Story by Fungai Jachi
Parastatals under the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services have been challenged to deliver on set targets as the government moves towards bridging the rural-urban information gap.
Board chairpersons from the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ), Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) and Transmedia signed performance-based contracts this Tuesday with the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Senator Monica Mutsvangwa who presided over the signing ceremony, challenging the parastatals to work towards fulfilling set targets which feed into the national vision.
“2022 had its fair share of challenges, but we managed to get through them all because of your hard work. Continue to work hard and strive for the better as we work towards bridging the information gap between rural and urban. Now we have a more informed citizenry because of the strategic interventions we implemented. Let’s continue to reach out to marginalised communities,” said Minister Mutsvangwa.
Minister Mutsvangwa also highlighted some of the parastatals’ success stories.
“ZBC has managed to shift from analogue to digital and we have embraced content creators and we have managed to expand radio and TV transmission. It is important that we have result-oriented performance. In the long run, our goal is to fulfil the aspirations of NDS1,” she said.
ZBC and BAZ board chairpersons spoke on the importance of performance-based contracts.
ZBC board chair, Dr Josaya Tayi said, “Signing these contracts will keep us on our feet and it will push us to work hard. The introduction of the signing of such contracts by the Second Republic speaks volumes to its commitment to transparency and accountability.”
“This is an important step towards ensuring that we perform. As long we know we are under scrutiny we will be forced to work hard and produce results,” said BAZ board chair, Engineer Charles Sibanda.
Performance-based contracts were introduced by the Second Republic in 2021 to ensure effectiveness and efficiency in local authorities, public institutions, and State-owned enterprises and to ensure citizens get the best from public office bearers.
