adminAdelaide Moyo Chronicle Reporter
MEDIA should play a key role in unpacking Zim-Asset to members of the public and help the ordinary citizen fully appreciate the government’s economic blueprint, Midlands State University lecturer, Professor Nhamo Mhiripiri has said.
Speaking at the ongoing First International Research Conference in Victoria Falls, the media studies lecturer, encouraged media institutions to take a leading role in educating people about the economic blueprint.
He said MSU was taking a leading role in implementing Zim-Asset through organising conferences designed to empower Zimbabweans from all walks of life.
“Media houses cover the economic blueprint in opinion stories not as hard news. They need to give more coverage to Zim-Asset to avoid a scenario where people end up saying ridiculous things like making Zim-Asset refer to beautiful girls. The media are expected to play a pivotal role in development communication. The media can also manifest the same structural and ideological weaknesses that plague nation states that aspire for development,” Prof Mhiripiri said.
Speaking at the same occasion, MSU Pro-Vice Chancellor, Prof Kadmiel Wekwete, encouraged learning institutions to take a leading role in contributing to the implementation of the economic blueprint.
He said the country was facing challenges in implementing Zim-Asset, hence the need for everyone’s effort in making it a success.
“Our theme is centrally focused on our own Zimbabwe goals as articulated in Zim-Asset. Our key challenge is to turn all these aspirations into reality through sustained research and innovation. Institutions must focus on supporting the Zim-Asset document,” he said.
Prof Wekwete challenged institutions of higher learning to partner government in supporting the generation of necessary data and frameworks for policy and implementation.
“We hope to ensure that university programmes allow students to understand the practical reality that confronts them when they leave university and strengthen work-related experiences by engaging relevant employers,” he said.
About 300 delegates are attending the conference which ends today. Some of the delegates are from Botswana and South Africa.
The conference is being held under the theme “Driving socio-economic development through value addition and sustainable use of resources.”
Some of the topics being discussed are tourism and business strategies, health, law and governance, water and climate change, science and technology, mass media and reporting, conservation and biodiversity.
Online Reporter