ZBC faces contempt of Parliament

Zvamaida Murwira Harare Bureau
THE Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation leadership headed by chairperson Father Gibson Munyoro risks being charged with contempt of Parliament after it failed to furnish the august House with a forensic audit report for the public broadcaster that was conducted last year. A Parliamentary portfolio committee on Information, Media and Broadcasting Service yesterday warned the ZBC that Parliament would not hesitate to invoke the necessary legal statutes should they fail to produce the forensic report that was commissioned by the Auditor General at the request of the Ministry of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services.

Fr Munyoro drew the ire of the committee chaired by Umzingwane MP Cde William Dhewa (Zanu-PF) when he said that he did not have the mandate to give the committee the forensic audit report.

He said Parliament would be furnished with the report by Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo after it had been taken to the President and Cabinet.

“We don’t have the permission or mandate to publicise or use the report in any forum that is not approved by the Minister,” said Fr Munyoro.

“In consultation with the Minister with regards to this meeting we were advised that the Minister will himself, present the report to Members of Parliament. I was advised that it is not my mandate to do that.”

After Fr Munyoro’s brief presentation to the committee, legislators began to take turns to criticise his team and him for failure to bring the report to the House.

Cde Dhewa asked Fr Munyoro, who was accompanied by fellow board member Professor Charity Manyeruke and ZBC acting chief executive officer Patrick Mavhura, to briefly leave the room to allow legislators to confer among themselves.

After reconvening, Cde Dhewa cited constitutional provisions and Standing Orders that empowered Parliament to request the production of any document that might be in possession of a person.

Cde Dhewa told the ZBC leadership that in terms of the Constitution, government ministries, departments and their agencies were accountable to Parliament.

“There is no court order stopping us from requesting the document,” he said. “We have decided not to continue with hearing evidence.”

The committee then gave the ZBC leaders two weeks to return to the House and furnish it with the report.

Earlier on, Fr Munyoro had said ZBC was saddled with a $54 million debt that the new board inherited when it assumed office.

“We have ensured that it does not continue accumulating by paying salaries and statutory obligations,” he said.

Fr Munyoro said the absence of substantive office bearers like the chief executive officer had a bearing on the production and implementation of a turnaround strategy.

He said they were still pursuing the finalisation of labour issues related to senior management that were suspended over corporate governance issues so that a substantive leadership was appointed.