Prophets, traditional healer adverts banned on Radio and TV
The BAZ ban likely to result an influx of street vendors who use hailers to advertise traditional herbs
Harare – The Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) has this week banned the flighting of adverts from prophets and traditional healers on radio and television to prevent the public from being hoodwinked.
Tendai Kapumha, BAZ chief executive ordered all television stations and radio broadcasters to stop advertising messages from prophets and traditional healers advertising their works as well as medicines.
In a statement, Kapumha said:
“All broadcasters must stop broadcasting of advertising content from churches and traditional healers and of traditional herbs and medicines which cannot be authenticated, since they tend to mislead the public.”
However,Kapumha said broadcasters can have “discussions or programmes or debates” about prophets and traditional healers as long as they do not contain advertising content.
Zimbabwe has had an influx of unregulated medicine being sold on the streets against the laws of the country which requires that all medicines should be registered and licenced by the medicines control authority.
Pastors and traditional healers have also claimed to heal or provide remedy to various ailments that have no cure such as cancer misleading people.
In many cases people have lost money or have their medical situations deteriorate after consulting fake healers.
The BAZ ban will not likely stop street vendors who sell illicit medicines on the streets. The vendors who use hailers to reach out to pedestrians and motorists also causing noise pollution.
The vendors claim to have remedies for high blood pressure, diabetes, sexual transmitted diseases, aphrodisiacs among many other diseases.
Popular herbs are Gonorrhoea tea, Mfanyu fanyu, Spikiri, Rhino horn, Mugondorosi, Umvusankunzi Manarithi, Ntonga yabafana, Spanish fly among others.
Most of the names are pregnant with sexual innuendos.
