The Zimbabwe Mass Media Trust (ZMMT) on Wednesday began a three- day strategic review meeting in the capital, with a call for participants to take the deliberations seriously as they are key in re-setting and turning around the fortunes of its subsidiaries.
ZMMT chairperson Advocate Honour Mkushi made the call while delivering his opening remarks to the participants, who include workers from multi-media subsidiary New Ziana.
He said the deliberations were crucial in strengthening the foundation set in May last year at the first strategy seminar where the roadmap for the viability, growth and sustainability of the organisation was defined.
“I would like to believe, we find ourselves in a better space than last year, although admittedly some of the challenges we faced during 2023 remain or are in the process of being resolved, among these being financial, human capital, marketing challenges and the state of all our buildings, which require extensive repairs, while others need a complete overhaul – razing to the ground and building anew,” he said.
“In the period we will be reviewing, we have seen a turnaround in the fortunes of our organisation and we stand on the cusp of endless possibilities that come in moving onwards in 2024. We have seen and continue to see our content populating numerous platforms, both online and print with frequent regularity than when we met last year.”
Mkushi said the nation expects the ZMMT board to give leadership to the
company so that it becomes a major player in the media sector.
“The founding Trust Deed of the Zimbabwe Mass Media Trust recognises the Government of the day as the main representative of the people of Zimbabwe in the Zimbabwe Mass Media Trust. It is for this reason that the President was given power to resuscitate the Trust in the event that it ceases operations for whatever reason,” he explained.
“Information contributes to nation building and development in an immense way and it is therefore important that Zimbabweans own their means of mass communication.”
He said the ZMMT and its companies were national assets; and board members are expected to protect the national interest.
Mkushi implored workers to ensure viability of Trust companies in the national interest.
“In this regard, as the board we remain committed to assist in ensuring things remain afloat while also looking at the welfare of the workers,” he said.
He added that the board was aware of the need to look for funds in order to capitalize operations of companies under ZMMT.
“We are conscious of the need to make you financially independent as funding from government is not enough.
“Besides financial injection, we are also looking for capacitation in areas of technology from our erstwhile friends from China, Russia and elsewhere in order to be in sync with current trends to make us relevant,” said Mkushi.
The Zimbabwe Mass Media Trust was established in 1981 as a result of a desire by the newly independent government of Zimbabwe to remove the control of South African interests in media operations within Zimbabwe.
This was made possible through the assistance obtained from the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The workshop ends on Friday.
New Ziana
