Government’s US$400,000 debt cripples operations at Alpha Media Holdings

By Staff Reporter | ZimLive |

HARARE – The government owes Alpha Media Holdings (AMH) about US$400 000 in unpaid advertising and newspaper subscription fees dating back more than a year, a debt that has severely strained the operations of one of Zimbabwe’s last remaining privately owned mainstream media groups.

AMH, which is owned by Trevor Ncube, publishes NewsDay, Zimbabwe Independent, The Standard and Southern Eye, and also runs the Heart and Soul (HSTV) web-based radio station.

The company has recently come under scrutiny amid reports that journalists were paid just US$50 each on Christmas Eve, with staff having gone for several months without full salaries.

AMH has not publicly responded to the allegations, but senior company officials said the financial distress is largely attributable to the government’s failure to settle outstanding obligations.

“While AMH’s challenges reflect global pressures on legacy media, the government’s failure to honour its advertising and subscription debts poses an existential threat to the country’s last privately owned mainstream media house,” an AMH executive said.

“With government departments owing us about US$400 000, cash flows have been severely constrained. The delayed payments to contractors, including media houses, appear to be part of a broader strategy to protect the ZiG from devaluation.”

According to the Advertising Media Association (ADMA), the government also owes millions of dollars in local currency to other media companies, including state-owned Zimbabwe Newspapers (Zimpapers), Jester Media Services (publishers of the Daily News), and Askleland Media.

In March, ADMA wrote to President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s spokesperson George Charamba seeking intervention, but the matter remains unresolved.

AMH executives believe the recent leakage of internal salary issues is part of a coordinated campaign by sections of government to weaken and silence the company’s critical publications.

“There is a deliberate attempt to smear management while ignoring the fact that the government owes us enough money to clear salary arrears,” another executive said.

“The difference between us and Zimpapers is that they receive concessionary loans and direct government support — privileges we do not enjoy. On top of that, this has not been an ordinary year, given the arrests of senior journalists and escalating legal costs.”

In February, HSTV senior journalist Blessed Mhlanga was jailed for 72 days without trial after covering a press conference addressed by former Zanu PF central committee member and war veteran Blessed Geza.

Geza has become a vocal critic of the Mnangagwa administration, calling for the president to step down over alleged misgovernance and failure to tackle corruption.

Mhlanga and HSTV are still appearing in court on charges of “transmitting data messages that incite violence or damage property.”

Five months later, Zimbabwe Independent editor Faith Zaba was arrested and jointly charged with AMH for allegedly insulting the president.

The charges stem from the newspaper’s satirical column Muckraker, with the trial yet to commence.