Zimbabwe Slaps Import Duty on Foreign Publications

Foreign publications will now attract import duty to enter Zimbabwe as the southern African country tightens the noose on operations of the media, a state daily reported here Saturday.

The Herald daily said the new regulations classified imported newspapers, journals and periodicals as luxury goods that should attract duty in foreign currency.

President Robert Mugabe’s government has during the past three months threatened to further tighten Zimbabwe’s media space after accusing foreign publications of peddling lies about the country.

Mugabe’s spokesman, George Charamba, last month announced plans to make the foreign media houses pay for distributing their publications in Zimbabwe.

The country has seen a proliferation of foreign publications, mostly from South Africa, since the political and economic crisis started eight years ago.

One of them, The Zimbabwean, is produced by locals living in exile in the United Kingdom and has wrestled a huge chunk of the readership of weekly newspapers.

Source African Press Agency

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