MEDIA, Information and Broadcasting Services Minister Jonathan Moyo yesterday came face-to-face with disgruntled Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) employees who have gone for five months without salaries.
POLITICAL EDITOR
Moyo also got a firsthand account of the institution’s dilapidated infrastructure.
For more than six hours, Moyo toured ZBC facilities at Mbare and Pockets Hill studios, meeting management and staff.
Though the employees did not get the opportunity to open up to the minister, they told NewsDay that Moyo was their only hope to finally get paid.
“Life has not been easy for us. Where in the world have you seen a whole State broadcaster that fails to pay its employees for nearly half a year? Things must be straightened here and we hope the Professor (Moyo) will find a solution to our plight,” said one employee speaking on condition of anonymity.
Addressing journalists after the tour, Moyo said the issue of non-payment of employees was a top priority.
“There is no reason why ZBC employees should not be paid. In fact, that is one of the most urgent issues we have to address,” Moyo said, as he entered a closed-door meeting with the State broadcaster’s management.
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Earlier Moyo, who was accompanied by his deputy Supa Mandiwanzira, Presidential spokesperson George Charamba, director of Urban Communications Anywhere Mutambudzi, had visited ZBC studios and newsrooms where equipment, some of which was installed by Iranians last year, was now malfunctioning.
However on the plus side, Moyo was impressed by the state-of-the-art outside broadcasting vans purchased by ZBC last year, which CEO Happison Muchechetere said was appreciated by international broadcasters who have since expressed interest in doing business with them.
Since his appointment two months ago, Moyo has been touring media houses to appreciate the media landscape and create amicable working relationships, saying polarisation that existed in the industry must be an episode of the past.
