Harare (New Ziana) -The Zimbabwe Mass Media Trust (ZMMT) has taken a bold stance to rejuvenate and revive companies under its ambit so that they can run profitably and professionally.
ZMMT board of Trustees chairperson Honour Mukushi said this on Wednesday at the start of a three-day strategic planning workshop being held in the capital.
The ZMMT wholly owns multimedia organisation New Ziana, stationery and book supplier Kingstons Holdings and also holds majority shares in mass media company Zimpapers Private Limited.
Mukushi said the mandate of New Ziana remains critical to government communications and there is need to ensure that it is adequately funded for its viability, growth and sustainability.
“New Ziana is a very important element of Zimbabwe Mass Media Trust operations. We do get assistance from government in the sense that they do support some of our financial needs as far as staff is concerned,” he said.
“They have bigger problems. New Ziana needs a lot of support, there is need for additional staff, quipment. The company needs that general kind of handling where we empower them to deliver as a brand of news.”
He said key among other initiatives at reviving the operations of the news agency and the provincial publications will be news features and analysis that offer 21st century products that complement the Government`s engagement and re-engagement efforts as well as the news
agency former international partners.
“There is also need to align the operations of the news agency and provincial publications with devolution and the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1),” said Mukushi, adding there was need for rebranding of provincial newspapers.
Mukushi added that promotional of indigenous languages will be crucial to revival of the products, as well as new technologies in order to maintain the profitability of the media businesses.
“Overally, we must therefore search deeper for solutions to the challenges of business models of the broadcast, print and social media,”
he said.
He said the ZMMT intends to leverage on restructuring in order to transform the organisation so that in addition to becoming viable, it takes a trajectory that leads to sustainable operations.
Turning to Zimpapers, Mukushi said the media entity was performing well although it has its own fair of challenges.
“Zimpapers is doing well but they are also facing bigger challenges, but they are operating professionally, commercially as a business unit,” he said.
The ZMMT, he said, is exploring ways to revive Kingstons which he said was “vandalised when the Trust was put on freeze”.
“Kingstons was vandalised when the Trust was put into freeze. It was literally cannibalised. We are at the moment looking on what we should
do with Kingstons,” he said.
“We are probably going to be looking at the revival of Kingstons and align its new objectives to both handling retail business which it used to do but also look at modern ways of communicating, whether it’s going
digital or electronic.
Mukushi said the ZMMT is considering whether Kingstons is going to sell over the counter or sell through modern methods of selling books,
stationery and all other instruments used in communication.
“As Trustees, we don’t see the end of Kingstons but the rise of Kingstons,” he said.
He said the strategic meeting was a vital step in ensuring the viability, growth and sustainability of the of ZMMT and its various entities.
“The meeting strives to reset and turnaround the fortunes of ZMMT and its entities in line with the Deed of Trust for ZMMT,” he said.
The ZMMT was established at the end of January 1981 following concern and the desire by the newly independent Government of Zimbabwe to remove control of South African interest in media operations within the country.
This was made possible through the assistance obtained from the Nigerian government.
New Ziana
