Harare — THE Public Order and Security Act, the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act and the Broadcasting Services Act will soon be amended as the Government moves to address concerns raised over them.

The security and media laws were on the agenda of inter-party talks between Zanu-PF and the MDC under a Sadc initiative brokered by South African President Thabo Mbeki.

One of the proposed changes to Posa is that those who intend to organise public meetings, political rallies or demonstrations will now appeal to a magistrates' court if the regulating authority (police) prohibit them from holding the planned meetings or demonstrations.

Presently, they are required to appeal to the Minister of Home Affairs.

But a new Section 27A prohibits gatherings in the vicinity of Parliament, a court or any protected place or area declared as such in terms of the Protected Areas and Places Act unless permission is given by the Speaker, Chief Justice, Judge President or responsible authority of the protected place.

The other amendment to Posa would be to make mandatory the requirement for the police to give notice to the organiser of an affected public gathering where they have evidence that disorder may ensue if the gathering is allowed to take place.

Police will be required to enter into dialogue with the organisers of the gathering before prohibiting the meeting from taking place.

The dialogue is to ensure that the gathering may take place safely, and only if this is not possible will the police be empowered to issue a prohibition order.

Under the existing Section 26 of the Act, police have power to prohibit a public gathering if they believe the gathering is likely to cause public disorder.

Furthermore, police under the present Section 27 have power to prohibit all public gatherings within their area of authority for up to three months where they believe the powers they have under Section 25 and 26 will not be sufficient to prevent public disorder.

Presently organisers are required to give seven days' written notice of their gatherings to a senior police officer designated as the regulatory authority for the area concerned.

But Section 4 will be amended to deem that notice to have been properly given if it is delivered to the most senior officer present in the police station closest in proximity to the place where the gathering is proposed to be held.

AIPPA will be amended and reconstitute the Media and Information Commission as the Zimbabwe Media Commission.

The commission shall consist of a chairperson and eight other members appointed by the President from a list of not fewer than 12 nominees submitted by the Parliamentary Committee on Standing Rules and Orders.

The commissioners will be chosen on the basis of their experience in the media.

A clause will be inserted in the Act to establish a Media Council appointed by the commission.

The Media Council will be responsible for developing and enforcing a code of conduct and ethics to be observed by journalists and mass media services.

It will be made up of a chairperson who shall be any member of the Zimbabwe Media Commission chosen by the commission other than the chairperson or deputy chairperson of the commission. Two representatives of an association of accredited journalists, nominated by one or more associations of journalists that, in the opinion of the commission, are fairly representative of journalists and appointed by the commission, will also be part of the commission.

Other representatives in the council will be from associations of publishers, advertisers or advertising agencies, representatives of mass media trainers, churches, businesspeople, trade unions, women's groups, youth groups and two lawyers, one practising and another teaching law at a tertiary institution.

A new clause will be inserted in AIPPA to specify with greater particularity what privileges accrue to accredited journalists and simplify the procedure of accrediting journalists.

Two more clauses will propose to extend the period of registration of mass media services from two to five years and mitigate the rule contained in the principal Act that Zimbabweans alone must wholly own or control mass media services.

Amendments to the Broadcasting Services Act will see the reconstitution of the existing Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe Board. Three of its members will be appointed by the President from a list of six nominees submitted by the Parliamentary Committee on Standing Rules and Orders.

The committee will also have a consultative role in the appointment of the other nine members and in the disciplining, suspension or dismissal of members of the board.

Another clause proposes to mitigate the rule contained in Section 8 of the Act that Zimbabweans alone must wholly own or control broadcasting services.

Other amendments will regulate the operations of public, commercial and community broadcasters.

Public broadcasters will be required to provide news and public affairs programming which meet the highest standards of journalism, and which is fair and unbiased and independent from Government, commercial or other interests.

The Bills were published in last Friday's Government Gazette and will soon be presented to Parliament for debate and approval.