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Trust Freddy

Herald Correspondent

The Permanent Secretary for Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Mr Nick Mangwana, has expressed satisfaction with the way the media acted in fighting Covid-19 by providing relevant information which was key to mobilizing critical mass support.

Making a presentation on the role of the media in ensuring Zimbabwe’s survival in a Covid-19 environment at the Zimbabwe National Defence University yesterday, Mr Mangwana said unlike other countries that were misleading people with fables about the virus and vaccination, Zimbabwe’s media was quite reliable.

“Right from the start, both private and public media were roped in as partners with full access to information and the decisions that informed the decisions that were made,” he said.

“This somehow seemed to take temptation to sensationalise things and it also brought in responsible reporting.”

Mr Mangwana said the media was able, in his view, to foster the perspective of responsible journalism.

“It was quite apparent that media’s dissemination of Covid information helped greatly to raise awareness, understanding and restore public trust on Government’s intentions,” he said.

“Broadcasters made all their radios available to the task force to broadcast any pertinent information for free.”

The media, Mr Mangwana said, had also done very well to educate the people on the availability of vaccines and encourage them to get vaccinated.

“Now, we are at the point where Zimbabwe is in top five in Africa in terms of vaccine roll-out, thanks to combined efforts of the Government, the media and the public at large,” he said.

Speaking at the same event, Business Weekly editor Herbert Zharare said media should work with other key societal stakeholders to come up with solutions to the country’s socio-economic and political challenges.

“Recent and fresh global developments that have called for the media to work with authorities to ensure national survival are the effects of the special Russian military operation in Ukraine and the novel coronavirus (Covid 19),” he said.

“When such developments occur, the media should play a critical role of explaining and analysing the likely impact to the nation so that the people understand and rally behind Government interventions.

“The media has, therefore, the responsibility to produce high quality products that help society, individuals and nations at large to make informed decisions.”