Online Reporter
Dr Jenfan Muswere
We publish here the speech by Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister, Dr Jenfan Muswere, at the Strategic Planning Workshop in Mutare yesterday.
It is both an honour and a privilege to address you at this important Strategic Planning Workshop — a forum that enables us to introspect, innovate, and collectively chart the future of Zimbabwe’s communication landscape.
This gathering is not merely a routine planning exercise. It is a defining moment, a moment to refine our strategic direction, strengthen institutional capacity and reaffirm our collective commitment to national development through responsive and transformative communication.
Our theme for this workshop, “Connecting Every Voice, Powering National Progress,” is both visionary and instructive. It compels us to move beyond rhetoric to results ensuring that every message we communicate fosters productivity, unity, and meaningful transformation across Zimbabwe.
This theme encapsulates the essence of our mission: every citizen’s voice matters. Every province, every ward, and every community must be heard and connected to our national development agenda.
Mandate of the Ministry
The mandate of the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services remains clear and unequivocal — to inform, educate, and unite the people of Zimbabwe through credible, accurate, and timely communication.
It is our responsibility to ensure that Government speaks with one coherent voice and that our citizens remain engaged, informed, and empowered through transparent and factual information dissemination.
Communication is not a peripheral activity of governance — it lies at its very heart. Through effective communication, we build trust, enhance accountability and consolidate participatory democracy.
We are the bridge between policy and the people — between leadership and the citizenry.
As His Excellency, the President, Dr. Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, consistently reminds us:“Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo, igotongwa nevene vayo, igonamatirwa nevene vayo.” Indeed, we are the architects of our destiny, and the narratives we craft are the very building blocks of our nation.
As we transition from NDS1 to NDS2, we do so with confidence and renewed purpose. Under NDS1, we expanded community radio coverage, rolled out new transmitters, amplified media tours, and strengthened our digital communication platforms.
Under NDS2, we must do even more — harnessing data, innovation, and technology to power every message, every story and every Zimbabwean voice.
Yes, we face challenges — from fake news to skills flight and persistent information gaps. Yet these challenges also present opportunities: opportunities to innovate, to strengthen our systems, and to embrace artificial intelligence, social media analytics, and citizen engagement as tools for progress.
Let us therefore build a communication ecosystem that listens, learns, and leads — one that speaks to the farmer in Muzarabani, the vendor in Mbare and the student in Lupane — ensuring that no Zimbabwean is left behind.
NDS2 Transition: The Strategic Imperative
Colleagues, we meet at a pivotal moment as we transition from the First National Development Strategy (NDS1) to NDS2.
Under NDS1, our ministry made notable progress in modernising the broadcasting landscape, promoting access to information, strengthening media diversity, and advancing the digital transformation agenda.
As we reposition for NDS2, our focus must be sharper, our coordination stronger and our strategies more data-driven. We must adopt a results-based approach anchored in evidence, inclusivity, and innovation.
This workshop offers us an opportunity to recalibrate our vision — to ensure that the ministry and its parastatals remain firmly aligned with the national imperatives of Vision 2030, a vision that calls for an empowered, upper middle-income society founded on unity, productivity and innovation.
Achievements and Progress
Under NDS1, the Ministry achieved several milestones, including:
Strengthening media tours to ensure comprehensive coverage of development projects across all provinces, thereby making Government successes visible and verifiable.
Advancing digitisation and broadcasting expansion through the rollout of transmitters and establishment of community radio stations, ensuring that every voice across Zimbabwe is heard.
Enhancing public information platforms by improving our digital footprint through publications, online engagement, and live press briefings.
Amplifying national branding and publicity, projecting Zimbabwe’s identity, resilience, and reform agenda on regional and global platforms.
Investing in capacity building to equip communicators, journalists, and public relations practitioners with the skills and ethical grounding necessary to counter misinformation and advance the national interest.
Challenges and Opportunities
We are equally mindful of the persistent challenges confronting our sector, such as:
The proliferation of misinformation and fake news, which distorts facts and erodes public trust.
Information gaps that continue to affect marginalised and remote communities.
Skills flight and the fast-evolving nature of technology, which impact content production and dissemination.
Yet, within these challenges lie opportunities — opportunities to innovate, reform, and strengthen institutional resilience.
We must respond with agility and foresight, building systems that anticipate change rather than merely react to it.
Strategic Direction for NDS2
As we chart our course under NDS2, our strategic focus will be anchored on six key pillars:
Responsive, citizen-centred communication systems that enhance trust and accountability — for instance, developing real-time public service delivery dashboards to facilitate citizen feedback.
Stronger coordination between the ministry, its parastatals, and stakeholders through platforms such as a joint monthly communications roundtable with ZBC, Transmedia, Zimpapers, and BAZ to harmonise messaging and avoid duplication.
Accelerated digital transformation through the adoption of emerging technologies — including AI, data analytics, and social media engagement — to measure impact and reach.
Expanded community broadcasting to enhance inclusivity and diversity, with the goal of rolling out at least ten new community radio stations in underserved districts over the next five years.
Combating misinformation through factual, timely and patriotic reporting, including the establishment of a National Fact-Checking Hub within the Ministry.
Projecting Zimbabwe’s global image through a national branding campaign, “Zimbabwe Voices, Global Choice,” celebrating local innovators and entrepreneurs at home and abroad.
The Role of Parastatals
Our parastatals — ZBC, Transmedia, New Ziana, Zimpapers, and BAZ — are integral components of our communication ecosystem.
Each must align its strategic objectives with the Ministry’s overarching vision to deliver coordinated, coherent, and effective national messaging.
Examples of innovation and synergy include:
ZBC piloting a multilingual live-stream series, “Voices of the Provinces,” to facilitate direct citizen engagement with Government.
Transmedia integrating augmented reality technologies into community radio broadcasts to enhance agricultural and health communication.
New Ziana revitalising its provincial news bureaux and establishing a National News Syndication Platform to feed both traditional and digital media with verified, development-focused content.
Zimpapers developing a Citizen Reporter Mobile App to amplify grassroots stories from remote districts.
BAZ strengthening fairness and transparency standards across broadcasters and publishing quarterly audit reports for public accountability.
Call to Action
Vision 2030 is not a distant aspiration — it is a living roadmap that demands unity of purpose, clarity of message, and consistency of action.
This workshop, therefore, is not about producing documents or setting abstract targets — it is about transformation. It is about crafting strategies that respond to the real needs of our people and the rapidly evolving communication landscape.
Let us tell the Zimbabwean story with pride, conviction, and accuracy. Let us be custodians of truth and champions of our national narrative.
Let us build a communication sector that embodies the very best of who we are — innovative, patriotic, and forward-looking.
As we move into this new phase, let us remain focused on outcomes, committed to collaboration, and anchored in the national interest.
Together, let us make communication the heartbeat of development, ensuring that no Zimbabwean is left uninformed, unheard, or uninspired.
Colleagues, Vision 2030 is not a slogan — it is a living mission. Through clear, credible, and creative communication, we can make it a reality.
Let us connect every voice, and power our nation’s progress.
