×
NewsDay

AMH is an independent media house free from political ties or outside influence. We have four newspapers: The Zimbabwe Independent, a business weekly published every Friday, The Standard, a weekly published every Sunday, and Southern and NewsDay, our daily newspapers. Each has an online edition.

Jonathan Moyo hates his past – AMH boss

News
Chairman of Alpha Media Holdings (AMH), Trevor Ncube, Thursday said Jonathan Moyo hates the fact that AMH publications keep reminding the public about his past writings hence his recent rantings. Setting the record straight, Ncube dismissed Moyo’s allegations that AMH was a British-funded political tool of regime change, adding the birth and phenomenal growth of […]

Chairman of Alpha Media Holdings (AMH), Trevor Ncube, Thursday said Jonathan Moyo hates the fact that AMH publications keep reminding the public about his past writings hence his recent rantings.

Setting the record straight, Ncube dismissed Moyo’s allegations that AMH was a British-funded political tool of regime change, adding the birth and phenomenal growth of the company was a result of hard work and meticulous planning.

“One would not have wanted to respond to Jonathan Moyo, but we are compelled to do so because he is tarnishing the image of Alpha Media Holdings and its brands by making scurrilous and unsubstantiated allegations,” Ncube said.

He said AMH was a private company which operated within the country’s laws and had, like other companies, strived to weather the economic and political storm that destroyed the efforts of many Zimbabweans.

“We want to set the record straight that we are not recipients of British funding. We are a private company operating under the country’s laws,” said Ncube.

“However, through meticulous planning and assembling the best talent that the country has, and careful deployment of resources, we have been successful in positioning AMH as a leading publishing house in a very short space of time,” Ncube said.

He said AMH had in the last three years achieved phenomenal success which was given impetus by the launch of NewsDay last year.

The paper has within a year of its launch grown to become the country’s largest circulating daily newspaper. Its sister publications, the Zimbabwe Independent and The Standard had also enjoyed growth in recent years as a result of carefully-planned repositioning and rebranding.

“It is this success which has invited the anger of people like Jonathan Moyo. It is this kind of sickening mentality which sees the hand of white people or donors behind every successful black Zimbabwean. The Zimbabwe Independent is Zimbabwe’s largest business paper by print run and sold copies. So it is not true that it is floundering as Jonathan Moyo wants to claim. The Standard has in the past nine months seen its print run and circulation growing by over 100% because of the repositioning and the rebranding that was implemented late last year. So again this brand is a huge success. The gap between The Standard and its 150-year-old competition has narrowed significantly over the past nine months and continues on an upward trajectory.”

AMH had arguably become an employer of choice in the media sector “because of our values, ethics and our strong growth in a short space of time”, Ncube said.

Moyo’s recent attacks on the person of Ncube, AMH and on the company staff served as further evidence of the former Information minister’s intolerance of facts and his penchant for verbal abuse, the AMH chairman said.

“People like Jonathan Moyo will not allow facts to get in the way of their cheap propaganda. The other issue that clearly upsets Moyo is that the articles he has written over the years have been reproduced in the Zimbabwe Independent as evidence of his being an unprincipled and opportunistic character.

“He hates the fact that our papers are exposing him as the unprincipled and inconsistent character that he is. He hates his writings of five years ago. You remind him of this and he unleashes his venom on you,” Ncube said.

“Instead of advancing his views by force of facts and argument, Moyo resorts to hurling insults. Unfortunately insults put people off and don’t win hearts and minds,” Ncube said.