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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 says those found to have been on the wrong side of the law at the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation will face prosecution.He said this in an address at a corporate sector media relations workshop in Harare last Friday.

The event was attended by public relations managers, communications personnel and editors.
“Currently, action is being taken for an audit to take place at ZBC,” he said.  “In the next two weeks or so the Comptroller and Auditor-General will adjudicate on who will conduct the audit at ZBC. If those involved in corrupt practices are found, handcuffs are coming to them.”

Deputy Minister Mandiwanzira urged the corporate sector to collaborate with the media in Government’s anti-corruption efforts. He said Government was impressed with how the public and private media had been unearthing corruption in line with the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim-Asset).

“It is a responsibility for the media to be a watchdog and expose the rot in companies,” he said. “They should provide more information and expose the bad things that occur.
“We are impressed with how the private and public media have been handling the salary-gate. Our aim is to rebuild our economy and we should flush out wrong attitudes, systems and actions which will not bring food on the tables of the majority of Zimbabweans.”

Deputy Minister Mandiwanzira urged corporate institutions to be at the forefront of providing information as a process of self-cleansing, and criticised corporate executives who bribe journalists to suppress evidence of graft. He said management in tax payer-funded institutions should provide information in the best interest of the public and good corporate governance.

Deputy Minister Mandiwanzira urged civil society to also be transparent and reveal what kind of packages are being paid in that sector. Asked why investigations into corruption cases appeared to flounder once politicians’ names cropped up, he said no one would be spared because President Mugabe supportedthe probes.

He called on all Zimbabweans to be involved in improving the country’s image.