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Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Deputy Minister Cde Supa Mandiwanzira

Herald Reporter—
Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Deputy Minister Supa Mandiwanzira has said content development should be a major priority for Africa ahead of next year’s digitalisation deadline. Chairing a session on Media Exchange and Co-operation between China and African countries in Beijing yesterday, Deputy Minister Mandiwanzira said the programmes would only be balanced if Africa produced excellent quality local content.
“Digitalisation is bringing with it a proliferation of television channels,” he said.

“These channels could serve as a platform for cultural colonisation through foreign content unless all of us in Africa embark on an aggressive initiative to promote the production of quality indigenous content.”

Deputy Minister Mandiwanzira is in China to attend the Second Forum on China-Africa Media Co-operation which opened yesterday and is being held two years after the successful inaugural one in 2012.

The forum seeks to deepen exchanges and co-operation in the sector covering the spheres of press, publications, radio, film and television between China and African countries.

Government ministers and media executives from 40 African countries are attending.
“It is commendable that China continues to take this noble initiative to promote media cooperation with the continent,” said Deputy Minister Mandiwanzira.

“The significant coverage of Africa by CCTV is bringing balance to the global media coverage of Africa which for long has been dominated by Western TV networks with their naked agendas bent on characterising Africa as a failed continent.

“That this forum is exploring further co-operation on content exchange with China, it’s important that China assists with building production capacity in Africa or else the co-operation will soon appear to be one-sided.”

He said Zimbabwe was grateful to China for the donation of a state-of-the art television outside-broadcast van delivered last year.
The Chinese government has also offered to roll-out analogue to digital migration in Harare and Bulawayo in return to carrying CCTV on the digital platform.
It has also offered a printing press to be set up in Bulawayo.