INFORMATION, Publicity and Broadcasting Services minister Jenfan Muswere has said the media has a responsibility to inform and educate the nation about government projects and programmes if they get an opportunity to access them.
Speaking in Kwekwe during the Midlands provincial media tour of government projects organised under his ministry on Thursday, Muswere said government was giving all journalists both from the State and private media a chance to be on the ground to witness the existence of such projects.
“The provincial media tour is part of our responsibility as a ministry in order to conscientise, educate and inform the nation about the 8 000 projects and programmes that have been achieved under the leadership of His Excellency the President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa,” Muswere said.
“Our presence here (as a ministry) is part of our mandate as we seek not only to create opportunity to raise awareness and at the same time to interact with the population in terms of the responsibility of the fourth estate.
“Midlands province has a lot of capacity in terms of media strategy and in terms of coverage to chronicle a lot of registered projects and programmes that have been successfully implemented in the province.”
Added Muswere: “What would distinguish journalism from misinformation and disinformation is the capacity of journalists to be able to visit (for example) the Kwekwe silos and to visit Dinson Mine and be able to interact with members of the populace, for members of the fourth estate to verify, to tour and be part of this value chain process created under the leadership of President Mnangagwa.”
In Kwekwe, the media and other stakeholders toured the ED Mnangagwa Midlands State University school of law, which is still under construction, Amaveni drug and substance abuse rehabilitation centre, the Kwekwe grain silos and the completed multi-million dollar Chinese Zhong Jin International Hotel located opposite Redcliff turn-off.
The 80-roomed hotel, which boasts facilities like conference and karaoke rooms, casino, supermarket and restaurants, among others, is expected to boost tourism growth not only in the Midlands, but the country as a whole.
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Speaking at the MSU law school campus construction site, MSU acting Vice-Chancellor Gift Manyatera said the school of law, now at 65% complete, is going to be a leading law learning institution in Africa.
“We are building a state-of-the-art law school on the 220 hectares of land donated to the university by Kwekwe City Council,” he said.
Manyatera, who is also MSU pro vice-chancellor infrastructure and campus development, said the institution is expected to commission the law school by August this year, a development he said would see the faculty of law move from Gweru to Kwekwe and accommodate 600 undergraduate law students from level one to five per year as well as 30 students for masters law degrees.
“By August, we expect to have student accommodation and other supporting facilities here like a library resource centre and moot court, among others,” he said.
“We are also happy to announce that this project has created 300 jobs on site, especially from Kwekwe district.”
Muswere said the construction and resourcing of the MSU school of law was part of government’s decentralisation and devolution of human capital development in the country.
Midlands Provincial Affairs and Devolution minister Owen Ncube said the construction of the Grain Marketing Board Kwekwe silos was said to be 85% complete, with four out of the seven silos completed.
He said the seven silos will have the capacity to store 56 000 metric tonnes of grain per year and reduce the burden on Midlands farmers who used to take their produce to Chegutu and Chinhoyi.
“These silos are strategic as they not only sustain milling and the value chain process, food security and sustainability, but also address the challenge of post-harvest losses that farmers used to incur,” he said.
The tour will also see journalists visiting government projects in other parts of the province.
