Word of an exodus of DJs and presenters at the AB Communications owned ZiFM Stereo radio station has been coated with sweetness, but underneath the comments by the characters leaving the train is an army of disgruntled workers and alleged managerial incompetence.Not everything is Supa in Mandiwanzira’s investment!
Solid personalities including DJ Eskay, Candice Mwakalyelye, Sokostina, Farai Mwakutuya, Zihlo and Kundai Chiyanika have reportedly already left, tendered their resignations or are just waiting to fade away from the nightmare script that the ZiFM Stereo fairytale used to be.
“The truth is there’s a monster at ZiFM Stereo and the rot is right at the top,” said a mole speaking exclusively about the meltdown.
When probed further about who exactly was behind the problem as Susan Makore, a veteran broadcaster was ultimately at the helm, clarity was offered.
“Mai Makore has no problem and knows what she does as she has a media background. The problem is at the station where the person running affairs is Tendai Madondo who has no idea how to work with creativity and has no background in the media industry and has just been tossed into a position she cannot handle.”
So out of her depth is castaway Madondo that the source claimed that the lady, much like her surname Madondo, is lost in the woods!
“When you have people who run a radio station like a bank or a post office and can’t handle media creative, that bureaucracy sinks people without a doubt and while it is about six names that have emerged, almost everyone in the shadows is living their nightmare at the hands of incompetence,” added the source But the personalities fingered in the exodus were quick to offer conciliatory statements when reached for comment.
I’m not leaving immediately and people misconstrued what I said when I made my announcement,” said Mwakutuya, a veteran who has practised in Zimbabwe as well as other countries including Uganda.
“I’ll be travelling a lot in a new engagement that I’ve gotten and I therefore saw that I couldn’t execute my duties well. I’ll still be on air for the coming month or so as replacements to my assignments are sought,” said The Platform host.
Eskay has apparently gone to join his wife in an undisclosed country as they could no longer live apart. Candice Mwakalyelye, the ice-princess of the airwaves whose vanilla being had become the goddess of media celebrity, was also quick to go for modesty.
“I’ve been at the station for four years and there comes a time for one to grow and move on and that is what I’m doing,” she said.
“I’ve no idea if there’re any people who’re disgruntled and it may look like a coincidence that I’ve left when others are rumoured to be leaving, but I leave the station a happy person who has been grown and built by a station I both love and admire”.“Politeness!” screams the source.
“If the powers that be at ZiFM do not address this issue as soon as possible, it’ll rock the boat and be the death of their numbers for quite a while.They’ve to nip the problem in the bud.
“People want this incompetent woman to go or be redeployed otherwise the ship will sink!”
Reached for comment, AB Communications head Makore said: “The best person to talk about the issue is Tendai (Madondo) who runs the day to day activities at the radio station. She’s a competent person and obviously more than willing to address such a pertinent issue with the media.
“We’re always happy to respond to media professionals who go out of their way to act professionally in their work and write from an informed perspective after having gone all out to seek comment,” she said.
However, Tendai, who was said to have travelled to South Africa presumably on business, could not be reached and efforts to get her comment via social networking platform WhatsApp hit a snag as she wasn’t available.
The Supa Mandiwanzira owned station has no doubt hit rock bottom and even started to dig-its worst spell since going on air four years ago.