Freedom for members of society to freely express their ideas has direct impact on the library services provision of any country because library users will have access to a diverse range of opinions. Certain factors, however, have worked against this constitutional requirement, denying citizens freedom of expression, with the ripple effects of denying citizens access to information.
Censorship has always be an enemy to democracy.
Like in many other countries, there exists in Zimbabwe the Censorship and Entertainment Control Act, which was last revised in 1996. Through the act, a Board of Censors is set up which reviews the suitability of recorded material for public consumption. Interestingly, although last revised sixteen years after the country's independence, the Act has not changed much from what it used to be prior to the country's independence in 1980. There has been at times undue political interference with the freedom of expression as enshrined in the country's constitution. Despite the fact that there is a Board of Censors in place, politicians have sometimes taken it upon themselves to threaten media.