THE Government is pushing for the finalisation of the second phase of the digitalisation programme as it moves to cover the information gap which is now below 50 percent.
Addressing Transmedia board members in Harare yesterday, the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Dr Jenfan Muswere said it was important for the country to finalise the Zimdigital Phase 2 programme.
He said Transmedia's core mandate was the distribution of radio and TV signals for both public and private broadcasters.
Universal access to information was a constitutional right for every citizen and Transmedia was at the centre of that right.
"All efforts should be directed towards achieving that target. Borrowing from His Excellency's mantra of leaving no one and no place behind, Transmedia is expected not to leave any community without access to mainstream broadcast services.
"In NDS1, Transmedia is expected to contribute to the Ministry's key result area of Image Building. Still, because of technological convergence, the corporation also finds itself in conversation with other areas like the digital economy and infrastructure, which cut across all areas of the economy for the eventual achievement of Vision 2030."
Minister Muswere said Transmedia was expected to play its crucial role as a backbone in mass media communication.
He challenged the board to act honestly and in good faith in the organisation's best interests and to exercise due care, diligence and skill.
Some of the functions of the board were to determine the company's vision and mission to guide and set the pace for its current operations and future development and to determine the values to be promoted throughout the company as directed by the shareholder.
The board was expected to organise, monitor, and improve relationships with stakeholders who included the parent ministry, other Government agencies and customers.
"More importantly, the board should have a transparent relationship with management to enable the organisation to deliver on its mandate.
"Employees play a crucial role in any organisation. For an organisation like Transmedia, which requires special and experienced technical expertise, the board is expected to hire and retain these employees.
"I know that there are experts on this board who have the techniques to motivate these experts. I don't expect to hear about issues related to labour unrest from Transmedia hence, the board should foster good industrial relations," said Minister Muswere.
Transmedia's strategic plan was linked to the ministry's, which was derived from National Development Strategy 1.
Performance contracts for the chief executive officer, the board chair, the Permanent Secretary and the Minister were derived from the same documents.
"The board and management should therefore ensure that the corporation is playing its part in fulfilling Vision 2030.
"The Zimdigital Phase 2 project was supposed to have been completed in 2015, but to date, the progress has been less than 40 percent.
"Many countries in the region have completed the project. The board is expected to put all its energy into ensuring the completion of this project," said Minister Muswere.
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The project was not only a compliance issue, but more importantly, it was a panacea to bridge this country's digital divide between the rural and urban populace.
Some parts of the country did not have FM radio reception, especially in border areas.
Communities in the affected areas were therefore exposed to foreign media only and the anomaly was an urgent issue which required immediate attention.
Some licenced community radio stations were also not reaching the targeted areas, and Transmedia was responsible for ensuring that all areas were adequately covered.
