Bad News!!! Mahoso’s Term At MIC Extended

Reporting By The Financial Gazette
THE government has extended indefinitely the term of the Tafataona Mahoso-led Media and Information Commission (MIC) board, a move that could signify its desire to keep a tight rein on the media.
Acting Information Minister Paul Mangwana said the commission's term of office had been extended because of pending legal issues that needed to be resolved.
"We have extended the term indefinitely because there are a number of issues that need to be made clear as you know that the MIC has been taken to court," he said in reference to the dispute between the commission and Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe (ANZ).
The MIC, which is the country's media regulatory body, has courted controversy during its previous terms of office, with Mahoso being described by media activists as 'Zimbabwe's media hangman'.
It has presided over the closure of ANZ titles The Daily News and its sister weekly The Daily News on Sunday. The weekly Tribune and the Bulawayo-based Weekly Times have also fallen victims to the draconian regulations enforced by the MIC.
This year, Justice Rita Makarau set aside the MIC's July 2005 decision to deny the ANZ an operating licence, citing a Supreme Court judgment that found bias on Mahoso's part.
The commission comprises Mahoso, former Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings chief executive Rino Zhuwarara, Pascal Mukondiwa, Alphinos Makoni, Dephne Tomana, Sephat Mlambo and Jonathan Maphenduka.
Maphenduka, who tendered his resignation last year in protest against the decision to deny the publishers of the Daily News a licence, continues to be included on the list of reappointed commissioners.