Wenslus Murape
Sunday Mail Reporter
RECAPITALISATION of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) is vital as the national broadcaster should play its rightful role of building national consciousness, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Dr Jenfan Muswere has said.
Dr Muswere said this on Friday during the commissioning of the national broadcaster’s 25 vehicles and equipment for radio and television transmission.
The US$2 million equipment was sourced through the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion. Private players donated US$100 000, while US$86 000 was sourced through the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services.
Dr Muswere said: “This recapitalisation effort is part of the Government of Zimbabwe’s commitment to ensure that ZBC takes its rightful place in terms of building national consciousness, taking into consideration heritage-based broadcasting, which also includes our values as a people, our ethics, but also, most importantly, the role, responsibility and mandate of ZBC as an institution.”
Dr Muswere highlighted that he was entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring that ZBC implemented a turnaround strategy aimed at catapulting the institution to profitability. This would be achieved through interventions such as a debt restructuring programme and increased revenue generation through advertising, among other initiatives.
He emphasised the role of human resources in ZBC’s turnaround, which he said should be coupled with a strong work ethic, honesty and a collective effort to reduce costs and increase efficiency.
“The turnaround strategy should include the importance of human resources management and organisational development,” said Dr Muswere.
“What we have to bring back is a culture of hard work, a culture of honesty, of oneness, selflessness, and to do away with the culture of greed, cannibalisation, and the culture of destruction has to go.
“It is a responsibility for each and every employee of the corporation to work together to achieve cost containment measures.”
Dr Muswere exhorted ZBC to take responsibility for its management and not rely on Treasury support alone. “You cannot be running around with begging bowls everywhere. The Treasury has got its own responsibilities.
“The responsibility and creation of the Treasury is not to allow people to mismanage their institutions. “I believe, with the expertise that we have, with a diversified board of directors, with knowledge and experience, and a good executive, and with the collective responsibility of the workers’ committee, as part of an integral ecosystem, we should be able to turn around this institution,” he said.
The vehicles, he added, should all be channelled towards improved content creation and revenue collection.
Acting ZBC board chairperson Advocate Lewis Uriri said the equipment would significantly enhance operations, mobility and technical capabilities of the broadcaster.
“The addition of these motor vehicles will significantly improve our mobility, enabling us to manage our demanding travel schedules and meet the daily operational requirements of our broadcasting mandate,” he said.
“Likewise, the broadcasting equipment will elevate our technical capabilities, ensuring that ZBC continues to deliver quality content that informs, educates and entertains the people of Zimbabwe. We must be the first and most reliable source of accurate, factual and verifiable reportage and content in a context where the single most potent threat to our unitary statehood and national security is disinformation.”
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