By MARTIN NYIRENDA –
TIMES of Zambia, a national daily newspaper, published since the colonial period, when the paper was known firstly as The Copperbelt Times and then The Northern News.
In simple terms, when the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) came to power in November 1991, it went to court claiming UNIP had illegally taken over the newspapers. The courts found in favour of the MMD, and ruled that the papers’ ownership be transfared to the Zambian Government. The Times of Zambia is now owned by the Zambian Government.
The newspaper, with its headquarters at Kabelenga Avenue in Zambia’s second largest city Ndola, has a new board of directors after many years operating without it, which compromised its efficient operations.
With the new Board of Directors recently appointed for two public media institutions, namely Times of Zambia and Zambia Daily Mail.
Information Minister, who is also Chief Government Spokesperson Kampamba Mulenga, says Government through the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) will in the next few months start recapitalising the two media houses to make them more viable.
The Times of Zambia board comprises Gideon Mwewa, Mabel Mung’omba, Nikiwe Simpungwe, Horance Longwe, Bwalya Mwila, Nkusuwila Nachalwe, Lydia Mpepo and Information Permanent Secretary Godfrey Malama.
Zambia Daily Mail has Geoffrey Simukoko, Simon Mwale, Gillian  Mwamba, Chanda Mulenga and PS Mr Malama.
Times of Zambia and Zambia Daily Mail managing directors remain Bestone Ng’onga and Nebert Mbewe respectively.
At the heels of limited performance of the public owned print media outlets, which has affected quality production output, Government expects the Board to ensure that financial challenges the two companies are resolved so that the companies become self-sustaining. The employees are also expected to perform beyond expectation.
How else does an employee survive with a check pay for several months and yet was expected to add value to operations of the company he or she serves?
The board members have been indicted to prove their value to the quality company operations as much as stakeholders of the firm believe that the onerous task to improve the financial standing of the two companies and this should be done by engaging stakeholders to revolve the outstanding issues.
Some of the outstanding issues affecting the two print media outs revolve around non-payment of salaries for several months, poor remunerations to motivate the workforce, among others.
These are part of the hurdles that the new board was expected to face ahead of revamping the systems of operations, reappointing right personnel in rights positions with right professional skills to drive the firms to higher heights.
Socio-economical analyst Bodo Chipaila recoils that any board of directors of a business entity should have a defined roles and responsibilities within the business organization because the directors have a role assess the overall direction and strategy of the business.
That is why they are in business to moot out strategic operation of the business so that the laid down guidelines are religiously followed.
There was need for value-added appointed boards of the two parastatals to aggressively search for the best ends to meet the needs of the workforce so that they are able to meet expectations of the firms they serve to excel in daily activities of serving the public and offering checks and balances to happenings in Government parameters.
Mr Chipaila, within his economic scope of undertakings prevailing in operations of public business outfits, argues rather lucidly that the newly constituted board for the two media organisations was expected to provide direction in areas of ensuring the outfits become less dependent on Government funding so that they are able operate objectively in as far as telling the truth about prevailing conditions in society as it exists.
Above all, Mr Chipaila intones: “The new board will do good to set up policies based governance system. The board has the responsibility of developing a governance system for the business. They should provide a framework of a series of policies that would empower the public print media to excel and objected tell the truth. There is nothing more than that except that the practitioners also need their concerns addressed”.
Empirical studies, as Mr Chipaila puts it: “Board of directors are a collection of individuals trying to operate as a group. Functioning as a group is something many people are not comfortable with. So each board evolves with its own culture”.
Supported by views earlier expressed, Minister Mulenga opens up that Government was expected to see the boards to strengthen the editorial and business aspects of the two institutions so that the companies could start making profits and declare dividends to the State.
Ironically, the two companies have operated without boards from 2015 when their boards were dissolved.
When that was the case, the loose action is that unilateral actions are taken to ensure the company without a board to produce goods and services.
How that is that may be history in the current situation.
Good for the scribes, who have survived without a paycheck for several seasons, Ms Mulenga assures that Government through the IDC would soon be injecting capital in Times of Zambia and Zambia Daily Mail to resolve some of the financial problems facing the two companies.
“Government has intentions to recapitalise the two companies. We will see a bit of change in the next few months,” she said.
Recapitalising the two print media firms is long overdue and could not have come at a better time than now.
A host of practicing journalists I talked to confess and tearfully plead with the newly appointed board to serve the interests of the two print media outfits which are wallowing in financial mailase – with some of the scribes reduced to beggars.