Story by Patience Nyagato
THE Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) emerged as one of the leading award recipients at the Zimbabwe Community Trailblazers Awards held in Harare Friday night, in recognition of its contribution to national development, community empowerment and public interest broadcasting.
The awards ceremony celebrated individuals and institutions whose initiatives are making a tangible impact at community level, as Zimbabwe continues to advance towards the attainment of its Vision 2030 development goals.
ZBC was commended for its extensive programming that promotes development discourse, grassroots participation and inclusive national transformation, with several of its executives, journalists and presenters receiving individual honours.
Radio Zimbabwe Station Manager Mr Siphelani Chikwape said the recognition reflected the broadcaster’s commitment to taking information, education and entertainment to communities across the country, particularly in rural areas.
“It came as a surprise, I did not expect it, but it is very important because it gives us the impetus to go on and work and empower communities that we work around, and for me as a person, it is just an honour, and it gives me again more strength to continue to go and do good, so I am grateful. As a station, we have taken the radio to the people. You will see us time and again; we are in the rural communities, empowering people with knowledge and entertainment, and that is very important. We want to make sure that we keep the happiness index up in Zimbabwe. I think some of those are initiatives that we have done as a station,” Mr Chikwape said.
ZBC reporter Fungai Jachi, who received an award for excellence in television news, said the accolade acknowledged collective newsroom effort rather than individual achievement.
“I do like to thank the editorial team and the people I work with because being a journalist and being a reporter means it is teamwork, it is not me alone. Yes of course my name is on the award but the recognition goes to the cooperation and it gives me great pleasure to be making a change in the community um that i come from or in Zimbabwe as a whole because sometimes you think that you will be doing something not so great but then now being recognized for the work that we do it really means a lot and it motivates us to keep on pushing,” she said.
National FM presenter Ms Soneni Sibanda, who was honoured for her contribution to Indigenous Languages Journalism, said the award affirmed the importance of promoting local languages and cultural identity through broadcasting.
“It is an honour to be recognised, especially for championing our local language. As a presenter who uses different languages, this recognition means a lot,” she said.
Member of Parliament for Hurungwe East, Honourable Chenjerai Kangausaru, who was also honoured at the event, said the awards reinforced the national development philosophy of leaving no one and no place behind, particularly in uplifting rural communities and the girl child.
“For the upliftment of people, especially in the rural areas, like where I come from, Hurungwe. As we know, the president said, leaving no one and no place behind. And I desire that the lives of people in the rural areas, especially the girl child, can be uplifted. In helping them to achieve their goals in the future for the betterment of our country. And as the President says, building our nation brick by brick, step by step, person by person. And I am so thankful for this opportunity and for this award, and it really motivates me greatly,” Member of Parliament, Honourable Chenjerai Kangausaru said.
In a speech read on his behalf, the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Dr Jenfan Muswere, said Zimbabwe’s development momentum reflected coordinated national efforts and active community participation.
He cited progress in agriculture, tourism and information and communication technologies as evidence that the country is steadily moving towards a modern, prosperous and industrialised economy under Vision 2030.
“I am pleased to report that we are on track to achieving our goals in the agricultural sector we have implemented a number of initiatives aimed at increasing production and improving food security our efforts have yielded significant results with the country recording a bumper harvest in the 2022-2023 season we have also made significant strides in promoting irrigation development with the construction of several irrigation schemes across the country in the tourism sector we have implemented a number of initiatives aimed at promoting zimbabwe as a premier tourist destination our efforts have yielded significant results with the country recording a significant increase,” Minister Muswere said.
The Zimbabwe Community Trailblazers Awards seek to recognise leadership, innovation and service that drive sustainable development and social transformation across the country.
ZBC Chief Executive Officer Mr Sugar Chagonda was recognised as a Distinguished Communications Leader, while Colette Musanyera and Fungai Jachi received accolades for excellence in television news.
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