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Blessings Chidakwa Municipal Correspondent
GOVERNMENT has gazetted registration fees for accreditation of journalists by the Zimbabwe Media Commission, with locals required to pay $120 for a new applicant, $80 renewal and $50 for a card replacement.

Last year, local journalists were paying $10 for new applicants and $5 renewal, and these fees were gazetted in 2014 during the US dollar era.

A Zimbabwean working for a foreign media house will pay an accreditation fee of US$200, while a foreign journalist manning a representative office of a foreign media service will pay an accreditation fee of US$300.

The new fees are effective from January, 1 this year.

This was contained in Statutory 79 of 2020 titled, “Access to Information and Protection of Privacy (Registration, Accreditation and Levy) (Amendment) Regulations, 2020 (No. 8)”, which repealed the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy (Registration, Accreditation and Levy) Regulations, 2014 (No. 7), published in Statutory Instrument 40 of 2014.

“It is hereby notified that the Commission has, with the approval of the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, in terms of section 91 of the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (Chapter 10:27), made the regulations,” reads the Statutory Instrument.

“The First Schedule to the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy (Registration, Accreditation and Levy) Regulations, 2002, published in Statutory Instrument 169 of 2002, is repealed and substituted with the new regulations.”

The fee for a temporary accreditation for a foreign journalist is US$150, while for the extension of accreditation period is US$50.

Productions or Projects will attract a US$2 000 fee.

According to the Gazette, there would be a special accreditation fee for those from the SADC bloc.

They will pay US$30, while the rest of Africa pays US$50 and others US$100.

The gazette also contains fees for the application for registration of mass media with application service fee being $2 000, registration fee $15 000, renewal of registration fee $10 000 and late renewal of registration $5 000.

Application fee for registration of community mass media service is $1 000, registration fee $5 000, renewal of registration fee $3 000 and late renewal of registration $2 000.

The application fee for registration of news agency is $1 000, registration fee $8 000, renewal of registration fee $5 000 and late renewal of registration $3 000.