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THE Zimbabwe Mass Media Trust has started revitalising two companies under its purview so they can run professionally and profitably.
ZMMT board of Trustees chairperson Honour Mkushi said on Wednesday at the start of a three-day strategic planning workshop being held in Harare that both New Ziana and Kingstons needed to be rebuilt.
The ZMMT wholly-owns multimedia organisation New Ziana, stationery and book supplier Kingstons Holdings and also holds majority shares in mass media company, Zimpapers, the one company that is profitable and well managed.
Mkushi said the mandate of New Ziana remains critical to national development hence the need to adequately fund it for its viability, growth and sustainability.
“New Ziana is a very important element of Zimbabwe Mass Media Trust operations. We do get assistance from Government in the sense that they support some of our financial needs as far as staff is concerned,” he said.
“They (Government) have bigger problems. New Ziana needs a lot of support. There is a need for additional staff, equipment.
“The company needs that general kind of handling where we empower them to deliver as a brand of news.”
He said key among other initiatives at reviving operations of the news agency and the provincial publications will be news features and analyses that offer 21st century products that complement the Government’s engagement and re-engagement efforts, as well as to feed its former international clients.
“There is also a need to align the operations of the news agency and provincial publications with devolution and the National Development Strategy 1,” said Mkushi, adding that there was also a need to rebrand the provincial newspapers.
Promotion of indigenous languages would be crucial to the revival of the community newspapers, as well as adoption of new technologies in order to keep pace with media trends and maintain the profitability of the media businesses.
“Overall, we must therefore search deeper for solutions to the challenges of broadcast, print and social media,” he said.
Mkushi said the ZMMT intends to leverage on restructuring to transform the organisation so that in addition to becoming viable, it takes a trajectory that leads to sustainable operations.
Turning to Zimpapers, Mkushi said the media entity was performing well although it has its own fair of challenges.
“Zimpapers is doing well, but they are also facing bigger challenges, but they are operating professionally, commercially as a business unit,” he said.
The ZMMT is exploring ways to revive Kingstons, which was “vandalised when the Trust was put on freeze”.
“Kingstons was vandalised when the Trust was put into freeze. It was literally cannibalised. We are at the moment looking at what we should do with Kingstons,” Mkushi said.
“We are probably going to be looking at the revival of Kingstons and align its new objectives to handling the retail business which it used to do, but also look at modern ways of communicating, whether it’s going digital or electronic.
Mkushi said the ZMMT is considering whether Kingstons is going to sell over the counter or sell through modern methods of selling books, stationery and all other instruments used in communication.
“As trustees, we don’t see the end of Kingstons but the rise of Kingstons,” he said.
He said the strategic meeting was a vital step in ensuring the viability, growth and sustainability of the ZMMT and its various entities.
“The meeting strives to reset and turnaround the fortunes of the ZMMT and its entities in line with the Deed of Trust for ZMMT,” Mkushi said.
The ZMMT was established at the end of January 1981 when the newly independent Government of Zimbabwe ended control of Zimbabwean media by South African interests.
This was made possible through the assistance obtained from the Nigerian government. – New Ziana.
Online Reporter