Some hurdles in the way of Zimbabwe reporting

If you want to report from Zimbabwe as a foreign correspondent,the Mugabe regime is making it even more difficult.

According to this report from the Zimbabwe Times (HT-Frontline blogger)

The government has announced restrictive new licensing fees for journalists working for foreign media and foreign news bureaus, with authorities demanding a staggering US$4 000 to practice journalism in Zimbabwe for one year.

and

A journalist must first pay to register with the government as a member of the press, and must then pay another fee to become accredited to work. The new regulations are expected to put enormous financial strain on independent media outlets, which must now pay to register and accredit every journalist on their staff.

This is the full list of hurdles that a journalist must overcome

Zimbabwean journalists must pay Z$1 million and Z$3 million for an application and one-year accreditation, respectively.
* Local free-lance journalists must pay Z$1, 5 million for one-year accreditation.
* Local journalists working for foreign media organizations must pay US$1 000 and US$3 000 for an application and one-year accreditation, respectively.
* Foreign journalists intending to work temporarily in Zimbabwe are required to pay US$500 and US$1 000 for application and accreditation, respectively.
* Local media owners must pay an application fee of Z$5 billion and an accreditation fee of Z$20 billion.
* Foreign media houses must pay US$10 000 for the application and US$20 000 for accreditation, payable only in foreign currency. There is also a complimentary permit administration fee pegged at US$2 000.
For local journalists working for local media, the penalty for late renewal of accreditation will be Z$100 000 per day while the penalty for late renewal for registration has been pegged at Z$500 000 per day.