Gweru (New Ziana) -The Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) will soon decentralize its operations to the provinces starting with Bulawayo and Manicaland, an official has said.
Speaking during a Media Institute of Southern Africa Zimbabwe Transparency Assessment Index meeting, ZMC commissioner Jasper Maphosa said it was important for the commission to have its presence in the Provinces.
Currently the ZMC has offices in Harare only.
“We went to parliament and told them that with the work that we have, we have to decentralise to provinces starting with Bulawayo and Mutare,” he said.
Maphosa said the decentralization plans would begin in 2022.
Misa-Zimbabwe chairperson Golden Maunganidze commended the ZMC for its efforts in improving the local media sector.
“There is a common language in the fact that the ZMC wants to restructure to meet the modern expectations of the demands of our industry.
“I would like to urge the ZMC to move with speed to meet the demands of the media industry so that at the end of the day we have the media and the commission that serve its purpose,” he said.
Misa-Zimbabwe trustee Kelvin Jakachira said there was need for an improvement in the conditions of service for journalists.
“Stakeholders need to come together to see how best that can be addressed because as long as the journalists do not know where their next money is coming from it is easy for them to refuse taking the proverbial brown envelopes,” he said.
New Ziana