AMH Gambles US$40k as Journalists Go Unpaid

HARARE - Zimbabwe's struggling private media house Alpha Media Holdings (AMH) has come under fire after reportedly spending more than US$40,000 on a music gig that flopped, while its employees have gone for over seven months without salaries.

The event, dubbed The Big Show, was held at Belgravia Sports Club on 6 December but failed to attract the expected crowd. Some of the billed musicians, including Nisha Ts, Baba Harare, Saintfloew and Nutty O, reportedly refused to perform due to the poor turnout.

The move has sparked outrage among AMH employees, who accused management of misusing funds instead of prioritising staff welfare.

"It is looting of the highest order, well-organised theft and grand misuse of funds by AMH management," said one disgruntled employee.

Another staff member alleged that the company's leadership had a history of financial mismanagement, claiming even board members were aware but had failed to act.

"It has happened before. AMH management is behind this chaos. It is surprising how the CEO and Finance Director endorsed hosting a music show without due diligence. It is clear the whole plan was for personal gains through inflating payments to service providers ahead of the gig," the employee said.

AMH, owned by Trevor Ncube, publishes the NewsDay, The Standard and Zimbabwe Independent, and also runs the online platform HStv.  

The company has been hit by an exodus of journalists and staff, leaving graduate trainees and interns to sustain operations. Observers say this has led to a noticeable decline in content quality.

A former AMH writer described the move as reckless and symptomatic of deeper structural problems.

"The company's board members are letting everyone down. They should move in and save the company from closure. This has never happened before - a whole company diverting money to gambling," the media expert said.