV licence by the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ). BAZ officials were not available to comment. Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, which is also owned by the state, has been the sole broadcaster in the country since it gained independence from Britain in 1980. Government critics accuse state-owned media of biased coverage in favour of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s ruling Zanu-PF and BAZ’s decision is likely to increase calls for licensing of independent broadcasters. State-owned newspapers and TV were official mouthpieces of former president Robert Mugabe, but they quickly switched allegiance to Mnangagwa after Mugabe was fo...
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