Zimbabwe President, Emmerson Mnangagwa has signed into law a contentious new law requiring motorists to purchase a radio license before they can renew their vehicle licenses or buy car insurance, in a move to generate tens of millions of dollars annually for the cash-strapped Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC).
Mnangagwa’s assent to the Broadcasting Amendment Act (No 2 of 2025) was announced in a notice published in the Government Gazette on May 23.
Motorists will now pay $23 per quarter or $92 annually under the law which has come under heavy criticism by the opposition and motorists.
Motorists are required to present a valid ZBC radio license or exemption certificate when applying for vehicle registration, insurance, or license disc renewal.
Estimates by the Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (ZINARA) say the country has 1.2 million vehicles but an average 800,000 renew their licenses annually. ZBC would be guaranteed just over $73 million per year.
The law has drawn sharp criticism from motorists and opposition groups, who accuse the ZBC of serving as a propaganda mouthpiece for Zanu PF. Critics say the fees being demanded are too high.
Nelson Chamisa, the former leader of the main opposition CCC said the new law was “too draconian, anti-citizens and outrightly heartless.”
“So, a person who owns a car pays ZINARA, ZBC, insurance and toll fees, how are people supposed to survive? When shall all this end?” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“Citizens are being pauperized left, right and center, why does the citizenry of this country deserve so uncaring and heartless a leadership? What are people supposed to do with all this cruel taxation? Why must I pay for a service I don’t use? Why should I pay for partisan propaganda, where I am attacked in person and demonized from dawn to dusk?”
ZBC has previously launched aggressive enforcement campaigns demanding license fees even from car owners whose radios are either non-functional or incompatible with local broadcasting frequencies. The broadcaster has long relied on license fees and state bailouts amid its failure to commercialize its monopoly.
ZBC’s bias in favor of Zanu PF has been consistently cited by international observer missions monitoring Zimbabwe’s elections, fueling calls for reform.