Story by Owen Mandovha
The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) says it is striving to balance its role of fulfilling national interests and revenue generation targets.
The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services this Monday received oral evidence from state owned entities in the broadcasting industry, with deliberations focusing mainly on the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC)’s efforts to sustain operations and provide top end quality programming.
ZBC chief executive officer, Ms Adelaide Chikunguru outlined initiatives being pursued to bolster its revenue sources but also illustrated the strategic role of the national broadcaster which requires it to act in the national interest.
“According to the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation Commercialisation Act of 2001, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation’s role as the national broadcaster role is to provide news and our programs as a public good, hence, we need to prioritise that aspect in view of the national strategic agenda hence we need to balance that role and our revenue generation capacity. At the moment the national broadcaster is able to meet its operational expenditures from internal sources but will require massive capital expenditure in order to modernise its operations,” she said.
Other parastatals including Transmedia and the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) also appeared before the committee in order to outline their operational mandates in order to grow the country’s broadcasting and media industry.
