Motorbikes exempted from ZBC radio licences

The Government has clarified that motorbikes, tricycles, trailers and certain categories of moving machinery are exempt from paying Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) radio licence fees, bringing clarity to motorists following months of uncertainty surrounding the implementation of the mandatory vehicle radio licensing framework.

Deputy Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Omphile Marupi told Parliament on Wednesday that the exemption is already embedded within the vehicle licensing system and does not require any special application process from owners.

"As a Ministry, the position is for the motorbikes and moving machinery, tricycles and trailers, they are all exempt from paying radio licence," Marupi said.

He explained that while such vehicle categories may still appear within the broader licensing framework, they are automatically recognised by the system as exempt and therefore do not attract any payment.

"The exemption is automatically applied during the licensing process and does not attract any payment or special application by the motorbike owner," he said.

The clarification follows growing concern among motorists and transport operators over whether owners of motorcycles and non-radio-equipped vehicles were legally required to pay radio licence fees as a precondition for vehicle registration.

Questions had also been raised in Parliament regarding the legal basis for charging radio licence fees on vehicles not fitted with radio receivers.

Marupi said the exemption policy has been in place since the introduction of the mandatory vehicle radio licensing framework in July 2025.

"As such, motorbike owners are not required to pay ZBC radio licence fee as a condition for licensing their motorbikes," he added.

The Government introduced the mandatory linkage between vehicle licensing and ZBC radio licence compliance last year as part of efforts to improve public broadcaster revenue collection. However, implementation has faced criticism from sections of the public who argued that the system lacked clarity and unfairly affected some vehicle owners.

The latest clarification is expected to ease concerns among motorbike operators, delivery riders and small-scale transport users who had feared additional licensing costs.