President Emmerson Mnangagwa has given his approval for the appointment of seven individuals to the board of directors of the State broadcaster, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC), as announced by Mr. Jonathan Gandari, the Acting Permanent Secretary of Information, Publicity, and Broadcasting Services.
The newly appointed chairperson is former ZBC chief executive Ms. Helliate Rushwaya. Other board members include Mr. Lewis Uriri, Mr. Chipo Nheta, Ms. Precious Charandura, Mr. Charles Munganasa, Dr. Henry Mukono, and Dr. Nanette Silukhuni.

Helliate is the young sister of convicted gold smuggler Henrietta Rushwaya while Martin Rushwaya, the former Permanent Secretary of Defence who the current Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet is, is a top adviser to President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is also his cousin.

The appointments are for a four-year term beginning January 9, 2024.

In a letter addressed to the board members, Dr. Jenfan Muswere, the Minister of Information, Publicity, and Broadcasting Services, stated, “I am pleased to advise that His Excellency the President Emmerson D Mnangagwa has authorized me to appoint you as a board member of the constituted board of directors for the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation.”

The minister expressed anticipation for the collaboration with the board in fulfilling the strategic mandate of ZBC and emphasized the implementation of performance-based numeric contracts.

The board is expected to actively contribute to the turnaround of ZBC, focusing on the production and distribution of commercially viable, innovative, high-quality content on a national and global scale. Additionally, the minister outlined responsibilities such as ensuring good corporate governance, zero tolerance for corruption, modernizing ZBC studios, enhancing revenue generation strategies, promoting local content production, and contributing to the broadcasting ecosystem.