News / National
Prof Jonathan Moyo summons ZBC top management
18 Sep 2013 at 02:44hrs | Views
INFORMATION Minister Jonathan Moyo will meet managers from the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) this week in a bid to get to the bottom of problems bedevilling the public broadcaster.
Some ZBC workers have gone for four months without pay while top managers are helping themselves to top-of-the-range cars and other perks, claim unions.
A report in the Daily News on Tuesday claimed Moyo had last week "summoned" the ZBC's top management and "read the riot act to them", but the minister said the report was "patently false".
"We're not going to meet anyone under the cover of darkness, we're a government," Moyo told New Zimbabwe.com in an interview. "The government does not conduct business like that. We don't get anyone announcing for us, we are spokespersons ourselves."
Moyo confirmed that he would be meeting top ZBC managers in a two-day workshop later this week, and advised workers who have grievances to follow "established procedures and processes", adding: "They would be their own worst enemies by proceeding in a manner that suggests they have axes to grind and hidden agendas."
Moyo said he would be meeting with top managers of several parastatals under the ministry's control, starting with the ZBC this week.
"We're interested in understanding what's happening in the parastatals, with a view to align their activities with government policy," he said.
The State broadcaster has been struggling to pay its workers since last year, and has been relying on overdrafts to finance its soaring wage bill driven mostly by the excessive and unsustainable perks for top management.
"We hope that heads will soon roll because we are tired of suffering at the hands of the management which earns unrealistic salaries," another ZBC worker said.
The disgruntled workers wrote to President Robert Mugabe in May appealing to him to address their plight.
In a letter dated May 30, 2013, the employees said they were failing to buy food, pay rentals and school fees for their children because they were not receiving their salaries from the State broadcaster.
The employees said management was arrogant whenever asked about the salaries and better working conditions.
Some ZBC workers have gone for four months without pay while top managers are helping themselves to top-of-the-range cars and other perks, claim unions.
A report in the Daily News on Tuesday claimed Moyo had last week "summoned" the ZBC's top management and "read the riot act to them", but the minister said the report was "patently false".
"We're not going to meet anyone under the cover of darkness, we're a government," Moyo told New Zimbabwe.com in an interview. "The government does not conduct business like that. We don't get anyone announcing for us, we are spokespersons ourselves."
Moyo confirmed that he would be meeting top ZBC managers in a two-day workshop later this week, and advised workers who have grievances to follow "established procedures and processes", adding: "They would be their own worst enemies by proceeding in a manner that suggests they have axes to grind and hidden agendas."
Moyo said he would be meeting with top managers of several parastatals under the ministry's control, starting with the ZBC this week.
The State broadcaster has been struggling to pay its workers since last year, and has been relying on overdrafts to finance its soaring wage bill driven mostly by the excessive and unsustainable perks for top management.
"We hope that heads will soon roll because we are tired of suffering at the hands of the management which earns unrealistic salaries," another ZBC worker said.
The disgruntled workers wrote to President Robert Mugabe in May appealing to him to address their plight.
In a letter dated May 30, 2013, the employees said they were failing to buy food, pay rentals and school fees for their children because they were not receiving their salaries from the State broadcaster.
The employees said management was arrogant whenever asked about the salaries and better working conditions.
Source - dailynews and newzim
