The BAZ board is mandated, among other functions, to invite and consider applications for all broadcasting licenses and it is yet to be constituted.
In December 2017, parliament had only shortlisted 12 candidates, of which six were to be considered by President Emmerson Mnangagwa for appointment to sit on BAZ.
Despite the absence of a BAZ board, some companies in the last few months received webcasting and video-on-demand licenses.
In May 2018, Econet Zimbabwe issued notices in the local print media announcing that it had acquired three Media Service Licences, which were: a Video-on-Demand Licence, a Webcasting Licence, and a Content Distribution Licence.
Econet said these licenses were issued by BAZ in terms of Section 10 of the Broadcasting Services Act.
Zimpapers was also awarded a content distribution license, reported to have been approved by the authority.
Recently in September 2018, diversified media group Alpha Media Holdings (AMH) was also awarded a licence for online television and radio channels.
Magwegwe MP Anele Ndebele (MDC) told Parliament on Wednesday that the Ministry of Media, Information and Broadcasting Services had usurped the powers of BAZ by issuing those media licences.
Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said she had only been recently appointed but would look into the issue.
"This has been happening in absence of substantive Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe board. My question to the minister is this: is her ministry usurping powers and roles of BAZ?"
In response, Mutsvangwa said her ministry, as the mandate demanded was looking at all the parastatals and had just begun familiarising themselves with the legislative framework.
"I just wanted to assure the Honourable Member who has just asked the question about BAZ. We appreciate the work which BAZ has to do and as a minister who has been appointed hardly three weeks ago, we have already started working on that. We need a board in place. It is a constitutional legality and we need to put a board in place," she said.
The minister added that Zimbabweans should brace for a lot of good from her ministry.
"This ministry's mandate is about changing the image of this country. It is about rebranding Zimbabwe. It is about making sure that we move together as Zimbabweans before we think of any other differences. We will move together, we will take advice and suggestions. We will bring all those ideas on the table so that we chart the right transformational development agenda which we need for this country."
However, Ndebele insisted the minister had failed to answer his question regarding the legality of issuing out the licenses.
"The import of my question was to point out an illegality which was that they were issuing out licences fairly recently in the absence of that particular board, which is mandated with issuing those licenses…
"I believe I have not been answered… it is not lost on us that the three companies that got those licences are pro-Zanu PF."
Mutsvangwa, who seemed unaware about the illegality, requested the MP to furnish her ministry with more details.
"I think the Honourable Member seems to have more information about what could have happened and that kind of information we would welcome it - if he can send a paper on it. Who exactly received the licence? Who received it illegally and we will certainly deal with it. These are the issues which we are dealing with," she said.
