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Cde Chigwedere

Freeman Razemba Senior Reporter
Preparations for the Censorship Board’s first stakeholders meeting scheduled for next Wednesday in Harare are at an advanced stage. The main purpose of the meeting is to establish rapport between the board and its stakeholders and the proposal of a new name for the board. The board’s chairman, former Cabinet minister, educationist and historian Cde Aeneas Chigwedere said the meeting would be held at the ZRP Golf Club.

“It is very clear to us that the majority of our stakeholders don’t know what we are supposed to do as a board,” he said.

“What we were established for, in other words they don’t know our mandate and it is our intention to explain this to the nation.” Cde Chigwedere said they were going to give the stakeholders time to suggest a new name for the board.

“At the same time, we know many of these stakeholders are suspicious of us, they seem to think we are there to merely guillotine things, don’t do this, don’t do that and so on, which is far from what we are,” he said.

“We are going to spell out our mandate to them and we are going to give them time, a lot of time for that matter to ask questions, to make comments and we are going as far as asking them to suggest a new name for the board. We have ideas and suggestions that have been coming in, but we want to open it up. We will be happy if they can come up with better options, suggestions and combinations so that maybe we don’t sound negative because the name Censorship is rather negative.”

Cde Chigwedere said the meeting was an important step so that the community could understand the board, as much as the board should understand them. He said stakeholders that would want to make inquiries could contact the board secretary Mr Chiranganyika on (04) 72991 or 0772 964352. Cde Chigwedere is leading the Censorship Board that was appointed by Home Affairs Minister Dr Ignatius Chombo in May. Other members of the board are his deputy Mrs Konzani Ncube, Police Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba, Mrs Bona Chikore, Mrs Runyararo Magadzire, Chief Nyamukoho Samson Katsande, Mr Regis Chikowore, Mr Shingai Rukwata Ndoro, Mr Chenjerai Daitai, Mr Tungamirai Muganhiri and Catholic priest Father Fidelis Mukonori.