CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
by Percy F.Makombe, Zimbabwe, July 1999
THEME = MEDIA
The Broadcasting Act which has remained intact since the days of
its inception
in the colonial period, controls broadcasting in Zimbabwe
Such control is provided for under Section 27 of the Act which spells out that: "No person other than the Corporation shall carry on any broadcasting service in Zimbabwe". The Act vests the running and control of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) in the hands of a Board of Governors appointed by the Minister of Information, Posts and Telecommunications, after consultation with the President of Zimbabwe. The influential role played by the Minister of Information in the appointment of the Board of Governors, has heavily compromised the operators of the ZBC, as each new minister wants to appoint people he thinks he can manipulate.
Some of the problems bedeviling the ZBC stem from the absence of a Board, and delays in appointing a substantive Director-General. The absence of a Board has on numerous occasions provided opportunities for Ministers of Information to intervene directly in the running of the Corporation. According to a report by a Parliamentary Select Committee charged with investigating the affairs of the ZBC, "Successive Ministers of Information have contributed immensely towards the instability at the Corporation in that they seem to enjoy intervening directly in the day-to-day running of the organisation when there is no Board of Governors. This leads to untold chaos". The report further observered that Boards are "at the mercy of the ministers who are known to hire and fire at will".
In 1997, when the ZBC had no Board of Governors, the ZBC top management staff, awarded themselves privileges which were not authorised by either the Ministry of Information or the Board as is required in such dealings. Part of the privileges included:
Those said to have benefited from these privileges were directors Onias Gumbo (Finance and Administration), Victor Mhiza-Murira (Human Resources), Thomas Mandigora (Programmes) and Elliot Muchimbiri (Head-Engineering and Technical Services).
The ZBC Board at that time, led by their chairman, Tafataona Mahoso, subsequently investigated the matter and absolved Mandigora who was on study-leave when the decision to award privileges was taken. Muchimbiri was also exonerated because it was felt that although he participated in decision-making, he was not directly involved in the awarding of benefits to employees.
The Board then proceeded to suspend Mhizha-Murira and Gumbo pending dismissal for "gross inefficiency and mismanagement". The suspension did not go down well with Minister of Information, Chenhamo Chimutengwende, who ordered the Board to reshuffle and reprimand the Mhizha-Murira and Gumbo. Faced with a ministerial directive, Mahoso's Board decided to transfer Mhizha-Murira to Mbare Studios, and Gumbo to Montrose studios in Bulawayo. However, the minister was still not happy with this, and directed that the two be reinstated at Pockets Hill Studios. ZBC workers resisted the reinstatement and the two directors were then suspended.
While some directors have been giving themselves privileges, the ZBC is bleeding to death with financial problems. Cash-flow problems plaguing the Corporation have resulted in the ZBC failing to meet its financial obligations in time. The ZBC has tax arrears of about US $694,000). They have an outstanding bank loan of US $1.6 million) and owe their film suppliers an enormous sum. The major outstanding debts of the Corporation amount to about US $5.5 million).
The problems at the ZBC have been worsened by the Corporation's failure to make a profit since Zimbabwe attained its independence in 1980, with the exception of 1994 and 1995 when it realised a profit of US $27,777 and US $270,000) respectively.
The state financed Radio 4 and TV2 have contributed immensely to the cash-flow problems at the ZBC as between the two of them, they have a shortfall of US $4.7 million), largely because the government suddenly stopped giving financial support to the ZBC.
The need for the ZBC to be financially viable led to the appointment of a private British consultant, Peter Ibbotson. Ibbotson was charged with suggesting how the ZBC could operate profitably in a liberalised broadcasting environment. Among other things, the Ibbotson report recommended:
In 1997, the Minister of Information, Joyce Mujuru, pointed out that: "...an appropriate regulatory mechanism will be concluded before the end of the year". We are now into 1999 and still there is no appropriate regulatory mechanism.
The ZBC now appears to be looking to the Pay Television Project for financial salvation. The pay television project has been on the table for the past five years. The Standard Bank Limited carried out a feasibility study in 1990 and recommended that the TV project was viable. The Public Sector Investment Programme echoed the same sentiments. The government Tender Board called for tenders, and Commtel (Pvt) Ltd won the tender while Zim Win Tv with their American partner Pfluger Enterprises came second. However, Commtel are alleged by the Parliamentary Select Committee report, to have failed to raise the necessary funds, a charge that Commtel has refuted. The ZBC then decided to go ahead with the project with Pfluger Enterprises.
The project which is expected to generate US $83.3 million a year has still not seen the light of the day, because officials in the Ministry of Finance are alleged to be blocking it. Minister of Finance Herbert Murerwa and his permanent secretary are accused of disregarding a directive from Vice-President Simon Muzenda to see that the project is implemented. Members of Parliament were irked by what they interpreted as a "blatant disregard of a presidential directive". Murerwa and Kawaza's crimes seem to be refusal to short-circuit established procedures. It would appear the Ministry of Finance was reluctant to commit the State to a guarantee for billions of dollars, without putting into consideration the necessary stages for approval.
The former director-general of the ZBC, John Tsimba, believes caution should be exercised before the Pay-TV project is implemented. Tsimba also disagreed with the Parliamentary Committee's findings, which blamed the Ministry of Finance for frustrating the project.
In the long run, one wonders which way the ZBC is heading!
END
CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
PeaceLink 1999 - Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgement