Power Struggles Rock ZBC
Highly placed sources at ZBC said the current three General Managers, Tarzan Mandizvidza of news and current affairs, Brigadier-General Elliot Kasu of Finance and Administration and Allan Ndoro-Chiweshe in charge of radio were no longer seeing eye to eye as they competed to replace Muchechetere by de-campaigning each other within the Zanu (PF) structures.
Muchechetere is currently attending diplomatic lessons for a possible posting to Russia to replace Bekezela Mphoko who is set to be transferred to South Africa to replace Simon Khaya Moyo who was appointed Zanu (PF) national chairman.
An official in the Finance, Administration and Human Resources department said Mandizvidza was now spending most of his time at Munhumutapa offices soliciting favours from Media, Information and publicity permanent secretary George Charamba in a bid to be appointed the new ZBC CEO.
Chiweshe and Kasu, on the other hand, were said to be lobbying Media and Information minister Webster Shamu arguing that by virtue of being war veterans they deserved the top post.
“At the moment these senior managers are rarely at Pockets Hill as they are spending most their time lobbying senior government and Zanu (PF) officials in order to be appointed CEO,” he said.
A female journalist at the corporation said the power struggle had extended to the News and Current Affairs department where three junior managers in the section, Clifford Mfiri, Moses Charedzera and Freedom Moyo were fighting to replace Mandizvidza in the event that he was promoted to CEO.
“Some of the news managers, particularly Mfiri who is in charge of current affairs and Charedzera, responsible of internet news, are already clamouring to replace Mandizvidza and had been boasting that they had been promised the position by Mandizvidza and Muchechetere,” she said.