Zimpapers Logo

Freeman Razemba, Harare Bureau
The newly appointed Deputy Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Cde Energy Mutodi has urged journalists to report accurately and desist from raising issues that will cause disturbances in the country.

He said it was the duty of journalists to build the country, which is now open for business.

In an interview with Zimpapers Television Network (ZTN) yesterday, Cde Mutodi said they were recently encouraged as new ministers in the ministry to make sure that there was reporting that was real time and accurate, for the benefit of the policy makers.

On media laws that need to be amended, Cde Mutodi said there was a need to liberalise media space in the country.

He said there was a need to register new televisions and radio stations, newspapers and facilitate the coming in of new players who can assist those already in the media industry to promote information dissemination in a more efficient and reliable way.

“We want to ensure that we open up and clear all the issues that had been raised by civic organisations and opposition parties’ in terms of the opening up of the democratic space. We need everyone to be heard and we believe that as we open up the media space there will be less complaints,” he said.

Cde Mutodi, who is also the legislator for Goromonzi West, urged journalists to report accurately and check their facts before publishing anything instead of reporting issues that will cause mayhem and anarchy in the country.

He said the law should guard against such type of reporting. He said there was no investor who would want to come and invest in a country where there was no law and order.

Cde Mutodi also spelt out the role of the ministry in the country.

“It is the anchor ministry in terms of information collection, information processing and information dissemination. It has several parastatals that operate under it,” he said.

He said when President Mnangagwa was inaugurated into office, he set up a Cabinet that will help him to formulate Government policies and those policies need to be communicated to all concerned citizens through the ministry.

He said there were 21 ministers at the moment who are managing portfolios in Cabinet and all the policies that were crafted by the executive needed to be communicated.

“So in a nutshell, the ministry is a key inter-ministerial institution that has to coordinate all the ministries and ensure that they are really understood by the public,” Cde Mutodi said.

He said the ministry will strive through the local media to ensure that the public were informed on any developments countrywide.

On digitalisation project, Cde Mutodi said a lot of International companies such as Huawei were also assisting Government to move from analogue to digital.

The deputy minister who was accompanied by Zimpapers chief executive Mr Pikirayi Deketeke later toured the ZTN offices and studios after the interview.