Mozambique’s Higher Council for Social Communication (CSCS) has argued that the government and parliament should work on drafting fundamental laws to regularise the country’s media sector.
Speaking after an audience with the head of state, Daniel Chapo, the president of the CSCS, Rogério Sitoe, made it known that the sector is currently guided by the Press Law, approved by the Assembly of the Republic in August 1991, which defines the principles that govern the activity of the press and establishes the rights and duties of its professionals.
However, he stressed the need to speed up the approval of the Media and Broadcasting Laws, recognising that the current state of the sector is worrying, especially with regard to journalistic ethics and the violation of journalists’ rights.
‘The media in the country is bipolarised, we are concerned about ethics and deontology, as well as the protection of journalists in the performance of their duties. We had a broader discussion with the Mozambican President about the problems in the area.’
In 2004, the CSCS was established as the body through which the state guarantees the independence of news organisations, freedom of the press and the right to information.
Recently, MISA Mozambique, an Institute for Social Communication in Southern Africa, urged the new government to adopt urgent measures to strengthen press freedom and the right to information in the country. In a document sent to the governing bodies, the organisation called for structural reforms to guarantee a free, safe and democratic media environment during the 2025-29 period.
In the letter, the organisation highlighted the need for the Executive to make a clear commitment to regulating the media sector, ensuring its independence and alignment with international democratic standards.
‘The Government and Parliament have in their possession the reasoning of the various sectors of society on the problems of the proposed Media and Broadcasting laws. These must guarantee the independence of the media, especially the public sector, the professionalisation of its management and the decriminalisation of press crimes,’ he said.
